15 August 2017 – Ebtisam Al-Sayegh has resumed her hunger strike since Sunday 13 August. A credible prison source told BIRD that Ebtisam fears contracting tuberculosis and is hunger striking against her ill-treatment in Isa Town Detention Centre. The prison conditions appear to have deteriorated because the authorities are holding Ebtisam in isolation in a cell normally reserved for very ill inmates.
The human rights defender was arrested in July by the National Security Agency and subjected to a month of daily interrogations, some lasting over 12 hours a day. She has since been charged under Bahrain’s anti-terrorism law. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) condemns the continued reprisals against Ebtisam’s human rights work.
Ebtisam, detained since her arbitrary arrest on 3 July 2017, is being kept in an isolation room normally reserved for ill detainees in Isa Town Women’s Prison. The prison authorities bar her from mixing with other Bahraini political prisoners, who are held on a separate floor. She is only allowed out of her cell for meals and one hour allotted in the courtyard.
Ebtisam’s hunger strike began on 13 August. She is requesting to be treated like a normal inmate. Ebtisam was previously on hunger strike from her arrest until 1 August, ending it when she was finally allowed to see her family. Her health has deteriorated in detention, and she has been transferred to the Ministry of Interior Hospital at least twice, the last time on 3 August.
The treatment of Ebtisam, who has been held in isolation over six weeks in detention, appears to constitute prolonged solitary confinement. Rule 44 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) defines solitary confinement as “the confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact. Prolonged solitary confinement shall refer to solitary confinement for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days.”
The prison’s insistence to hold Ebtisam in isolation, in a room intended for the sick, also appears to be impacting the health and safety of the rest of the prison. A credible source states two non-Bahraini inmates have contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, and the bathroom Ebtisam shares with other inmates is contaminated with their blood from vomit. There do not appear to be adequate safeguards of detainee health, and there is a risk of the spread of infectious diseases. The prison conditions are reportedly filthy.
Reprisals Against Hajar Mansoor Hassan
Another political prisoner, Hajar Mansoor Hassan, has been singled out for reprisals for complaining to the Ombudsman. Hajar Mansoor is the mother-in-law of Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, BIRD’s Director of Advocacy. Hajar, her son and her nephew were arrested in March 2017 in what Human Rights Watch described as a “cowardly attempt to break the resolve of an activist by attacking his family.” She is currently in pre-trial detention, and faces trial in September on criminal charges.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior Ombudsman – a body which UN experts and the Committee Against Torture have criticised as lacking independence, professionalism and thoroughness – visited Isa Town Women’s Prison on 10 August to receive complaints. Hajar Mansoor submitted a complaint to the effect that she has been prevented from visiting her son in detention for several months, despite previously being allowed to do so.
After the Ombudsman left the prison, prison officer Lieutenant Maryam Bahar told Hajar Mansoor that because she had complained against them, she would face punishment.
Further Information: Ebtisam Al-Sayegh and the NSA
According to Ebtisam’s lawyer, the National Security Agency is responsible for Ebtisam Al-Sayegh’s 3 July arrest and subsequent interrogation and prosecution. A January 2017 decree granted the NSA law enforcement powers in terrorism cases; Ebtisam’s is the first known case where the NSA has been solely responsible for criminal investigation.
In May 2017, the NSA summoned Ebtisam to their offices at Muharraq Security Complex. There she was detained for seven hours, tortured and sexually abused Al-Sayegh. In an interview with BIRD, Al-Sayegh told BIRD: “The interrogator said ‘We are not the Criminal Investigation Directorate, we are the intellegence, and I am called the Torturer, my hobby is torture, my profession is to torture. I have the art of torture.’ He feels he is a torturer, and if I scream from now till tomorrow in this building, no one will be able to hear me or save me, not rights groups, not the UN, nothing.” Ebtisam was released, but threatened with reprisals if she continued her work – a threat which has been carried out.
Sheikh Talal bin Mohammad Al Khalifa was appointed Director of the NSA in August 2016. Sheikh Talal, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, is the son of a former Minister of Interior and brother to Sheikh Fawaz, the ambassador in London.
The NSA has offices in Muharraq Police Station. Human rights groups have recorded a rise in allegations of torture and arbitrary detentions by the NSA since April 2016.
Systematic torture by the NSA in 2011 was recorded by the BICI, which led to the stripping of their powers. In April 2011, businessman Karim Al-Fakhrawi was tortured to death in NSA custody.
