Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Concerning the food poisoning the inmates suffered from, a mother of one of the prisoners tells Bahrain Mirror: "My son told me that they were poisoned after the Suhoor meal. The situation became catastrophic when the policemen didn't open the prison cell doors. There are more than 15 prisoners in the cell. When demand increased for using the toilets due to diarrhea they suffered, some prisoners had to relieve themselves in their clothes."

Jaw Prison has no regard for humanity in its treatment of all political prisoners. Hundreds of prisoners were food poisoned and doors weren't opened for the inmates so they would be able to use the restroom. They were left to suffer. Meanwhile, the prison administration prevented transferring them to the hospital. The Ministry of Interior then comes out to deny there are any food poisoning incidents. The National Institution for Human Rights gives false testimony, then another inmate dies in ambiguous conditions. This means that a person in Bahrain is not treated like a human being.

Human rights activist Ibtisam Al-Saegh published horrible details about life in Jaw prison "there is no life in prison. There is no use of denial. Investigating the truth of the issue and tackling it to save lives is the best approach."

She further explains what is going on the cells that are overcrowded. "The cell, which is supposed to comprise six inmates, includes thirteen, and the cell that bears eight inmates, has seventeen. Inmates remain 23 hours in the cell, and during the month of Ramadan, some remain 24 hours in the cell, especially when the period of exit to the open yard is in the morning hours or noon, when the temperature is very high."

"The inmate eats, prays, washes his clothes and waits for them to dry inside the prison cell. There is only one restroom for all of the inmates," Al-Saegh adds.

She then notes that "there are no spoons or dishes, only plastic bags. They were allowed to buy 4 plastic cups and 1 liter jar for water provided from a shop in the prison at the prisoners' expense, only after they used shampoo and detergent bottles to drink water and tea from."

Companies that provide food to the prisons and the police tasked to distribute meals to prisoners were not held accountable and the prison's administration wasn't as well, despite dealing harshly with the incident. The ministry of interior denied the incident and the NIHR appointed by the king played the role of a false witness on the human conditions in prisons.

Arabic Version