Rights activists charge Bahrain police of sexual assault, psychological abuse
Manama, May 17 ANI: A prominent Bahraini rights activist tried to tell a judge how he was sexually assaulted and threatened with rape while in government custody, but Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was forcefully removed from the courtroom. Another defendant, the elderly Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Jawad, also tried to show the judge signs of torture on his body, but was also silenced, say witnesses. Khawaja and Jawad are among 21 Bahrainis - mostly Shiite human rights activists, clerics, and political leaders - charged with trying to overthrow the Sunni monarchy that rules this small kingdom and of having links to a "terrorist organization." They were arrested amid the country's pro-democracy uprising that began in February and though many have experienced jail before, family members say they have been treated much more harshly this time. "It has never been like this," says Khawaja's wife, Khadija Moussawi, who was present at the court hearing today and was reached by phone in Manama. "Before he was in jail, but he wasn't tortured like this, he wasn't beaten up like this, he wasn't psychologically tortured." According to the Bahrain News Agency, the 21 defendants on trial now face life in prison or the death sentence if convicted. The defendants are not allowed to see their lawyers except for 10-15 minutes after each hearing, and are not permitted to speak with them alone, say family members. Those brief intervals after the hearings are also the only chance families have to speak with their imprisoned relatives. Last week, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced that emergency declared in March would be lifted June 1. Supplementary elections will be held in September to replace the parliamentary members who resigned over the government crackdown. ANI
Posted by aniin on Wednesday May 18  reply


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