Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Early Friday morning on June 26, 2015 (9th of Ramadan), Bahraini security forces launched Indiscriminate house raid campaigns against Al-Qarya village in Al-Janbiya street. The campaign targeted about 15 youths, including 4 children: Sayed Jaafar, Sayed Omran, Fadel Abdulaziz and Ali Hussein. Some of the young men had blocked the main road (Al-Janbiya Street) on the occasion of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In Bahrain, this action alone can lead to launching a widespread campaign of arrests and harsh jail sentences. The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is held annually on 26 June to speak out against the crimes of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world.

Child Jaafar Mousa (16 years) did not know that being on the phone with his friend Sayed Omran on the moment of his arrest will lead him to go to prison too. Few minutes later, security forces surrounded Mousa's home. He panicked when he saw them and wondered how he would escape. He found that his great grandparent's house, next to his home, was the only way out, so he leaped over there.

Sayed Jaafar suffers from an disablity in his arm which prevents him from depending on himself in managing to do many things, so how could he contribute to blocking a main road? He also suffers from asthma, which makes him suffocate in case he smells tear gas. In addition, Sayed Jaafar was not in his village that night, since he was participating in a bicycle tournament that was held in the area leading to the Formula 1 track. The race ended at 2 A.M. Mousa had his pre-dawn meal with his friends and returned home after morning prayer to face his unknown fate.

His mother was surprised when the security forces raided their home, carefully searched Mousa's belongings and asked her about him and his whereabouts before showing her a warrant stating that he has to head immediately to the Criminal Investigations Department. The security forces then left the house and it was but a few minutes before Mousa's mother was surprised to see the security forces heading to the house of Mousa's grandparents where he was hiding. He was arrested and his mobile phone was confiscated.

"I saw him handcuffed from behind and being taken to the bus." This was the last thing Mousa's mother saw when he was arrested. She rushed towards him to give him a hug yet the security forces prevented her from doing so. She went back home with a broken heart. She knows that he is terrified of these forces.

"He is my only child. He is fatherless. He suffers from a disability in his right arm and has a fracture in his jaw. He also suffers from asthma. How could he be locked up behind bars in cells of torture," she said.

She recalled all the moments that she lived with him since the day he was born to this day. She helps him wear his socks and shoes, button his shirts and open his closed food containers and many other things that he can't do without her. He can't help be far from her as the other boys of the same age.

Jaafar lost his father when he was nine years old. He has three sisters. He took upon himself playing the role of the father and became the man of the house.

He always used to tell his mother: "I am the man of this house." His mother depends on him to meet a lot of the household requirements and needs. He usually does not leave the home. He loves to be with his mother and sisters. He does everything his mother needs inside the house despite his disability: "he changes light bulbs, fixes door locks and helps in kitchen."

On his first visit, i.e. after about 11 days, Jaafar wept bitterly. His mother couldn't understand what he was  saying because he was choking in tears. He repeated "They beat me. They beat me. They spit in my face." His mother tried to ease his pain and remind him that he is a strong man, yet he kept on crying in all the following visits. He asked her to get him out of jail and take him to another place, other than his village and home. "I don't want to go there again," he told his mother.

The only sport he loves and practices is cycling. He enrolled in a club in Bani Jamra and participated with his simple bike in many tournaments. However, because he was serious and committed, the club provided him with a new high-quality bicycle. His last participation in this sport was a few hours before his arrest.

With the innocence of childhood, Sayed Jafaar told his mother that the officer made him choose the charge he wants to bring against him. "What charge do you want?" said the officer. Jaafar ; however, was surprised to face another charge: "a Fake Bomb."

On Monday (August 3, 2015) Jaafar waited for the Public Prosecution's decision. Jaafar won't be surprised to have another charge brought against him despite his disability or even another bomb related charged despite his orphanage or illness.

Arabic Issue