Bahrain: Child tortured in detention

Ali Hatem Ali Salman, a 14-year-old Bahraini boy, was arrested and reportedly tortured and otherwise ill-treated during interrogation to “confess” to rioting.

The child was arrested on 26 August 2013 in a coffee shop, in the neighbourhood of Sanad, south of Bahrain’s capital, Manama.  The arrest was apparently in response to an attack on a police vehicle which was set alight with Molotov cocktail.  At that particular moment Ali Hatem Ali Salman and his friends were playing a board game when police officers arrested him and five others.

He was blindfolded and taken to a police station. He later reported to his family and lawyer that during his interrogation he was beaten and electrocuted in order to make him “confess” to rioting.

He was brought before the Juvenile Prosecutor on 27 August 2013, where he denied the accusations and told of his torture and ill-treatment. The Juvenile Prosecutor ordered his detention for seven days pending an investigation. He was transferred to a Juvenile detention facility at 4am the following day.

 On 3 September 2013, the Juvenile Prosecutor extended Ali Hatem Ali Salman’s detention order for a further seven days.  The child is facing charges of “illegal gathering” and “rioting”. Since his arrest his family has been barred from visiting him, until 5 September 2013 when he received a family visit for the first time.

Please write immediately in Arabic or English or your own language:

* Urging the Bahraini authorities to protect him from torture and other ill-treatment;

* Urging them to ensure that Ali Hatem Ali Salman is treated in accordance with the international standards of juvenile justice;

* Calling for an impartial and independent investigation into the reported torture and other ill-treatment of Ali Hatem Ali Salman and bring those found responsible to account.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 18 OCTOBER 2013 TO:  (Time difference = GMT + 3 hrs / BST + 2 hrs)

King
Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa
Office of His Majesty the King
P.O. Box 555
Rifa’a Palace, al-Manama,
Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1766 4587
Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of Interior
Shaikh Rashid bin ‘Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ministry of Interior
P.O. Box 13, al-Manama,
Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1723 2661
Twitter: @moi_Bahrain
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs
Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa
Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs
P. O. Box 450, al-Manama,
Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1753 1284
Email: minister@justice.gov.bh
Twitter: @Khaled_Bin_Ali
Salutation: Your Excellency

PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEAL TO

Her Excellency Miss Alice Thomas Yusuf Samaan, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 30 Belgrave Square
London, SW1X 8QB.

Fax: 020 7201 9183        Tel: 020 7201 9170

Email: information@bahrainembassy.co.uk

Website: http://www.bahrainembassy.co.uk