Husain Jaafar Mohamed was a 19-year-old Bahraini student when he was arrested in 2014, which prevented him from completing his studies. After being convicted in multiple cases, he is currently serving his prison sentence in Jau Prison, and has been denied contact with his family on multiple occasions.
Husain was pursued by authorities for around two years and received multiple summonses to attend court. As a result, he turned himself in at Al-Budaiya Police Station on 11 October 2014. Three days after his arrest, on 14 October, Husain was transferred to New Dry Dock Prison for convicts under 21, as a judgment had already been issued against him. Husain was sentenced in several cases, some of which his family is not even aware of, and on various charges including robbery, illegal assembly and rioting, manufacture and possession of reusable canisters, damage through negligence, and establishing a terrorist cell. He was sentenced to ten years in prison on 11 June 2015, in a mass trial involving 50 other defendants, known as the 61 Cell Case. His combined sentences reached 30 years in prison, his appeal was rejected, and the verdict was upheld.
After incarceration, Husain’s eyesight worsened, especially in his left eye, and his family had to switch his glasses twice. Authorities denied him his right to continue his education in prison, and also repeatedly denied him contact with his family, as his news was cut off for a while in April 2021, right before the 17 April attack, as well as in May 2021. He had been transferred to Jau Prison in 2016 after turning 21 years old.
In addition, Husain contracted Coronavirus in prison. He called his family on 1 June 2021 to tell them he had been infected for 6 days, and the test result was obtained on 2 June 2021 confirming he was infected. The authorities did not call his family, and they isolated Husain with a group of infected prisoners in one of the buildings in Jau Prison, where he was not allowed out of his cell to get fresh air and move his body. Medical staff checked and monitored his oxygen levels and symptoms every day, but prison facilities, cells, and public spaces were not regularly cleaned and disinfected. The prisoners in Jau Prison had not been informed of the general situation regarding the virus in prison and were not provided with information on precautionary measures they should take individually to prevent transmission of the virus. Husain recovered on 7 June 2021 when, according to the Ministry of Health application, his PCR result came out negative.
Bahraini authorities’ actions against Husain, from his arrest to his treatment in prison, are in violation of international laws and standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Mandela Rules. As such, ADHRB calls upon Bahrain to uphold its human rights obligations by annulling Husain’s convictions in absence of incriminatory evidence against him and ensuring that any subsequent retrial is consistent with international standards of due process and fair trial rights. ADHRB also urges the authorities to provide the victim and all prisoners with proper and timely medical treatment.
