Profile in Persecution: Fadhel Abbas Mohamed

Up to date: Fadhel Abbas Mohamed, a Bahraini citizen from the village of Nuwaidrat working within the non-public sector, was 19 years outdated when Bahraini authorities arrested him at his house at daybreak on 22 November 2021, with out presenting any arrest or search warrant. Throughout his detention, he was subjected to torture, enforced disappearance, deprivation of communication together with his household, and denial of visits from them. He confronted loss of life threats and bodily assault, and was convicted in an unfair trial based mostly on confessions extracted underneath torture. Moreover, he was disadvantaged of entry to his lawyer in the course of the interrogation interval. At the moment, he’s serving a ten-year jail sentence in Jau Jail. On 30 August 2023, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention printed an opinion concerning the arbitrary detention of six Bahraini nationals, together with Fadhel. In its opinion, the Working Group deemed their detention arbitrary and demanded their fast and unconditional launch. The Working Group referred to as for compensation for the people, an investigation into the violations they endured, and holding the perpetrators accountable.

On 22 November 2021, at 6:00 A.M., riot police forces and plainclothes officers performed a raid on Fadhel’s home whereas he was asleep. They scaled the partitions of the home, broke a window to realize entry, and commanded him to open the door. The officers searched the lounge and seized his cell phone. Subsequently, they transported him to his earlier house within the Nuwaidrat village. The officers meticulously searched the home, vandalized its contents, and scattered baggage on the ground. Fadhel was then taken by bus to his uncle’s café in Nuwaidrat, as reported by his mom, who was on the time unaware of the occasions unfolding. Through the switch, officers on the bus assaulted Fadhel, inflicting him to fall to the bottom and maintain an harm to his hand. Following his arrival at his uncle’s café, the officers additional moved him to the Prison Investigations Directorate (CID) constructing.

On 23 November 2021, Fadhel referred to as his household informing them that he was within the Central Investigation Directorate (CID). Concurrently, the CID knowledgeable the household that they might be visiting their house. Upon their arrival, officers in civilian clothes seized the household’s solely automotive. Officers dispersed all through the home, and when Fadhel’s mom inquired about his whereabouts, they knowledgeable her that he was contained in the automotive. Nonetheless, when she requested to see him, their supervisor denied her request, asserting that Fadhel was not within the automobile. Moreover, they confiscated Fadhel’s pockets. The next day, the officers agreed to the request for garments for Fadhel however solely accepted a single swimsuit, refusing to take any hygiene merchandise for him.

Throughout his interrogation, Fadhel endured extreme beatings, threats of rape, and electrical shocks. He was coerced into signing ready confessions underneath the specter of loss of life, with out being allowed to learn them. Furthermore, he skilled enforced disappearance for eight days all through the interrogation interval, managing to contact his household solely twice throughout this time. Visits had been denied underneath the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was additionally denied entry to his lawyer. On 30 November 2021, Fadhel was introduced earlier than the Public Prosecution Unit (PPO) with out the presence of his legal professional. He was compelled to stick to the confessions he had beforehand signed in the course of the interrogation interval, underneath the specter of additional torture. Officers carefully monitored him from behind the door inside the PPO to make sure his compliance with the fees towards him and to inflict torture if he resisted confessing. Throughout this era, the PPO accused Fadhel of becoming a member of a terrorist cell often known as the “AlAshtar brigades,” possessing explosive gadgets, weapons, and ammunition, and receiving and delivering cash from the mentioned terrorist cell.

On the identical day Fadhel appeared earlier than the PPO, 30 November 2021, he was introduced earlier than a forensic pathologist. Nonetheless, the physician ignored his hand harm and performed solely routine examinations usually carried out on any detainee. The officers didn’t confide in the physician the accidents Fadhel had sustained resulting from torture. They compelled him to put on a black swimsuit to hide marks from torture and make him seem as if he had been handled usually. The physician asserted that Fadhel solely had a G6PD deficiency and was not presently taking any remedy.

Fadhel was not introduced earlier than a choose inside 48 hours after arrest, was denied entry to his lawyer, and was not given satisfactory time and services to organize for trial. Moreover, he was unable to current proof or problem the proof introduced towards him, and the confessions extracted from him underneath torture had been utilized as proof in his trial.

On 15 January 2023, the court docket sentenced Fadhel to 10 years in jail on prices of 1) becoming a member of a terrorist group (AlAshtar brigades), 2) possessing explosive gadgets, weapons, and ammunition, 3) coaching in the usage of weapons and explosives, and 4) receiving and delivering cash to and from the terrorist cell. Notably, Fadhel was not current when the ruling was delivered; solely his lawyer attended the proceedings. 

On 15 January 2023, Fadhel appealed the ruling issued towards him, and on 29 Might 2023, the Courtroom of Appeals rejected the attraction and upheld the preliminary ruling.

The Jau Jail administration denied Fadhel’s household visits to him, limiting communication to cellphone calls as the only real technique of interplay. Lately, all types of communication between Fadhel and his household, together with cellphone calls, have ceased.

On 30 August 2023, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion in regards to the arbitrary detention of six Bahraini nationals, together with Fadhel. The Working Group deemed their detention arbitrary, citing warrantless arrests and publicity to torture, humiliation, and an unfair trial based mostly on proof obtained underneath duress. The specialists referred to as on the Bahraini authorities to right away and unconditionally launch the people, present compensation, examine the violations they endured, and maintain the perpetrators accountable.

Fadhel’s warrantless arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, unfair trial, and deprivation of communication signify a transparent violation of the Conference towards Torture and Different Degrading and Inhuman Remedy (CAT), the Worldwide Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Worldwide Covenant on Financial, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), all of which Bahrain is a celebration to. Thus, People for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) urges the Bahraini authorities to right away and unconditionally launch Fadhel. Moreover, ADHRB requires an intensive investigation into the allegations of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and communication deprivation he endured to be able to maintain the perpetrators accountable, or on the very least conduct a good retrial for him, resulting in his launch.