In Bahrain, hundreds of prisoners have launched a hunger strike to protest the substandard conditions and stringent restrictions imposed on them. Human rights activists and Bahraini authorities confirmed that the strike was launched at the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center, which is mainly used to imprison government critics, dissidents, human rights activists, and pro-democracy campaigners perceived as being against the rule of the Al-Khalifa family.
A statement released on behalf of the prisoners by the banned opposition group Al-Wefaq reported that prison authorities prevent prisoners from performing prayers, arbitrarily place them in solitary confinement, implement prolonged lockdowns for up to 23 hours per day, disrupt family visits, and neglect healthcare for prisoners.
According to reports, the strike was first launched by prisoners in two of the prison blocks on Monday while three other blocks joined on Tuesday.
The prisoners stated that “our demands are not trifles, but very necessary and required for human life, even at the lowest levels known to human history. The hunger strike embodies the prisoners’ insistence on fundamental rights and dignity, and is a reminder that rights cannot be neglected.”
A protest in solidarity with the prisoners was staged in the village of Sanabis near the capital Manama. Protesters were seen holding signs reading “save Bahrain’s prisoners” and “our sons are in danger.”
Bahrain has made headlines the last few years for its violent crackdown on Shia-majority protests against decades of persecution, marginalization, and neglect by the Sunni rulers, with demands of better treatment, basic human rights and political freedoms. One such nationwide crackdown in 2011 was brutally suppressed by the Bahraini authorities at the height of the Arab Spring protests across the region. The authorities had then used external help from neighboring Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to bring the protests under control.
