"Guantanamo" of Bahrain: The Details not yet Disclosed about "Jaw Prison" Incidents .... which still are Ongoing! Part One

2015-04-11 - 1:47 ص

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, was arrested after tweeting about J Central Prison, regarding the brutal torture to which the detainees were subjected. Rajab was charged over insulting a statutory body (the ministry of interior) and was detained for 7 days as investigations were conducted. However, this did manage to conceal the fact that Jaw Central Prison has become the "Guantanamo" of Bahrain; an institution of torture that lacks any type of reform. The butal torture to which the prisoners there have been

subjected, since March 10th 2015 has not yet stopped. Prisoners have been prevented from calling their families or meeting them so that the truth may remain hidden. Only few details about the events that took place at Jaw Central Prison have been disclosed and what Rajab said is but a small part of these details.
"Bahrain Mirror" reveals new details about the humiliating and degrading torture the prisoners at Jaw Prison, the "Guantanamo" of Bahrain have been suffering from since last March 10th until now, and unveils some of the torturers' names.

March 10th: The First Raid

On March 10th 2015, around 2 p.m., news spread like wildfire in block 4 (that contains about 1,000 political prisoners and consists of 19 very small cells) about a lady being beaten by security forces.
The news stirred rage and anger in the cells and so the detainees rioted. In a mass rampage, a group of prisoners kicked "two policemen" outside the building and another group blocked the main doors (except the emergency door that is near block 3) using the available furniture and other things like refrigerators and hoses, used to extinguish fires. Whereas, a third group of prisoners mounted the rooftop of block 4 and started shouting chants of "Allah is Great", while one of the groups tried to head to block 3 which is 7 meters away from block 4, through

the emergency door.

Security forces reinforcements, which soon arrived, surrounded the place and fired tear gas before excessively shooting rounds of shotgun pellets at the prisoners. One of the prisoners sustained an injury in his leg, thus, the prisoners quickly returned to block 4. Meanwhile, security forces positioned outside rushed towards the emergency door to break into block 4, as it continued firing tear gas and shotgun pellets.

In an unprecedented mobilization of security forces, about 2000 policemen burst into block 4 and hysterically fired tear gas canisters which resulted in 200 cases of fainting, while 3 prisoners sustained injuries from the shotguns pellets that were fired.

Retaliation: Releasing the Monster

After the raid, the prisoners returned to their cells. That was enough to punt an end it. However, the ministry of interior forces were not satisfied by the return of prisoners to their cells and that the rampage was contained. The time of punishment has come, or let's call it "retaliation" under the excuse of "punishment". It is known that the avenger awaits the suitable chance to release the monster dwelling inside him.

The prisoners were divided into groups and taken out to the outer yard. Every group was brutally beaten by metal rods, firearm butts and wooden planks. Beating the groups continued from the moment they left their cells until reaching the prison yard. The whole building was vacated under the supervision of Jordanian military forces headed by about 30 officers.

Security forces were not satisfied by this either, for daring to riot in the prison will cost the prisoners dearly. Around 4 p.m., the prisoners were ordered to lie on their chests on an "asphalt" surface, and then another round of brutal beatings and torture began. The employees of ministry of interior (imported from outside Bahrain) focused on hitting the prisoners on their heads and faces if they made any move.

The prisoners were banned from using the restroom until the second day. Their clothes were a mixture of blood and fluids their bodies discharged involuntarily. The security forces beat the prisoners randomly and intermittent manner. Prisoners of nearby prions could hear the screams and cries for help of prisoners of block 4 who spent their night in the open yard with suffering from their pains, injuries and the cold weather.

March 11th: Knocking Al- Sameea's Teeth

Retaliation under the excuse of "punishment" did not stop at this level, for the security forces called a number of prisoners who were in the yard in the following day. According to some witnesses, the list of the prisoners called upon included ten names. These names had their new and special share of torture and insults. Detainee Hassan Habib from Nuwaidrat, was ordered to scream at the top of his lungs in front of the other prisoners in the yard "I am Hassan, the dog, who broke the window", referring to a window inside the building. Detainee Abbas Al-Sameea was brutally tortured to the extent that his front teeth were knocked out as a result of the severe beatings. Witnesses say that Jaafar Al-Kuwaiti, from Al Eker sustained injuries in his arm.

Breakfast meals were brought to the prisoners in the open yard along with the beatings and insults. Policemen enjoyed insulting the prisoners by calling them: "Oh sons of Mut'aa" and insulting their mothers by calling them: "Oh sons of (....)". None of the prisoners was able to eat or drink. Their rueful situation caused them to lose their appetite for food or even the ability to eat.

A Security Official: Why didn't you kill them?

At the sunset of a long and exhausting day and as the prisoners lost contact with their families outside the prison, about 300 detainees were gathered in one of the yard's corners tied up with plastic handcuffs. At 8 p.m., the police chief of the southern governorate, Khalifa Bin Ahmad Al-Shaer, accompanied by three citizens and two officers, went to them and started roaming around them saying: "you could have killed them" and left the prison after 5 minutes.

About 300 detainees were gathered and taken to another corner of the yard. The mercenary asked 15 prisoners to go to the barber, while crawling on their chests. The barber's room was approximately 15 meters away from the place of their detention place. The prisoners started crawling on the ground writhing from fatigue and torture, while the mercenary forces stood on both sides in order to hit and kick them along their entire way there.
There are were three barbers and three chairs. The detainees stood there to have their heads shaved. Some had their hair shaved while other had their beards shaved. Sometimes, they shaved half of the detainee's hair or shaved half of his beard as a kind of humiliation and degradation. Meanwhile, they showered the detainees with beatings while they were in the barber's very small room.

In the second night of sleeping in the open yard, the detainees were allowed to sleep and were given blankets to keep them warm from the bitter cold. Every two detainees shared a blanket and others slept over pipes that were in the yard due to the massive overcrowding.

March 12th: Relieving Themselves

On the third day, the prisoners were allowed to use the restroom, only in cases of extreme necessity. The mercenaries intended to beat the prisoners going to the toilet, using firearm butts. The prisoners had to relieve themselves while the door was wide open with a policeman standing next to him, noting that the restroom was only 50 meters away from the yard.

The prisoners were not allowed to urinate in the toilets. They were ordered to do that at the fence at the end of the yard. After urinating, they were ordered to wallow in their urine and return to their sleeping location and stay in the open yard afterwards. This situation lasted for ten days.

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