Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
Two weeks after his arrival at Al Qurain, he was taken to the Military
Prosecution where his statement was taken. He was subsequently taken to
court on various occasions. Towards his third month of detention, he was
hooded and taken to a military court where he was given a sentence of 15
years imprisonment. At the trial, the detainee and other detainees in his
wing began to chant, “Peaceful, peaceful, the people want freedom”. As a
result, they were taken out of the courtroom and beaten until one of them fell
to the floor. There was also an attempt at sexual assault, which the detainee
fiercely resisted.
CASE NO. 3
(Examined by forensic team)
Date of statement: 3 August 2011
Statement: At approximately 02:00 on 17 March 2011, masked security
forces broke down the door of the witness’s home, blindfolded him and
handcuffed him with plastic handcuffs. They threatened and beat the
detainee and his son. They continued to beat the detainee on the way to the
interrogation centre.
The detainee was regularly insulted, beaten and tortured from that day
onwards. He was not permitted to pray on his first day in detention and was
prevented from performing ablution on numerous occasions. He was not
permitted to shower for the first nine days, after which he was allowed to
shower only twice a week. He was placed in solitary confinement for three
months in a cell measuring 1m x 1m. During this period, he suffered regular
beatings by a group of masked men using either their hands or a hose. He
was forced to stand for prolonged periods with his hands held in the air,
leading to severe leg pains which he still feels. Prison guards deprived him
of sleep by pouring cold water on his body, sometimes after forcing him to
strip naked. They also poured cold water on his bed to prevent him from
sleeping. He was further deprived of sleep by frequent slamming of prison
doors. Guards directed insults and abuse towards the detainee, his family
and his sect. He also received threats of electrocution, in particular when an
NSA official gave him a document and forced him to sign it. He was
intimidated by dogs on 25 March. Guards spat in his mouth and forced him
to swallow. Detainees were not allowed to speak to each other during their
time in solitary confinement. Until 23 May, they were not allowed to go to
the toilet unless they were hooded. They were in solitary confinement until
around 10-15 June, when they were moved into two-person cells.
The detainees suffered violations of their basic rights, including the
following: deprivation of access to a toilet (they were not permitted to use
the toilet for more than one minute at a time); deprivation of family contact;
deprivation of adequate medical care; and deprivation of access to the Quran
during the first week and inadequate access during the first 20 days. In
court, he witnessed another detainee complaining about attempts of rape and
mistreatment; that detainee was dismissed by the judge and then beaten
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