Bahrain: Father Paralysed After Excessive Use of Force by Policemen
In February 2015, Hussain Ali Radhi Abdulrasool, a father and driver, was violently arrested by a group of policemen leaving him unconscious and severely injured. Eight months later, he was acquitted of all charges against him, but left paralysed from the waist down, he is unable to work. In view of these facts, on 30 November 2015, Alkarama sent a communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (SR Disabilities) asking her to call upon the Bahraini authorities to provide compensation for Hussain.
On 14 February 2015, a group of policemen dressed in uniforms stormed into 37-year-old Hussain's house and arrested him. During the arrest, the policemen threw Hussain on the ground in front of his house and beat him up to the point that he was left unconscious. Taken to the Salmaniya Medical Emergency Department, Hussain was transferred shortly thereafter to the Badia Police Station, thereby interrupting his medical treatment. After being interrogated for two days, Hussain was treated at the Qalaa hospital for 10 days without being allowed to contact his family or lawyer. He was then transferred to the Dry Dock prison in the town of Al Hidd northeast of Bahrain, where he stayed until 9 June, before being taken to the Salmaniya hospital for further medical treatment.
Charged with "participating in illegal gatherings" and "assaulting security personnel," Hussain was released on 27 July 2015 to await the verdict of his trial at home. In October, he was acquitted of all charges by the High Criminal Court of Manama. However, due to the ill-treatment and restriction of medical care he was subjected to, Hussain is currently paraplegic and unable to work. During his time in detention, Hussain's family filed complaints to the Office of the Public Prosecutor and to the Bahraini National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), but to no avail. The family also contacted the General Secretariat of Grievances, which started an investigation, but without success.
Unable to obtain redress at the national level, Hussain's family turned to Alkarama, in the hope that this human rights organisation could help him secure compensation. Given these facts, Alkarama seized the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (SR Disabilities), requesting this UN Special Procedure on the protection and promotion of human rights to call upon the Bahraini authorities to provide Hussain with full reparation, which should include free adequate medical care and subsidies to compensate for the fact that he can no longer exercise his usual profession.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).