BAHRAIN: Activist describes electroshock, torture by government forces
After reports this week of security forces in Bahrain torturing detainees, particularly medical personnel, Babylon & Beyond spoke with Mohammed Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights who has been working to document human rights abuses in the capital, Manama, and throughout the Gulf nation with international partners such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Q: What is your focus now?
A: On Thursday the first nurse got sentenced in Bahrain, his name is Hassan Matooq. He is also a photographer, he took photos of all the injured people who came to the hospital. They charged him with four charges: torturing the injured, illegal gathering, participating in a rally and also broadcasting false news. He was sentenced to three years.
If he has only four charges and he is sentenced to four years, we are very afraid for the 47 medical staff (in custody), many of them have more than 10 charges against them.
Q: Why are medical personnel being detained?
A: They helped the injured and they are witnesses. If the government wants to destroy all the evidence, it’s one answer -- you accuse medical staff because the main witness of what happened in Salmaniya Hospital, the number of figures of the injured and what kind of weapons were used at that time, was the medical staff. The medical staff know everything.
Q: Have you spoken with any of the medical personnel?
Q: How many people did you speak with?
A: More than 30. Six talked about the doctors.
Q: Were the doctors treated differently than other detainees?
A: Yes, they get more torture. Some doctors, a very famous doctor, we don’t want to announce his name, they forced him to dance to music and they filmed.
Q: Was that meant to shame him?
A: We don’t know. All of those who were released talk about the security forces forcing them to chant for the government. Some of them forced them to say bad words about another opposition leader. Some of them more than 10 days they were handcuffed with plastic ones, not the normal handcuffs, and blindfolded.
Q: There have been reports police used electroshock on the detainees -- did anyone tell you about that? What did they say was done to them?
A: Yes. You know an electric shaver? It looks like that but it is for electroshock. What was explained to us, it is the same size, the same style, but it shocks.
Q: How would police use that in interrogations?
A: They say they put it for 10 seconds, then they take it. Some of them, they say, they say they put it on sensitive places.
Q: Where would they put it?
A: On the back, on the head. Some of them they put it down in their private parts. But they don’t put it more than 10 seconds.
Q: Did they use electroshock on women too?
A: I didn’t hear that for women, only from the men. They have different things for women. Some of the women said they showed them torturing a man in front of them. Some of the women, they only let them hear the shouting of a man in another room and they told them if you will not confess, you will face the same thing.
Q: Are you recording what detainees tell you and what do you plan to do with that information?
A: We are writing it down and sending it to the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights. We urgently need immediate investigations of all these allegations of torture. Four individuals have died in custody. This sends the message that you need urgent investigations.
Q: Who are the four that died?
A: They are not doctors. One is a businessman, the co-founder of Al Wafat newspaper. One of them is a blogger running a political website. Two of them are protesters.
Q: Were they tortured before they died?
A: Yes, all of them were tortured before they died. I am not saying that without evidence -- we have pictures of their bodies before they were taken to the funeral. Their bodies showed how they were tortured -- they had bruises everywhere and they were turning black.
Q: Are you afraid for your own safety?
A: Actually, on April 9 I was with Abdul Hadi, the human rights defender, at his daughter’s place when he was arrested. I got beaten there and Abdul Hadi was beaten in front of me. He was unconscious. They released me in only half an hour because they ... recognized me. But I got afraid.
I get threatening calls that if I do not stop my human rights work they will kill me.
Q: What did you do?
A: I informed the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights. Abdul Hadi is among the 21 [opposition leaders] on trial. The second hearing will be Monday.
Q: Do you plan to go to the trial?
A: They don’t allow us to go to the trial. They don’t allow international organizations [to go]. We are actually trying to push the international community to take action about the human rights violations in Bahrain, to push the international organizations to investigate who is missing. Still we have people missing we don’t know about their situation, people arrested in Salmaniya Hospital who were injured and we know they need medical assistance.
Q: How many people are missing?
A: More than 26 are missing and who is detained is more than 900. We are trying to document every case. The problem is, we have a lot of cases and a few volunteers. Most of them are hidden because of the situation. We’re trying to work fast.
Q: How many volunteers do you have?
A: We are 10 in different villages.
RELATED:
Timeline: Repression in Bahrain
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo
Photo: Ahmed Juma'a, 20, holds his 7-month-old niece, Marwa, as relatives welcome him home from jail Saturday in the western village of Malkiya, Bahrain. Juma'a was detained last week as part of the crackdown on anti-government protesters, which has netted several hundreds mostly from Shiite Muslim areas such as Malkiya. Credit: Hasan Jamali / Associated Press
Bottom photo: Mohammed Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, has been documenting human rights abuses in Bahrain. Credit: Facebook
Al-Khalifa will never fall, and the GCC is going to stay as it is. The government of Bahrain NEVER harmed the protesters as they claim to. What's ironic is that mots Shiites and Iran are not supporting the protests that are happening in Syria, where there is ACTUAL killing going on unlike the false performances that happened in Bahrain. Women and Children are dying, and yet these people disclaim it and fully support the Syrian Gov. but not everybody, just most of them.
