Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Annex B — Summary of Torture Allegations
The detainee was then taken to another location where he was subjected to
abusive treatment by police officers, including being continually
blindfolded, handcuffed behind his back, kicked and beaten with a hose on
his back. He was also verbally abused and subjected to religious
humiliation. The police questioned him about the demonstrations and
certain political figures. One police officer threatened him with serious
abuse but was stopped by another officer. The police forced the detainee to
sign a confession. He felt nauseous and dizzy after several days of this
mistreatment, and this was aggravated by sleep deprivation, crowded
conditions and poor hygiene in the cells. He could also hear other detainees
being tortured. His feet were beaten so harshly with hoses that they swelled
up and damaged his nail beds, and he developed severe headaches.
CASE NO. 40
(Examined by the forensic team)
Date of statement: 25 August 2011
Statement: On 16 March 2011, the detainee was outdoors in his village
doing mechanical work under a car. There had been confrontations in his
village. He saw a police officer walking towards him and feared getting
arrested. The police officer fired birdshot under the car from just six metres
away and hit the witness’s head, face, shoulders and arms. The witness’s
brothers took him to the local clinic where he received treatment to stop the
bleeding. He then went to SMC for more extensive care including X-rays.
He was assured that he had not suffered serious injuries. He was treated like
a criminal at SMC. A number of men, also considered criminals, were put
together in one ward on the sixth floor with high security and many soldiers.
They were detained there for one week. They could only access the toilet
twice per day and there was no showering or bathing. They were
interrogated each night. The detainee was awoken in the middle of the night
and frightened, hit on the head and slapped forcefully in the face. Food was
adequate but medical care was minimal. On the last day, he was
interrogated by security. He was blindfolded and handcuffed, and had to
stand for two hours while his file was reviewed. He was then transferred to
a police station, where a police officer threatened to torture him with a knife.
At the time of this interview, he feared returning to SMC to continue
treatment, as he expected further abuse.
CASE NO. 41
(Examined by the forensic team)
Date of statement: 26 August 2011
Statement: The detainee was arrested at his home at approximately 03:00
on 29 April 2011. A number of police arrived, some uniformed and some
masked, and shocked him and his family. He was punched, blindfolded and
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