Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

(Examined by forensic team)
Date of statement: 24 August 2011
Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
Statement: The detainee was arrested from his car on 17 April 2011 in front
of his relative’s house in the Al Maameer village area. The police found his
car without a licence plate and therefore detained him. When they searched
his car, they found a video camera and mobile phone. They accused him of
recording the events that were taking place on the streets and of
disseminating the material and supplying it to foreign countries.
The detainee was beaten on his back, head and neck. He was blindfolded
and his hands were tied behind his back. He was then beaten all over his
body. He was threatened in front of two of his uncles that he would face
serious consequences because he had been accused of arson one year earlier.
A civilian car arrived and they pushed him inside and transferred him to Al
Wusta police station.
At Al Wusta police station he was beaten with hands and fists. They also
kicked him and sexually abused him by touching his anus with their fingers
and pushing a rifle tip into his anus. They verbally abused him, including
insulting his religion and family, and threatened to rape him and his female
relatives. He was beaten with a hose on his legs and feet (falaka) and told to
confess to videotaping without a licence, participating in the events in El
Dawar square and being a member of a terrorist organisation. He was then
taken to his mother’s house in El Newyrat village where he was beaten with
rifle butts. The police told the detainee that one of his neighbours had
informed them of his involvement in these activities and therefore that he
should confess. Finally they arrested his aunt and other members of his
family and searched the garage area. They found empty bottles and pieces
of cloth, so they accused him of preparing Molotov cocktails.
The detainee was then returned to Al Wusta police station where the
beatings continued. He suffered from severe nosebleeds and his nasal
septum was broken. He was transferred to the military hospital where a
closed reduction of a broken nasal septum was performed without
anaesthesia in the emergency reception room. He was then transferred to a
military court for trial. There was no arrest warrant and he had not consulted
a lawyer prior to his transfer to the court. He was not permitted to talk to his
family for a long period of time.
The detainee was transferred to the BDF Hospital on 5 August, by which
time he had been on a hunger strike for three days. His blood pressure was
normal as well as his pulse and respiration. From 5 August until 24 August
2011 (the date of this interview), his general condition remained stable with
mild fluctuations in blood pressure and pulse rate and with slight
disturbances in the level of consciousness. Two refusal forms (for the
detainee to acknowledge that he was refusing food) dated 5 and 6 August
showed that the detainee had refused to sign them. A refusal form dated 20
August showed that he had refused to sign the form in the presence of a
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