Bahrain Mirror: 138 coalitions, networks, and human rights organizations issued a memorandum demanding the release of all prisoners of conscience in Bahrain amid Coronavirus outbreak.

The statement was signed by actors from several countries: 26 from Tunisia, 16 from Jordan, 12 from Iraq, 10 from Morocco, 10 from Palestine, 18 from Yemen, 12 from Egypt, 6 from Lebanon, 5 from Syria, 2 each from Mauritania, Sudan, and Libya, 4 from Bahrain, and 1 each from Algeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

The memorandum was addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Ms. Michel Bachelet, the deputies of the European Parliament, the member states of the Human Rights Council, and the international human rights institutions. It was sent in five languages ​​(Arabic, English, Spanish, French, and Russian) to several representative actors of these bodies in some countries.

The memorandum noted that "We, the signatories of this memorandum, invite you to urgently address the Bahraini authorities and call for the release of all prisoners of conscience; to call for the allowance of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to visit Bahrain to monitor prison conditions and investigate the death of the victim of torture and medical neglect, Abbas Malullah."

"The most severe forms of torture and ill-treatment in recent years that has been detected in prisons is the ‘denial of medical care'. From January 2018 to March 15, 2021, there were 776 cases of violations of the right to receive appropriate and necessary medical treatment."

The memorandum continued that "the deterioration of prison conditions in previous cases has caused many complaints and led to many protests that demand prison administrations to meet the minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The most prominent of these protests were unrest at Dry Dock Prison in 2013, and the unrest at Jaw Central Prison in 2015."

Arabic Version