September 3, 2011
Plight of Medics in Bahrain
Introduction
This
message details the plight of healthcare professionals in the Kingdom of
Bahrain. Presented here is a review of the attack and targeting of medics since
the uprising began in February 2011 up to this date. It is important to note
that there are 12 medics who are still detained in Bahrain and as of today
September 3, 2011 are in their 5th day of hunger strike which they
began to protest their continued detention, trial in military court and
mistreatment in detention. Their health conditions are rapidly deteriorating
and we appeal to the World Health Organization to immediately interfere to save
the lives of the medics in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Briefing about Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC)
events
During
the months of February and March, the country witnessed several major
disasters. Such events are unprecedented in Bahrain’s history, and the sight of
severe injuries rendered the medical staff horrified. On 17th
February ‘2011 the first attack on the Pearl Roundabout occurred, ambulances
were not allowed to bring
injured protestors. Security forces also assaulted medical personnel including
physicians and paramedics. The following day, health professionals protested at
SMC against the Minister of Health, Faisal Al-Hamar, for his prohibition of the
ambulances, and the King resigned him from his position later that month.
During these events, the physicians had done their best to save lives and treat
the injured. Human rights organization, journalists and reporters including
Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, Doctors Without Borders, CNN
and the Independent, were present at SMC during these events and witnessed how
these physicians upheld the Hippocratic Oath they took and provided medical
care to all patients, not just protestors.
Mistreatment, kidnapping and torture
The
systematic attack on healthcare professionals began after the second crackdown
on the Pearl Roundabout on March 16, 2011. 48 medics including doctors, nurses
and paramedics, have been arrested and presented to a military court. We do not
consider them to be arrests, rather kidnappings and abductions. Some were
arrested from their homes after masked men dressed in civilian clothing barged
in late at night with no search warrant, handcuffed them in front of their
children, and dragged them to an undisclosed locations. Dr. Ali Al-Ekri, a
consultant orthopedic surgeon, was arrested in the operating theatre. Others
were taken from the hospital without informing their families. The medics were
held incommunicado for days after their arrest, and were allowed limited
numbers of calls to their families. While in detention the physicians were
subject to different forms of torture including: kept blindfolded and
handcuffed for days after their arrest, standing for long hours with no sleep,
slaps (hard slaps on the ears), beatings (mostly on the head and feet) and
electric shocks. The purpose of this torture was to extract false confessions,
as it was used extensively even before the interrogation began. The targeting
of healthcare workers is not limited to the abduction of these 48 medics, but
systematic attacks on healthcare centers. Masked security forces attacked
healthcare centers during working hours, taking medical staff to the Criminals
Investigation Directorate (CID) in Adliya where they were interrogated,
humiliated and physically assaulted for hours and then released.
Media and Public Misleading
The
released medical staff that are on trial as well as the detainees are banned
from discussing their current status and related issues in the media and have
been threatened by the authorities from approaching any kind of local or
foreign media. Concurrently, local mass media are given the green light and are
encouraged to constantly and unjustly target and attack the medical staff
through the government’s TV channels, namely Bahrain TV. Although innocent
until proven guilty is the common rule in all democratic societies, the
programs’ presenters and their biased guests are labeling the medical staff as
“unsafe”, “criminals”, “traitors”, and “saboteurs”. Furthermore, the presenters
and their guests have taken upon themselves to charge the medical staff with
false accusations, trial them, and sentence them during their programs on these
state controlled TV channels. In fact, the President of the Information
Affairs Authority Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Acting Minister of
Health Fatima Al-Balooshi in a press conference held on April 27, 2011 accused
the medical personnel of committing heinous crimes even before their trial
began and the verdict announced. They are
even spreading news that many other so-called “Unsafe Medical Staff” are
roaming the government hospitals and health centers and those should be
apprehended and interrogated. Local newspapers are also regularly listing the
names of the medical staff in subject and are subjecting them to all kinds of
defamations and slanders. All this is playing a major role in tarnishing the
reputation and morals of the medical staff, grossly inciting a hostile
environment against them and their families, and agitating public opinion
against them by publicizing misleading information.
Reputation
The
physicians on trial are all reputable physicians, respected by the community.
They are well known on a local and a regional scale; many of them have patients
from neighboring GCC countries including Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. These
physicians are now detained, and the acting Minister of Health and Minister of
Justice accused them of committing heinous crimes even before they were
formally charged and brought to court. When their families met with them, they
said they were made to sign false confessions under torture. Their confessions
were also videotaped for state television, and if these are broadcasted it will
definitely affect their reputation. Their children and families will also have
difficulties facing the community, who are already facing pressure at school
and at work.
