Bahraini prisoners suffer long-lasting "wounds" as a result of torture

According to a recent investigation, torture and other alleged breaches they allegedly faced during their arrest, questioning, and detention are still having an impact on Bahrain's political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

According to interviews and medical records, the non-profit Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) reported on Monday that it had discovered that many victims were unable to resume their normal lives because of "invisible wounds" that continued years after the alleged mistreatment.

One of the victims was cited in its report (PDF) as saying that he was detained while taking a shower and then hauled naked onto the street where he was assaulted.

He became irrationally angry, irritable, and deeply afraid of getting jailed again or anything bad happening to his family. Later, threats from security personnel prohibited him from going to therapy out of fear of retaliation.

A second woman reported to the organization that during an interrogation, she was made to strip naked and subjected to sexual assault, whipping, insults, and threats of rape and the murder of her children.

She had trouble concentrating or making judgments after the incident, slept a lot, felt self-hatred, and thought about committing suicide.

The Bahraini government allegedly engages in "severe kinds of medical neglect," depriving inmates of their fundamental rights, and there are no mental health care available inside of Bahraini prisons, claims ADHRB.

Even when a person is sent to a mental hospital, the study said that authorities fail to acknowledge the torture.

The psychological effects of torture invariably affect the victims' social lives since their ability to engage with their environment is greatly influenced by their mental health. Male survivors of sexual assault and rape struggled to continue social and romantic connections, while men were less likely to seek support out of a desire to look "strong" and "tough," according to ADHRB.

The group has demanded increased openness and a fair probe into the allegations of torture. In addition, Bahrain should fund "psychological support programs for the families of victims in order to promote awareness and empower them to establish a safe atmosphere for the victims," according to the argument made in the report.

Among other foreign organizations, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized Bahrain for spending the previous ten years "breaking down on nonviolent protest." Bahrain is a mainly Shia nation administered by a Sunni monarchy.

In the previous year, HRW claimed that the government was utilizing a variety of strategies, including "political isolation legislation," to prevent the opposition from participating in politics and other sectors of public life.

Since the nonviolent pro-democracy and anti-government revolt in 2011, the government's widespread crackdown has become more severe. Since 2017, Bahraini authorities have outlawed independent media outlets and disbanded all sizeable opposition organizations.

The Bahraini administration did not respond right away to the ADHRB report. It has previously denied discriminating against its Shia people and dismissed accusations of violating human rights.