On March 20, 2025, Americans for Democracy and human rights in Bahrain delivered an intervention during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council. In its intervention under Item 4, ADHRB highlighted Bahrain’s escalating degrading treatment of political prisoners in Jau Prison, violating the Nelson Mandela Rules.
We express deep concern over Bahrain’s ongoing degrading treatment of political prisoners in Jau Prison, violating the Nelson Mandela Rules.
Following the death of political prisoner Husain Aman on 5 December 2024 after years of medical neglect, prisoners protested their inhumane conditions and demanded accountability. In response, authorities escalated reprisals, forcing inmates to remain handcuffed even while eating, visiting the clinic, or using the toilet, restricting movement within cells, and limiting outdoor time to just one hour per day, during which they remain restrained.
The most alarming of these reprisals is medical neglect, worsened by the spread of skin diseases due to unhygienic prison conditions. One example is AbdulJabbar Isa Mohamed, whose health has deteriorated from lack of medical treatment. After visiting him post-isolation, his family reported he is denied necessary healthcare and medication despite suffering from severe skin conditions. Instead of receiving treatment, he was placed in solitary confinement for five days on 28 January 2025 as a punitive measure.
We call on the Council to pressure Bahrain to end these retaliatory measures and adhere to the Nelson Mandela Rules.