]]>19 July 2017 – Woman activist Ebtisam Al-Sayegh was charged yesterday under the anti-terrorism law after two weeks of daily interrogations and torture. Under the anti-terrorism law, she may be detained for up to six months without trial. Al-Sayegh was sexually assaulted by National Security Agency officers in May and threatened with charges under the anti-terrorism law if she persisted in her human rights activities.
Yesterday, four UN Experts including Dubravka Simonivic, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, condemned the “alleged arbitrary detention of Bahraini human rights defender Ebtisam Al-Saegh (sic) amid reports she has been tortured and sexually abused and is now on hunger strike.” They called for an investigation into her torture. The US State Department called for her release last week.
The Public Prosecution’s statement, published on state-run Bahrain News Agency and in English by the Bahrain Embassy in London, does not name Al-Sayegh but the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy has confirmed she is one of the four defendants accused of using human rights.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, BIRD: “Bahrain is using the terrorism banner to justify the horrific abuses Ebtisam went through. They are shooting the messenger for exposing the violations instead of investigating the widespread problem of torture and culture of impunity among the security forces.”
Al-Sayegh and her co-defendants are accused of using human rights work as a cover for “rioting, vandalism and terrorism.” One of the suspects is believed to be Radhi Al-Qatari, an activist who was arrested after a protest in May, in which police killed five demonstrators. The UN has called the killings unlawful.
Al-Sayegh was arrested on 3 July and has been subject to continuous, daily interrogations in an unknown location for up to 13 hours a day. The interrogations are believed to be conducted by the NSA. At nights, she is detained in the Isa Town Women’s Prison. The intense interrogations have led to a serious health deterioration in Ebtisam’s health.
There are currently 11 female political prisoners in Isa Town, including Al-Sayegh. Among them is Hajar Mansoor Hassan, the mother-in-law of BIRD’s Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei.
Previous Arrest and Torture
Ebtisam Al-Sayegh was detained and interrogated for 7 hours on 26 May 2017 by the NSA in Muharraq, during which she was sexually abused. The summons was in relation to her human rights activities: Al-Sayegh had been documenting the abuses in Duraz, where police killed five protesters and arrested nearly 300 more on 23 May. The UN has called the killings unlawful.
While there, NSA agents tortured and sexually abused Al-Sayegh. In an interview with BIRD, Al-Sayegh told BIRD: “The interrogator said ‘We are not the Criminal Investigation Directorate, we are the intelligence, and I am called the Torturer, my hobby is torture, my profession is to torture. I have the art of torture.’ He feels he is a torturer, and if I scream from now till tomorrow in this building, no one will be able to hear me or save me, not rights groups, not the UN, nothing.”
Al-Sayegh was also detained in March on her return from Geneva, where she had participated in the UN Human Rights Council. In June, the UN human rights experts called on Bahrain to “halt its orchestrated crackdown on civil society.”
National Security Agency (NSA)
In January, the King of Bahrain empowered the NSA with law enforcement powers, reversing one of the only Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) reforms his government had implemented since the 2011 Arab Spring events.
Sheikh Talal bin Mohammad Al Khalifa was appointed Director of the NSA in August 2016. Sheikh Talal, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, is the son of a former Minister of Interior and brother to Sheikh Fawaz, the ambassador in London.
Systematic torture by the NSA in 2011 was recorded by the BICI, which led to the stripping of their powers. In April 2011, businessman Karim Al-Fakhrawi was tortured to death in NSA custody.
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BIRD condemns the arbitrary reprisals against Ebtisam human rights work. BIRD warns that she was tortured and sexually abused by authorities in May, and that her lengthy interrogations and health deterioration. She is at a very high risk of ill-treatment or torture.
The US State Department called for her release yesterday, 13 July: “We continue to do is call upon the authorities in Bahrain to not only ensure she has access to adequate medical care, but also to release her. We’re also aware of some disturbing reports that she was abused, allegedly, during her detention back in May. We continue to urge the Bahraini authorities to investigate those allegations and thoroughly, impartially, and hold anyone who was responsible for that to the appropriate account.”
Amnesty International has also released a statement today.
Ebtisam, who was arrested on 3 July, has been subjected to continuous, daily interrogations lasting over twelve hours. On 12 July, she was taken to be interrogated at an unknown location for 18 hours, from 9 AM to 3 AM. On 13 July, she was taken for interrogation at 12 PM and returned around 3 AM. Inmates could hear her screaming, crying and banging on her door in solitary confinement. The inmates were transferred to a section of a prison where she could not be heard.
