Abbas Muslem AbdulHusain Juma was an 18-year-old school student when Bahraini authorities brutally arrested him on 26 August 2024 without a warrant while he was on his way to his grandfather’s house. During his detention, he has endured torture, denial of family visits, deprivation of lawyer access, unfair trials, and medical neglect. He is currently held in the young convicts section of the Dry Dock Prison, serving a two-year sentence while awaiting trial for other pending cases.
On 26 August 2024, at 8:00 P.M., Abbas was heading to his grandfather’s house in AlMaqsha with his friends when a civilian car stopped. Several masked plainclothes officers emerged and, without warning, assaulted them. They struck Abbas on the body, head, and face, shattering his eyeglasses. The officers forcibly arrested all of them, took them into the car, and continued beating them without presenting any arrest warrant or stating any reason for the arrest or assault. The beatings persisted inside the vehicle as they were transported to the Budaiya Police Station.
After Abbas’ arrest, local residents informed his family about his and his friends’ detention. The family contacted several police stations, but none confirmed his whereabouts. On 27 August 2024, at 1:00 A.M., Abbas was allowed to call his family for the first time, stating that he had been arrested without knowing the charges or reasons for his detention. During the call, he was not permitted to disclose his location. Meanwhile, the families of his friends went to the Budaiya Police Station to inquire about their sons and learned that they were being held there with Abbas.
At Budaiya Police Station, Abbas was interrogated without legal representation on charges of alleged participation in an illegal assembly and committing arson on 24 August 2024. He remained at the station for over two weeks, during which officers repeatedly struck his face and head, splitting open his forehead. They also yelled at him, threatened him, and pressured him to confess or incriminate his friends. Initially, Abbas resisted and denied all accusations, but after days of abuse, he eventually confessed to all charges under coercion, fearing further torture. Following his interrogation, officers transferred him to Roundabout 17 Police Station for a few hours, then to the Public Prosecution Office (PPO), and finally to Dry Dock Prison. While held at Dry Dock, he was repeatedly taken back and forth to the PPO for a month, forced to sign confessions for new cases before being returned to detention. Throughout the entire interrogation period, his family was not allowed to visit him.
On 26 December 2024, the PPO charged Abbas and his friends with 1) arson and 2) illegal assembly, both allegedly committed on 24 August 2024.
Abbas was not brought before a judge within 48 hours of his arrest and was denied legal representation during both interrogation and trial. He was not given adequate time or facilities to prepare for his defense, nor was he able to present evidence or challenge the charges against him, which were ambiguous and made it difficult for him to defend himself. His family could not financially afford a lawyer, and Abbas remains uncertain whether a court-appointed lawyer represented him at trial. Additionally, his false confessions, extracted under torture, were used as evidence against him. On 13 January 2025, after nearly five months in pre-trial detention, Abbas and two other minors—15-year-old Ali Husain Matrook Abdulla and 15-year-old AbdulAziz Husain AlHammadi—were convicted of 1) illegal assembly and 2) arson, receiving six-month prison sentences. On 11 February 2025, the High Criminal Court sentenced Abbas and the same group of friends to an additional one-year prison term in a separate case related to 3) burning tires. After the hearing, Abbas was shocked to learn that the number of cases against him had risen to seven. On 2 March 2025, the court sentenced Abbas and the same group of friends to an additional six months in prison for another 4) illegal assembly case, bringing his total sentence to two years. He is still awaiting trial on four more charges..
Throughout his detention, Abbas’s family was denied visitation. On 21 January 2025, five months after his arrest, they were finally allowed to see him—for the first and only time. The visit coincided with a court session, and Abbas chose to miss the hearing just to see his family. During the visit, they noticed a cut on his forehead and significant weight loss in his face. When they asked about the injury, he appeared fearful and downplayed it, claiming it wasn’t serious and might have been from a fall. However, he eventually admitted—hesitantly and with evident fear—that he had been beaten. He also told them he needed new eyeglasses, as his had been completely broken.
Abbas’s warrantless arrest, torture, denial of family visits, denial of legal counsel, unfair trials, and medical neglect constitute clear violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, all of which Bahrain is a party to.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on the Bahraini authorities to uphold their human rights obligations by immediately and unconditionally releasing Abbas. ADHRB further urges the government to investigate allegations of arbitrary arrest, torture, denial of family visits, denial of legal counsel, and medical negligence, ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable and that Abbas is compensated for the violations he endured. At the very least, ADHRB advocates for a fair retrial for Abbas under the Bahraini Restorative Justice Law for Children and in accordance with international legal standards, leading to his release. ADHRB also calls on authorities to provide Abbas with new eyeglasses and proper medical care for injuries sustained from torture and holds them accountable for any deterioration in his health.