Posted by: A.Z | May 16, 2011 at 03:31 AM
I had a friend who was a Sunni Bahraini and I had to end the friendship when he started talking about an Israeli- Iranian conspiracy to overthrow the monarchy because I realized that despite his medical degree- he was a complete idiot.
I won't even get into the Israel part, but why would Iran, with its own discontented population, possibly truly desire that a nearby regime to be overthrown? Wouldn't that only encourage it's own activists to try to restart the Green Revolution? The Iranians are only doing what they do best, being a bee in the bonnet of Saudi Arabia and the West by voicing support for the Bahraini activists based on the fact that they're Shiaa. I don't think they care that much what happens to the Bahrainis.
Secondly, Sunni Bahrainis whining about mistreatment of Asians by the Shiaa is hilarious! Since when do they care about treatment of Asian workers??? In fact, I would like to ask their Filipina maid and Pakistani driver about how kind and generous their Sunni bosses are.
Complaining about religious secretarianism is stupid, especially when its used to oppose granting rights to the populace. There are plenty of other things to rally around. Rally around being Arab (It will keep the Iranians away too- with the whole Arab-Persian animosity). Go with the liberals and advocate for a more secular society.
I apologize to the Bahraini activists that the world is ignoring you. They must obey their Saudi masters or be deprived of the oil we so desperately need. Please stay strong and I will continue to advocate for you!!
Posted by: MLE | May 15, 2011 at 11:35 AM
So "freedom" and "democracy" are instrumental in service of US interests.
We are not Iran's agents, we are bahraini, we want freedom, both Shai and sunni.
But 40 mosques including a 400 year old architectural treasure were bulldozed; it is a shia Kristallnacht and Iran is scape goat.
No one but Iran is backing us, no one. So from this point on don't act shocked if we turn to Iran. Don't scream terrorist if we have to fight the regime and its backers however we can, fire with fire.
Posted by: ali | May 15, 2011 at 09:04 AM
Khalifa regime and saudi,s are doing in hatred of shia muslims.Demand of equal right is human and they just naming other countries to veil their crimes.Torture on innocent girls and ladies is worst and condemnable.It is the worst practice and only Yazidies can do it ,no muslim.
we request Americans and humanity to take immediate step to stop this holocaust of innocent citizens.God has given the powers to whom should think that these act will not please God if u stand silent or overlook.For God sake it is being done just in hatred of shia muslims nothing else.It is more than shameful as suidies and khalifa's will face justice on day of justice.No government can run with injustice and cruelty.
Posted by: imdasd | May 15, 2011 at 05:34 AM
This trouble in Bahrain has been coming for a long time and it is not going to go away, no matter how much the tacky, inept, self-appointed "rulers" and their illegitimate interventionists from Saudi Arabia try to kill it off.
What is happening in Bahrain is deeply shocking, extreme and irreparable. And if it was happening at a different time from other violent Middle East turmoil, currently raging in Syria, Libya and Yemen, it would receive much more focus and protest from the west.
Those in charge in Bahrain have written themselves into the rubbish bins of history and the clock is ticking on them.
Posted by: kookaburra | May 15, 2011 at 05:08 AM
its shame on such a newspaper to post fake news...we all knew the protests are orchestrated by Iran.....where is the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights from the killing of bangladeshi and indian labours by shiite protests and donot say the goverment did we the bangladeshi and indian expats in Bahrain saw it with our eyes they killed the labours...or because we are from bangladesh no rights for us...i pledge all bangladeshi people from all over the world to file a case against the shia opposition leaders who gave the green light for killing our citizens there were nothing but poor labours.....
Posted by: Hassan Ahmed | May 15, 2011 at 01:58 AM
We al know that it is not for democracy it is protests orchestrated by Iran...am british living in Bahrain....i saw everything i mean everything..so stop lying u killed innocent indian and bangladeshi labours...
Posted by: Hassan Ahmed | May 15, 2011 at 01:46 AM
We, Bahraini, need a help we are killed on front of the world and no action.
Why this tiny regime is ignoring all human right organization?
Why most of, if not all, democtratic countries are silent?
Many questions without answers.
Posted by: Bahraini | May 14, 2011 at 04:43 PM
The Caldron of change in the Middle East and the North African Countries has been simmering since the Stealth President has implemented his plans. The ongoing frustrations of the populist in the Middle East along with the Countries in Northern Africa have presented challenges to all of the leaders of the involved countries.
The Stealth President has made it clear from the beginning of Administration and his first speech in the Middle East that he is willing to extend the hand of peace while at the same time he made it clear that he would not tolerate abuse of the people of the Middle East by terrorist or the leadership.
President Obama demonstrated his position in a graduated increase in the use of Power ... Starting with Egypt then Libya than the attack on Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.
If the President sees that countries are securing terrorist than the President has demonstrated he will do that which is necessary to protect this country. If any leader attempts to destroy their citizens and prevent the citizenry from expressing themselves by killing them then the President will pull together a coalition to stop the treatment of abuse to freedom loving citizens.
If we are directly attacked then the President has demonstrated the attackers will be Captured or Killed. Unlike Bush two who said one thing then does something totally different ….
Let the world be changed by the courage of President Obama’s convictions.
Peace is coming to the Middle East.
**************gaptidbits@yahoo.com***************
Posted by: GordonSantaMonica | May 14, 2011 at 04:31 PM