MANAMA (Dispatches) – Human rights groups have called on Bahrain to launch an “independent investigation” into the death of a 35-year-old national in jail.
The Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) made the call in a joint statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, prisoner Hasan Abdulnabi Mansoor died at the Salmaniya Medical Complex on July 25 following “sickle cell complications, amid reports of medical negligence by authorities at Dry Dock Detention Centre”.
He was reportedly serving a three-year sentence, according to Amnesty Bahrain, which also confirmed his death last month.
The U.S.-based rights group said prison authorities did not refer him for treatment “in a timely manner”.
It also urged authorities in the kingdom to “immediately launch an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Hasan Abdulnabi Mansoor’s death”.
ADHRB said although Bahrain’s interior ministry reported the death, it did not acknowledge reports of medical negligence or confirm whether a probe would take place.
Husain Abdulla, head of ADHRB, said the regime’s “corrupt oversight bodies are not independent and will only produce a whitewash report,” and added that without a UN-led probe, the truth will be “buried”.
Voice of dissent is growing in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
Demonstrations in Bahrain have been held on a regular basis ever since a popular uprising began in mid-February 2011.
The participants demand that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.
Bahrain’s main opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, says the Arab nation is demanding an end to tyranny and a peaceful transition to democracy in the Persian Gulf kingdom, as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses ahead with its crackdown on dissent.
Al-Wefaq, in a statement released on Tuesday, said Bahrainis are calling for fundamental democratic reforms and genuine legislative participation, and they will not be fooled by hollow promises and publicity stunts.
“The people of Bahrain have long demanded a political transition to a real democratic state based on people’s will and rule besides the establishment of a state of institutions and law. These are legitimate, popular, humanitarian and legal demands approved by all international and humanitarian values and conventions as well as the Charter of the United Nations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” the statement read.