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Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

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<strong>Report</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bahrain</strong> <strong>Independent</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Inquiry</strong><br />

accessing <strong>the</strong> hospital, no checks were carried out on those entering <strong>the</strong><br />

hospital and no patients were prevented from receiving treatment. 424<br />

(12) Lack <strong>of</strong> access to medical care<br />

799. It was alleged that injured persons avoided going to SMC during <strong>the</strong><br />

protests due to <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> security forces and <strong>the</strong> risk <strong>of</strong> arrest and<br />

mistreatment.<br />

800. MSF prepared a public briefing paper entitled, “Health Services<br />

Paralyzed: <strong>Bahrain</strong>’s Military Crackdown on Patients” (April 2011).<br />

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated that many people in <strong>Bahrain</strong> were<br />

unable to access medical care at SMC during <strong>the</strong> events <strong>of</strong> mid-March:<br />

Hospitals and health clinics are no longer places to go for <strong>the</strong> sick<br />

or injured, but are ra<strong>the</strong>r places to be feared. As <strong>the</strong> military<br />

cracks down on protesters and medical personnel Médecins Sans<br />

Frontières/Doctors without Borders (MSF) has witnessed patients<br />

with critical and life-threatening injuries refusing to go to <strong>the</strong><br />

hospital due to high levels <strong>of</strong> fear...<br />

Salmaniya Hospital is <strong>the</strong> public referral hospital for <strong>the</strong> whole <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>Bahrain</strong>. However, when MSF visited <strong>the</strong> hospital on 21 March, it<br />

was virtually empty. This is a direct result <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> way in which<br />

<strong>the</strong> hospital has been used in <strong>the</strong> clashes between <strong>the</strong> military and<br />

opposition protesters. 425<br />

801. The human rights advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights,<br />

which was also present in <strong>Bahrain</strong> during <strong>the</strong> events in March, stated that:<br />

Physicians for Human Rights interviewed ten patients who had<br />

been wounded by gunshot and needed follow-up medical care.<br />

All reported that <strong>the</strong>y were too afraid to seek medical care at<br />

Salmaniya Hospital for fear <strong>of</strong> detention and mistreatment by<br />

security forces <strong>the</strong>re. Hashem, a 12-year-old boy from Sitra,<br />

sustained shrapnel injury while demonstrating. He did not seek<br />

medical help for fear <strong>of</strong> arrest. PHR investigators reviewed<br />

photographs taken near <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> injury and also interviewed<br />

and examined <strong>the</strong> victim on 3 April 2011. 426<br />

802. One accused doctor reported her experiences working at a medical<br />

centre and <strong>the</strong> difficulties she experienced when calling for an ambulance.<br />

She stated that <strong>the</strong> centre received patients who had been injured by live<br />

424 Clamp Restores Hospital Order, Gulf Daily News (24 March 2011), http://www.gulf-dailynews.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=302433<br />

accessed 5 November 2011.<br />

425 Médecins Sans Frontières, Health Services Paralyzed: <strong>Bahrain</strong>’s Military Crackdown on<br />

Patients (2011)<br />

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2011/<strong>Bahrain</strong>_BP_Final_06042011<br />

_2106_FR-EN%20LOGO.pdf accessed 5 November 2011.<br />

426 Physicians for Human Rights, DO NO HARM: A Call for <strong>Bahrain</strong> to End Systematic<br />

Attacks on Doctors and Physicians (2011) https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_<strong>Report</strong>s/bahraindo-no-harm-2011.pdf<br />

accessed 5 November 2011.<br />

204

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