Bahrain prison inmates are participating in a hunger strike over conditions at Joe Prison, according to activists and authorities.
Ten years after the Arab Spring uprisings, inmates in Bahrain’s prisons are taking part in a hunger strike over conditions there, activists and authorities say, in the latest sign of smoldering unrest in the island kingdom. said.
The attack targeted the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center, a facility housing many prisoners identified by human rights activists as dissidents opposed to the rule of the al-Khalifa family. The country’s Sunni rulers have long faced complaints of discrimination from the island’s Shiite majority.
In a statement released by the outlawed opposition group al-Wefaq, the prisoners said they had begun the hunger strike because prison officials had prevented inmates from praying and from being on lockdown for 23 hours a day. It also alleged that prison officials arbitrarily isolated inmates, prevented family visits, and provided inmates with inadequate medical care. Prisoners are also prohibited from receiving education.
“Our demands are not trivial; they are extremely necessary and required for human life, even at the lowest level known in human history,” the prisoners’ statement said. There is.
The statement said the hunger strike embodies prisoners’ insistence on their fundamental rights and dignity and is a reminder that rights cannot be ignored.
Two prison blocks in Joe began a hunger strike on Monday, while three other blocks began their hunger strikes on Tuesday, said Saeed Ahmed Alwaday, a British exile activist at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. Mr. Alwadai called those in the bloc taking part in the hunger strike “political prisoners.”
Hundreds of political prisoners are on hunger strike in Jau prison #Bahrain
On the second day, more prisoners went on strike demanding:
1) Termination of segregation for prisoners housed in Building 3 and other prisoners housed in the same building as criminal prisoners in violation of the following provisions. pic.twitter.com/9fWshb4Bbx
— Saeed Ahmad Alwadaei (@SAlwadaei) August 8, 2023
Prisoners estimate the number of participants in the strike to be in the hundreds, but Al Jazeera has not been able to independently confirm this. Several people issued audio messages, later shared by activists, confirming the hunger strike.
In response to questions from The Associated Press, Bahrain’s General Authority for Reform and Rehabilitation said some inmates at Joe “returned their meals” on Tuesday. He did not say how many people took part in the hunger strike, but he said Shi’ite Muslims in the prison would commemorate Ashura and claim they would have “full rights” and access to health care.
“To ensure the quality of services provided, authorities will continue to monitor the condition of prisoners who have returned meals and address their concerns within the framework of compliance with the law and respect for human rights,” the government said. the statement said.
Videos posted on social media showed a solidarity protest in the village of Sanabis on the outskirts of the capital Manama. Demonstrators held posters with slogans such as “Save Bahraini prisoners” and “Our sons are in danger.”
Protest in solidarity with prisoners of conscience at Sanavis #Bahrainespecially the one above #hunger strikeand is calling for its release https://t.co/F50Ex5azK9
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 7, 2023
Joe is located at the southern tip of Bahrain. Bahrain is an island in the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia, about the size of New York City, with a population of 1.5 million. Concerns about medical care in prisons had previously been raised by activists.
A recent human rights report on Bahrain by the U.S. Department of State noted that families of prisoners reported an outbreak of tuberculosis in the prison in June 2022. The government denied the reports, but a few months later opened a 24-hour clinic at the prison, the State Department said.
Bahrain, home to the Middle East-based U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has been in the midst of a 10-year hiatus since the 2011 Arab Spring protests, in which the island’s Shiite majority and others called for greater political freedoms. It is in the midst of a crackdown on all forms of opposition.
Since Bahrain crushed the protests with support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it has imprisoned Shiite activists, deported others, stripped hundreds of citizenship, and The newspaper was discontinued.
In 2020, Bahrain formally normalized relations with Israel, and last November, Bahrain hosted Pope Francis’ second visit to the Gulf Arab country.