Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Annex B — Summary of Torture Allegations
She was not informed of her husband’s whereabouts until 3 June, when she
learned that he had been taken to a military court.
CASE NO. 59
Date of statement: 14 August 2011
Statement: The detainee was arrested at his workplace on 12 April 2011.
He did not resist but was nevertheless beaten during the arrest. He was
blindfolded and transferred to Riffa police station, where he was physically
and verbally abused. The torturers used their hands, feet and hoses to
sexually assault him, and they threatened to inflict the same treatment on his
wife. He was subsequently interrogated. The interrogations and beatings
continued for four days at Riffa and then a further four days at Dry Dock
Detention Centre. Most of the questions revolved around members of the
witness’s family. The few questions that related to him concerned pictures
that he had received in an email and his presence at GCC Roundabout.
Despite evidence that he had only received the email attachments, the
authorities charged him with sending them. The detainee was forced to sign
a statement to the effect that he had been to the Roundabout 15 times.
The detainee was handcuffed and blindfolded on his way to court. He and
other detainees were forced to sing and told that they were dogs. Each
detainee was numbered as Dog 1, Dog 2, etc. Before the court session, the
detainees were forced to stand in the sun. The soldiers threatened them and
told them not to say a word in court besides “guilty” or “not guilty”. The
detainee was only able to talk to his lawyer for five minutes after the court
hearing. The only evidence against him was the statement that he provided,
under pressure, testifying that he went to the roundabout 15 times. The
judge did not ask about torture and his lawyer did not raise the issue in court.
The detainee was sentenced to three years imprisonment and an appeal was
set for 28 September 2011.
At the time of his statement, the detainee was held at Juw Prison. He was
beaten there on three different occasions: upon being searched; when given
his uniform; and when given his inmate identification. He is not currently
being tortured but he nevertheless complains about strict rules. He
complains about the food, clothing and visitation rights, as well as denial of
access to the Quran/books/newspapers and prayer rugs. Because of torture,
the detainee suffers from pain in the jaw and has difficulty chewing and
hearing. He is worried about his future and has concerns about his safety.
CASE NO. 60
Date of statement: 3 August 2011
Statement: On 2 May 2011, the detainee was arrested in a traffic jam after
being followed by a civilian car. Individuals in plain clothes slapped him,
tied his hands and placed a hood over his head. He was not able to identify
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