Bahrain’s Jaw Prison prevents political detainees from reviving Ashura ceremonies

Political detainees in Jaw Central Prison in Bahrain said that the prison administration has officially prevented them from reviving the Ashura ceremonies under the pretext of “violations”.

Prisoner of conscience Hussain Hilal Ahmed said in a phone call that Bahrain, despite its claim to protect religious freedoms, informed us in Building 7 (formerly Building 15) that we were not allowed to perform our religious rituals.

He explained that the ban came from a number of officers, most notably “Al-Ruwai’i” and “Ahmed al-Emadi”, and the ban came because of what they called “the presence of some violations.”

The detainee indicated that this ban was not the first and that the matter happened in the past months, so the inmates of Building 7 organized a peaceful sit-in inside the prison, according to which they refused to enter the rooms. The prison police then threatened to use force if the sit-in was not dispersed.

Another detainee, Osama Al-Saghir, confirmed in a phone call the ban on performing religious rituals, stressing that political prisoners are “targeted” and the official media is a partner in persecution and blinding the systematic violations against them.