These lengthy interrogations have occurred daily since her arrest 11 days ago. Officers believed to be from the National Security Agency have interrogated and ill-treated her. These interrogations last from morning until night, for up to 13 hours a day.
Ebtisam was also on hunger strike in protest of her arbitrary detention and denial of access to her lawyer and family. Her lawyer has been prevented from attending her interrogations and she has been barred from meeting her family. The intense interrogations have led to a serious health deterioration in Ebtisam’s health. She suffers an irregular heartbeat, tingling in her left hand, low sugar levels and blood pressure and abdominal bloating caused by irritable bowel syndrome. She was treated at the Ministry of Interior clinic, then returned for further interrogations.
Since Ebtisam’s arrest last week, the women’s prison has been under lock down. She was allowed to receive clothes at Isa Town prison for the first time earlier this week, after 7 days of detention.
In May, NSA agents interrogated and sexually abused her (see below). The NSA is a law enforcement body run by Talal Al Khalifa, a royal family member and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst graduate.
Forces arrested woman human rights defender Ebtisam Al-Sayegh at 11.45 PM (GMT+3) in a raid on her home. Masked, civilian-clothed officers conducted the arrest. BIRD has spoken to Ebtisam’s family, who believe she was arrested by members of the NSA. No arrest warrant was presented. Their home was raided again days later, and all the family’s mobile phones were confiscated.
No charges have been brought against Ebtisam.
Previous Arrest and Torture
On 26 May 2017, Al-Sayegh was summoned to Muharraq Police Station for questioning: there she was detained and tortured by NSA officers. The summons was in relation to her human rights activities: Al-Sayegh had been documenting the abuses in Duraz, where police killed five protesters and arrested nearly 300 more on 23 May. The UN has called the killings unlawful.
While there, NSA agents tortured and sexually abused Al-Sayegh. In an interview with BIRD, Al-Sayegh told BIRD: “The interrogator said ‘We are not the Criminal Investigation Directorate, we are the intellegence, and I am called the Torturer, my hobby is torture, my profession is to torture. I have the art of torture.’ He feels he is a torturer, and if I scream from now till tomorrow in this building, no one will be able to hear me or save me, not rights groups, not the UN, nothing.”
Al-Sayegh was blindfolded during the interrogation. She told BIRD: “He said ‘Extend your hand, what is this?’ I touched it, it was a sandal. He said, ‘I will use it to hit you over the head if you don’t answer.'”
“There was more than one man. They used their hands. I could hear the sound and heat of a lighter close to me. He was smoking throughout the interrogation and this lighter, in his hand, he kept lighting it. I was thinking, will he burn me? It was very close to me and I could feel its heat. I could hear the electric machine, but they didn’t use it. I heard it close to me.”
Al-Sayegh described to BIRD being sexually abused by the interrogator. She told BIRD: “I said, ‘Don’t touch me! Why do you touch me? Don’t touch me.’ He replied to me, ‘Don’t say to me violation, say to me: interrogation. In interrogations, we can do what we want. We are now in an interrogation. If I hear the word violation—’ and he hit me on the head.”
Amnesty International reported on her torture: “When she arrived [at Muharraq], she was immediately blindfolded, and in the subsequent hours, she was sexually assaulted, beaten all over her body, kicked in the stomach and kept standing for most of the seven hours she was being interrogated.” Read Amnesty International’s statement on Ebtisam Al-Sayegh here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/6392/2017/en/
Al-Sayegh was also detained in March on her return from Geneva, where she had participated in the UN Human Rights Council. In June, the UN human rights experts called on Bahrain to “halt its orchestrated crackdown on civil society.”
National Security Agency (NSA)
In January, the King of Bahrain empowered the NSA with law enforcement powers, reversing one of the only Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) reforms his government had implemented since the 2011 Arab Spring events.
Sheikh Talal bin Mohammad Al Khalifa was appointed Director of the NSA in August 2016. Sheikh Talal, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, is the son of a former Minister of Interior and brother to Sheikh Fawaz, the ambassador in London.
The NSA has offices in Muharraq Police Station. Human rights groups have recorded a rise in allegations of torture and arbitrary detentions by the NSA since April 2016.
Systematic torture by the NSA in 2011 was recorded by the BICI, which led to the stripping of their powers. In April 2011, businessman Karim Al-Fakhrawi was tortured to death in NSA custody.
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