Bahrain Mirror - Exclusive: For over a year, the detainees at the Dry Dock prison haven't seen the sun light. This is no exaggeration; this is a real crime. After the Ministry of Interior's announcement (June 2016) that a group of detainees escaped, the prison administration turned the lives of its inmates into darkness.

Diseases became widespread amid lack of medicine. The warmth of the sun in this warm country has become a wish for the detainees who talked to "Bahrain Mirror" about the "hell caused by the prison director Abdullah Rashid Al-Shihi, who comes from the same tribe of Tariq Al-Shihi", the Emirati officer who dies in a blast, which the authorities said occurred near Al-Daih town in 2014.

Just as in the science fiction film "The Matrix", when the earth was burnt and the sun was gone, and energy was gone with it, the machines that became monstrous, sought to use humans as a source of energy, and used them as batteries. This is exactly how the brutal energy of the Ministry of Interior officers works. They use detainees to satisfy their anomalous desires, and meet their reprisal desire, upon which the Ministry's doctrine was based, and so was the doctrine of the regime.

When looking into the figure of officer Rashid Abdullah Al-Shihi, one won't find a large file, other than that he was in a rank of "Major" when he received in 2012 his Master's degree from "Delmon University", which was shut down by the authorities, for "not meeting the standards of higher education."

His name also appeals in a decision No. 52, issued by the Prime Minister in October 2016, and stated the promotion of 4 officers to the tank of "director". Al-Shihi was one of them. He later became director of "Dry Dock Prison".

Dry Dock prisoners complain of the "cruelty of Al-Shihi and his complete desecration of any humane or human rights values", based on how one prisoner described him.

Trump Era

"There is nothing but slippers that we can sit on, and they were recently taken away from us. Al-Shihhi told us: This is the result of your actions, blame yourselves". This is how the prison described the conditions inside the prison. "We sit on the ground, and sleep on it," he added.

"During the month of Ramadan we really get hungry. There isn't enough food. Our suhoor is tea, a slice of bread, and a small piece of pizza. This food isn't enough for a little child," the prison further stated. "What hurts me more is that we explained over and over to the delegations of the International Committee of the Red Cross which visited us recently, but to no avail."

The Dry Dock prisoner said, "Unfortunately, a person like Rashid Al-Shihi or Fahed al-Koheji started to mock us saying: Don't forget to tell the Red Cross about this. It is Trump Era now; you don't have any human rights, or even animal rights."

Neglect and Diseases

Concerning medical treatments, the prisoner said, "The negligence we are subjected to is unimaginable. Despite the martyrdom of some prisoners, like martyr Hassan Al-Hayiki, neglect remains the master of the situation. (...) They do not take anyone to the clinic except with hard-won ways. If he is taken to the clinic, he isn't given any medication, and he is told that there aren't any medicines!"

"Every night, the guards attack us as we sleep near dawn, and open the doors strongly, causing them to make strong annoying sounds, to which we wake up terrified. Anyone who protests [to these actions] is taken to solitary confinement, or is beaten and humiliated. You should ask about the size of medical damages this causes," said another prisoner at the Dry Dock prison.

"We are locked in the room for 23 hours. We are only given one hour to move in a closed hallway, which includes a 10-min phone call, which means each prisoner loses time from the physical activity [sport] hour given (...). We witnessed the damages suffered by prisoners for not seeing the sun, and not being allowed to exercise sports. They are psychologically and physically destroying us," the prison added.

He further told "Bahrain Mirror", "The continuous confinement in the rooms, directly or indirectly, causes chronic diseases (...). We noticed an increase in some diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and obesity."

"We found that many started to suffer from fatigue and laziness. Some began to suffer osteoporosis and muscle atrophy, in addition to urinary system disorders such as urinary retention, while others suffered from constipation. This causes other diseases such as hemorrhoids."

"We have cases if atherosclerosis [plaque in heart arteries], strokes and irregular heartbeats, while many detainees started to have weak eyesight and this has become very popular here," the prisoner further narrated.

In addition, he confirmed that many detainees "suffer from weakness in mental activity, frequent forgetfulness and nervous tension". "Some had their respiratory system damages due to lack of air, or due to cigarette fumes inside the room, in addition to lack of movement and sports."

Regarding the food presented, another prisoner said, "The available food lacks nutritional value. It is obvious that depriving prisoners of good food and physical exercising has caused some vitamin deficiency in the body, and this weakened their physical activity and strength."

He added, "I will brief as much as possible. Many prisoners suffered from insomnia and sleep disturbances, some resorted to taking antianxiety drugs. We detected cases of tooth breaks and erosion, in addition to gingivitis. Some prisoners saw their hair falling, while others had skin ulcers on their body and scalp."

"When a prisoner gets the flu, it spread in the whole room (...). There isn't any ventilation in the rooms that remain closed all day," the prisoner noted.

This is the image of the Dry Dock Prison from the inside, as narrated by the prisoners. This is the truth that the monster cannot efface. This is the truth that the International Committee of the Red Cross knows in details from the prisoners themselves. Till when will the world watch? Till when will it remain silent?

Arabic Version