MANAMA (Middle East Eye) – Several human rights groups have criticized Bahrain over its treatment of a political prisoner who has refused to take solid foods for the past year in protest against his detention.
Abduljalil al-Singace, director and spokesperson of the Human Rights Bureau of the Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy, has been in jail since 2011, when he was sentenced to life in prison on terrorism allegations.
He began a hunger strike in July 2021 after the confiscation of research materials from his cell in Jaw Prison, in eastern Bahrain.
In a statement on Friday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Bahraini authorities to release the activist, who reportedly suffers from chronic medical conditions, including post-polio syndrome, and requires crutches or a wheelchair to move.
“We must not allow Abduljalil al-Singace to die and to be forgotten,” said Sabrina Bennoui, the head of RSF’s Middle East desk.
“This blogger has been left to rot in prison for more than 11 years and that is already way too long. What is the Bahraini monarchy waiting for in order to finally recognize the urgency of the situation? We urge the authorities to act responsibly by releasing him without further delay,” said Bennoui.
Singace, 60, is one of more than a dozen anti-regime protesters who was arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges, including allegedly “creating terrorist groups with a view to overthrowing the monarchy and changing the constitution.”
He is an engineer, a blogger, an academic researcher, and one of the leading figures in the anti-monarchy movement in Bahrain.
Anti-monarchy demonstrations began in mid-February 2011 and have been held on a regular basis ever since the popular uprising started.
Demonstrators demand that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and a democratic just system representing all Bahrainis be established.
The Manama regime, however, has responded to demands for social equality with an iron fist, clamping down on voices of dissent.
On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of opposition civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to the imposition of an undeclared martial law.