Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Annex B — Summary of Torture Allegations
almost continued standing and severe sleep deprivation, he developed
swelling in both legs and lost sensation in both his feet.
The detainee was then taken to another location where for two or three days
we was beaten more aggressively, kicked in the chest and beaten with a
hose. His torturers were of Asian origin. He did not know where he was for
about 10 days. His handcuffs and blindfolds were then removed and he was
moved to a cell with four others with whom he was not allowed to speak. A
few days later, he was taken to a clinic blindfolded and handcuffed. There
he was insulted and violently kicked and punched. Despite massive swelling
and pain, he was kept standing and occasionally kicked on the legs. He was
interrogated and told that he was being charged with possessing a weapon.
He was forced to sign papers without reading them. On one occasion, all of
the doctors in detention were made to sleep on the floor and the following
day they were forced to record false statements on Bahrain TV. On the
eighth day of his detention, he was transferred to another location where
there was less physical abuse but verbal abuse persisted.
The detainee was deprived of sleep for his entire time in solitary
confinement, which was 22 or 23 days in total, and he was denied access to a
lawyer or family member. He was tortured continuously throughout this
period, and as a result he has marks on his shoulders and has lost sensation
in his thumbs. He was permitted to make only two telephone calls during
his time in detention: one four days after his arrest and the other on 15 April,
each for only one minute. He was beaten severely when he asked to see a
lawyer. During his last interrogation, he was blindfolded and continuously
threatened with electrocution and finally forced to sign papers that he did not
read.
On 6 June, the doctors in detention were handcuffed, blindfolded and
transferred to another location where they were abused. They then realised
that they were in a military court. The witness’s first hearing was the first
time he had seen his family since his detention.
CASE NO. 14
(Examined by forensic team)
Date of statement: 2 August 2011
Statement: The detainee was arrested at Bahrain International Airport at
around 15:30 on 19 March 2011 as he attempted to leave the country for
London with his wife and three children. He was handcuffed and hooded in
front of his family. He was then taken to a room with five or six others and
beaten on his hands and face. He was placed in a car and taken to an
unknown location where he was severely beaten on every part of his body,
causing him to bleed from his nose and mouth and eventually to faint. He
was then sprayed with water and regained consciousness. He later learned
that on the day of his arrest, masked men had entered his home, broken
443