A report by BBC Arabic revealed that more than 90 Bahraini prisoners in Bahrain’s central prison, Jau Prison, have gone on an open-ended hunger strike. The prisoners are demanding their unconditional release and an improvement in their detention conditions. This is not the first time that prisoners in Jau Prison have staged a hunger strike; previous strikes were also carried out to demand better living conditions and unconditional release.
A prisoner told the BBC that the protests began on October 6, when the prisoners sent messages to the prison administration demanding their “right to freedom.” After the administration ignored their demands, the prisoners first refused to receive breakfast and then dinner, before deciding on October 14 to go on an open-ended hunger strike.
The prisoner said that the strike has entered its second week, with around 90 political prisoners participating. He added that the health condition of some prisoners has significantly deteriorated, with some experiencing severe drops in blood sugar levels, and others fainting and being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
The prisoner said, “We will continue our strike, raising our voices from behind bars, defending our right to freedom that has been long awaited, despite repeated promises and widespread public demands to end this file.”
He added that some prisoners have been detained since the 2011 Arab Spring protests, with some serving 15 years without any prospect of release, despite the release of a limited number of political prisoners in the past two years.
The prisoner also mentioned that the Bahraini king’s statements that “the place of the nation’s youth is not in prison” have not been reflected in reality, with many still detained for demanding legitimate political rights.
The prisoner highlighted the suffering that prisoners have endured during their years of detention, including torture, medical neglect that led to the death of some prisoners, and restrictions on water, electricity, and air conditioning, as well as reduced food rations.
Ali Al-Shuaykh, a prisoner who started a hunger strike on October 6, demanding his unconditional release, said that the movement quickly expanded to include other prisoners.
Human rights reports indicate that Ali Al-Shuikh is a Bahraini opposition figure who was arrested after being deported from the Netherlands to Bahrain in 2018, after his asylum request was rejected. He is currently serving a life sentence in Jau Prison, based on confessions that human rights reports say were extracted under torture.
Bahraini human rights defender Ali Al-Hajji, a former prisoner in Jau Prison, confirmed that the strike is a protest against continued detention and a demand for the unconditional release of all “prisoners of conscience.”
He described the humanitarian situation inside the prison as extremely alarming, with the health condition of several prisoners deteriorating, and the authorities responding by imposing collective punishments on other buildings not involved in the strike.
Al-Hajji added that the root of the crisis lies not only in poor services or living conditions but in the political detention itself, emphasizing that the message the political prisoners are sending revolves around two fundamental demands: dignity and freedom.
Source: BBC
