Ahmed Jasim Mohamed was warrantlessly arrested in 2017, tortured, and sentenced to life imprisonment in an unfair trial. He is currently serving his sentence in Jau Prison and has been held incommunicado since August.
On 13 July 2017, Ahmed’s house was surrounded by at least 10 armored jeeps at 3 a.m., and riot forces and officers in civilian clothes forced an entry into the house with no search or arrest warrant. They videotaped the search and confiscated personal belongings. They arrested Ahmed and his cousin, later releasing his cousin only. Two hours after his arrest, Ahmed called his family to tell them that he was at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID).
Ahmed was placed in a cell with other detainees, and they were all forced to take off their clothes. Officers proceeded to beat, kick, and insult them. Ahmed’s lawyer was not permitted to attend the interrogation, and Ahmed eventually confessed under torture, with his confession being broadcasted on state TV. He had been forcibly disappeared for two weeks following his arrest, after which he called his family and informed them that he was transferred to the Dry Dock Detention Center. Two months after the arrest, Ahmed was able to meet his family for the first time, and traces of torture were still evident on different parts of his body.
Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of financing terrorism. During his transfer to Jau Prison, he was beaten and spit on by the prison guards during his entry. In prison, Ahmed has suffered from medical negligence during a scabies outbreak in 2019, where prisoners would be threatened upon their request to be taken to the clinic and would not receive effective medication even when taken to the clinic. The administration did not allow for hygienic products and cotton clothes to be brought in for him to alleviate his condition. While he was healthy before his imprisonment, he now suffers from different conditions. Since 25 August 2022, Ahmed’s contact with his family has been cut off, where his family has no knowledge of his situation despite pleas to authorities.
Ahmed’s warrantless arrest, torture, and unjust trial constitute a direct violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, which Bahrain is signatory to. Thus, ADHRB demands that Ahmed be immediately and unconditionally released and that his allegations of torture be impartially investigated to hold perpetrators accountable.
