Bahrain Mirror: Prominent human rights activist, Ebtisam Al-Sayegh, said the family of prisoner sentenced to death, Ahmad Al-Malali, were told by a prison officer that the visit was based on "orders from above".

Al-Sayegh said the authorities allowed only 15 members of the family to see the prisoner (after agreeing in advance to 25 individuals) for an hour and a half preceded by meticulous two-hour search that took place twice.

Ahmad Al-Malali's family said that they were subjected to strict inspection for two consecutive times, and when they asked about the reason for this special visit, they weren't given an answer. When his aunt insisted to find out why, a police woman told her to ask the police officer, who in turn answered that it came from orders from above without giving further clarification.

Al-Malali's father told Al-Sayegh after leaving the visit that her son was innocent and demanded justice.

Arabic Version