Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, has warned against the plight of inmates kept in the Persian Gulf country’s notorious Jaw prison.
The opposition group said Monday that over 1,300 prisoners have been beaten by prison guards since last Tuesday, when security forces attacked protesting prisoners inside the jail.
“The situation inside the Jaw prison is worrying, especially with prisoners being prevented from family visits and phone-calls,” al-Wefaq Liberties and Human Rights Department (LHRD) said Monday.
The LHRD said it has called on the International Red Cross to take immediate measures to protect the prisoners.
It also called for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the incidents that took place inside the prison last week.
The notorious Jaw prison, Bahrain’s central detention facility, is where the regime keeps hundreds of political people behind bars.
On March 10, Bahraini police forces fired birdshots at protesting prisoners in the facility and used tear gas against them.
Separately, the LHRD confirmed 155 cases of mistreatment against detainees in various prisons across Bahrain since the beginning of 2015.
Meanwhile, the Women Affairs Department of the opposition party called for immediate international action to end regime violence against female protesters.
Nearly 50 Bahraini women have been arrested and 16 others injured in attacks by regime forces so far this year.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
The Manama regime’s crackdown on peaceful protests has intensified since the arrest of opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, who is the secretary general of al-Wefaq.
Salman was arrested late last year on charges of seeking regime change and collaborating with foreign powers. He has strongly rejected the charges.
Many people have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations since 2011.
YH/HJL/HMV