On March 3, 2025, ADHRB delivered an intervention at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 58th session under item 3 during the Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Adhrb drew the council’s attention to the ongoing torture in Bahrain’s prisons, where political prisoners, especially minors, endure beatings, insults, prolonged isolation, and medical neglect.
We draw the council’s attention to the ongoing torture in Bahrain’s prisons, where political prisoners, especially minors, endure beatings, insults, prolonged isolation, and medical neglect. Authorities systematically use torture to extract confessions and silence dissent, clearly violating international human rights laws and children’s rights.
One example is 17-year-old Abbas Muslim Juma, arbitrarily arrested on 26 August 2024 for participating in peaceful gatherings. He was beaten during investigations, suffering a severe head injury and receiving inadequate medical care. He was sentenced to one year and a half in prison, with trials based on coerced confessions. He still awaits trial in other cases relying on the same forced confessions, facing a likely sentence increase.
Prison officials further punish detained minors with isolation and denied phone calls. For example, 16-year-old Mohammed Isa Khatam was denied family contact and outdoor cell time for a week simply for “speaking loudly”.
We ask the Rapporteur: What measures should be taken to hold those responsible for torturing minors accountable?
