Ali Hasan was 22 years old when he was arrested along with his two cousins at their house in the Karanah area. During the period of the investigation, Ali was subjected to numerous human rights violations. He was tortured in order to obtain confessions from him and suffered a serious hand injury as a result; this was not mentioned in court despite his examination by a forensic doctor. He was found guilty in a mass trial on 31 January 2021, for joining a terrorist cell. He remains in Dry Dock Detention Center awaiting his transfer to Jau Prison.
On 16 January 2020 at dawn, Special Forces and CID officers in civilian clothes, who witnesses saw carrying Ali’s photo with them, raided Ali’s house in the Karanah area to arrest him. His two cousins who were sleeping with him in the house were also arrested and charged in the same case.
Ali was not brought to a judge in the first days after the arrest; instead he was taken to the investigations building to be interrogated. He was later transferred to Building 15 of Jau Prison, then to the Police Academy. There, he was tortured throughout the three-week-long investigation in an effort to get him to confess to the charges raised against him. Investigation and civilian officers from the Ministry of Interior blindfolded Ali before repeatedly subjecting him to slaps on his body (particularly his ears) and psychological torture. He was also hit on the head, and his hair was pulled forcefully so there would not be traces of bodily harm. At first, Ali hid the truth to refrain from worrying his family. However, his family later found out that he had been brutally attacked to such an extent that he was close to death. One of his hands also got injured and its skin was removed. He was then transferred to a forensic doctor who confirmed the existence of the injury.
Ali was charged with forming a terrorist group supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, to carry out several terrorist operations in Bahrain and receive sums of money that he distributed to the families of the martyrs. After being tortured, he did not confess to the accusation of forming the group but admitted to distributing money to help the families of the martyrs. The forensic doctor’s report confirming the hand injury resulting from his torture was not submitted to the judge. On 31 January 2021, Ali was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ali had been arrested by authorities twice before. The first time he was arrested was in the Manama area in 2012 or 2013 when he was then taken to the juvenile center for two days, before being released on bail. He was arrested for a second time on 1 February 2015, after being seriously injured in the Sannabis area, where the security forces used excessive force to disperse gatherers who were performing a religious ritual. He was subsequently transferred to Salmaniya Hospital to receive treatment, as his jaw was injured and he had lost three teeth. There, he was interrogated and placed under heavy guard. He was released and sent home, but authorities arrested him a week after his discharge from hospital and accused him of fabricating the case. He was sentenced to four years in prison in this case. He was released after completing his sentence and nearly a year later he was arrested again with regard to the current case.
Due to his urgent need for treatment for the injuries he sustained after his second arrest, and the high cost of surgery in Bahrain, his mother took him to the Islamic Republic of Iran for a month and a half. There he underwent jaw surgery, before returning to Bahrain on the condition that he would travel to Iran again at a later date to complete the dental implant operation he urgently needed. His January 2020 arrest stopped this from happening. Considering his health and physical condition after undergoing surgery, and the deterioration of his psychological well being (for which he was receiving treatment), he would not have been capable of performing the terrorist operations authorities have accused him of. His family are increasingly worried about his health due to his incomplete treatment.
The mistreatment Ali has suffered at the hands of Bahraini authorities, from his arrest to the torture and mistreatment he endured during detention, constitute violations of the Bahraini constitution and international law. This includes the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which were ratified by Bahrain. ADHRB calls upon the authorities to drop the preselected charges against Ali and to investigate claims of torture and inhumane treatment by investigation officers at the Police Academy and to hold those officials accountable. Finally, ADHRB urges Bahraini authorities to provide Ali with the necessary medical care going forward and uphold international standards of a fair trial.
