Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, many demonstrations have taken to the streets of Bahrain in protest. Minors participating in said demonstrations were not spared from the arbitrary mass arrests of protestors. Despite supposed clemency from the ruling family of Bahrain in the form of an official pardon, many minors are kept in prison by authorities.
One tactic used to keep Bahraini minors in prison is to charge incarcerated minors with additional charges. First, minors are arrested, often without a warrant, for taking part in demonstrations. Then, while incarcerated, additional charges are brought against the minors in order to keep them locked up. This ensures that minors and adults alike are kept inside the prison system, where they often face abuses and torture.
In April 2024, a royal pardon was declared in order to clear the prisons of minors incarcerated because of taking part in the peaceful protests. This has done little to protect minors from arbitrary arrests and the leveling of additional charges after arrest. Multiple minors have been arrested since the pardon, while others still remain in prison post-pardon on new charges. Several examples highlight how the government has used the pardon to avoid criticism while simultaneously carrying out the arrests and detentions of children in the same manner as before.
Take the cases of Abbas Muslim AbdAli, Ali Husain Matrook Abdulla, and AbdulAziz Husain AlHammadi. The three minors were arrested on political charges and sentenced to six months on the 27th of January 2025. 15 days later on the 11th of February, Bahraini authorities charged the minors with multiple additional charges of unlawful assembly related to participating in protests. Thus, extending their sentence to 18 months.
Though all three have suffered during their incarceration, things look especially bleak for Ali Husain Matrook Abdulla. Since receiving additional sentencing, Ali has been medically neglected with the issue stemming from an exposure of his front teeth after nerve extraction and gum surgery. When Ali was free, he received special medical treatment for the dental pain. While incarcerated, authorities have ignored his need for medical attention despite his pleas. Ali recently fainted from the pain, collapsing to the floor.
He claims that authorities have provided inmates with insufficient and poor-quality food or food that is inedible. The holy month of Ramadan only added to the misery that Ali faced. Poor-quality food was provided for Iftar, the meal that is eaten at sunset to break the fast, and inmates often resorted to eating crumbs for the Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal.
Despite the royal pardon, the minors of Bahrain continue to face abuse by the hands of authorities. The illusion of clemency was nothing more than a ruse to save face and has done nothing to stem the tide of arbitrary arrests of minors. Minors have been sentenced and then resentenced multiple times as a means of keeping these peaceful dissidents imprisoned on phony charges for as long as possible. Multiple charges are a tool of the Bahraini government to suppress minors within the country.
