UN human rights experts address 10 cases of denial of medical care

On 18 September 2019 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD); the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders all expressed grave concern over the living conditions in the Bahraini Jau prison, regarding ten particular cases, their health, their medical care, and their ill-treatment.

The Allegation Letter, published by WGAD and the Special Rapporteurs on persons with disabilities, health, and human rights defenders, focuses on ten specific cases, all of whom regard the “the alleged denial of adequate health care for serious health conditions of several detainees held in the Jau Prison.”

The ten cases are: Mr. Elyas AlMulla; Mr. Hassan Mushaima; Mr. Husain Abdulaziz Mohamed; Mr. Sayed Kadhem Ali; Dr. Abduljalil AlSingace; Mr. Mohamed Hameed AlDaqqaq; Mr. Mohamed Merza Moosa; Mr. Habib Ali Mubarak; Mr. Ali Mahdi Alaiwi, and Mr. Khalil Ibrahim AlSaffar. Two of those, Hassan Mushaima and Abduljalil AlSingace, were the focus of the Letter to EU Ambassador to Riyad that 52 MEPs signed.

The Allegation Letter, under international law, manifest concerns over the lack of adequate medical care in those ten cases. Additionally, the Letter underlines how “the measures taken by the authorities appear to be directly related to the activities of the above mentioned individuals, and represent a criminalization of the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly”.

The Bahraini Kingdom has yet to respond to the Allegation Letter.

The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) welcomes this action by the United Nations and hopes that continued international presure will lead to medical treatment for these individuals.