Bahrain: Security Manager Charged with Terrorism Based on Confessions Obtained Under Torture

On 5 November 2015, members of the Security Forces stormed into the house of 31-year-old security manager Ali Issa Ali Al Tajer and arrested him without presenting a warrant, taking him to an unknown location, where he was detained incommunicado for 25 days. On 30 November, he was charged with terrorism based on confessions obtained under torture. In view of these facts, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (SR TERRORISM), in the hope that he can help release Al Tajer.

Following his arrest, Al Tajer was detained incommunicado for 25 days, during which he was tortured by the detaining authorities, who subjected him to severe beatings, stripped him of his clothes, insulted him and deprived him of sleep. It is after he was subjected to such treatment that, blindfolded, Al Tajer was forced to sign confessions. He was then presented to the Public Prosecutor for interrogation on 30 November 2015. Informed of this interrogation just half an hour before its start, his family was allowed to call a lawyer, but Al Tajer was not allowed to speak to him before the interrogation, during which he was charged with "joining an illegal terrorist organisation to overthrow the government by force" and "training individuals on the use of weapons for terrorist purposes."

All charges brought against Al Tajer were based on confessions made by him and other detainees under torture, a fact that was mentioned by Al Tajer to the prosecutor during his interrogation but that was ignored by the prosecutor, who decided instead not to open an investigation to determine the veracity of these facts, as well as to reject the victim's lawyers request for a medical examination. Al Tajer was only allowed to speak with his lawyers after the interrogation in the presence of three policemen; he was then taken to the Dry Dock prison, where he currently awaits trial. His family believes his detention is an act of reprisal against Al Tajer's brother, well-known human rights lawyer Mohamed Al Tajer.

Unable to obtain redress at the domestic level, Al Tajer's family turned to Alkarama, which in turn seized the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (SR TERROR), requesting his urgent intervention with the Bahraini authorities to release Al Tajer immediately. The Public Prosecutor should open an investigation on the alleged acts of torture suffered by him and all the evidence obtained under torture should be excluded from the criminal proceedings.

Concerned over the repetitive cases of confessions extracted under torture in Bahrain, documented by Alkarama on 20 November 2015, 13 November 2015 and 13 November 2015, especially regarding terrorism charges, Alkarama calls upon the Bahraini authorities to:

• Put an end to the practice of torture and ensure that allegations of torture are the object of impartial and independent investigations;
• Amend the Anti-Terrorism Law in order to bring it in compliance with international human rights standards and revisit all judgments made under this law.

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008)