Trial
In June 2011 and
after the lifting of the State of National Safety, 48 medics were presented to
a military tribunal. The charges against them are listed below:
1. The inexcusable refrain
from aiding people
2. The embezzlement of public
funds.
3. Physical assault on others
4. Assault leading to death
5. The possession of unlicensed weapons
and ammunition
6. Refraining from carrying
out their employment duties, in aims of hindering medical work, consequently
endangering people’s health and lives
7. The attempt of forcefully
occupying a public building
8. Promotion to bring down
and change the regime by illegal means
9. Accused of inciting hatred
against the governing regime
10. Promoting sectarian hate
11. Spreading false news and
rumors that harm the public interest
12. Participating in
unlicensed protests and rallies
First hearing
The first court
session was held on June 6, 2011. The cases were divided into two groups
according to their charges, one group were felonies and the other group with
misdemeanor. They began with the felonies, there were 20 medics. We were
shocked to see that they were not formally dressed, in fact most were either in
casual attire or even in their pajamas. They all had their heads shaven, most
of them had lost a lot of weight. This is not how consultants most of them have
served the Ministry of Health for over 20 years. The male medics were forced to
stand in the sun for around 30 minutes before the session began. They were
blindfolded and handcuffed, and these were only removed when the session began.
After the
session, the medics were allowed to meet with their families and lawyers for 10
minutes. It was the first time the still detained medics were allowed to meet
with their loved ones. During this brief meeting, we came to learn that the
medics were subject to physical and psychological abuse, and they were coerced
into making false confessions. Among the forms of torture were: making them
stand for long hours, some of them even for days, without moving and without
sleeping; they were beaten with hoses, wooden boards with nails in them; made
them eat stool. These forms of torture were used during interrogation in the
Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) in Adliya. However, at the jail it was
mainly humiliation and continuous verbal abuse with the occasional beatings,
however not as severe and extreme as in CID.
Second hearing
The second court
session was held on June 13, 2001. Again, they started with the felonies. The
judge cast the charges for each accused individual, and they were allowed to
respond with either guilty or not guilty. Dr. Ali Al-Ekri (consultant
orthopedic surgeon) and Mrs. Rula Al-Saffar (Head of Nursing Society) responded
with not guilty and stated that their confessions were extracted under torture
and they had to sign confession papers while blindfolded. The judge stopped
both of them, and told them to limit their responses to guilty or not guilty
otherwise the court will take strict action against them. Dr. Zahra Al-Sammak
(consultant anesthatist) responded with not guilty and made the same statement
as the two previous doctors, and the judge ordered her to be escorted out of the
hall. Dr. Nada Dhaif (dentist) requested permission to speak to military judge
through her attorney, but this was refused.
Note: Stephanie Williams, the Charge d’Affairs attended
this court session.
Third hearing (Felonies)
The third hearing session (felonies group only) was
held on June 20, 2011. The
lawyers were not allowed to meet with the detained medics on trial except right
before the court session for a period of time not exceeding 15 minutes. The
court session lasted about 6 hours. These are the highlights of the court
session:
The lawyers presented the
court with a written note challenging the legitimacy of the court. They allowed
the female medics on trial to sit, as for the men they brought a limited number
of chairs in which they took turns sitting on them. The witnesses of the
prosecution were called upon one by one, and each lawyer was allowed to address
questions to the witness. Important things to note:
a. The
lawyers had to address the questions to the military judge, who then
re-formulates the question in the way that he deems suitable, and then allows
the witness to answer. At many points, the military court dismissed questions
asked by the lawyers or asked the lawyers to refer back to the record of investigations.
Notably, the military judge rejected many questions that asked about cases
involving live ammunition.
b. The
court called upon seven witnesses for the prosecution. Of the witnesses were
the main interrogator, who was also responsible for the torture of many of the
male physicians on trial, administrators at SMC, and medical
staff from SMC including doctors and nurses.
Royal Decree
On June
29, 2011 King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa issued a royal decree, referring all
cases to civilian courts. However, we
were shocked that the military courts were returned and the trial of the 20
medics who are accused with felonies would continue in a military court.
Fourth hearing (felonies)
The
fourth court session in the medics’ case (felonies) was held on August 28,
2011. In this court session we were supposed to hear from the witnesses of the
defense, however the session was adjourned to September 7, 2011. The lawyers
again requested the release of the medics, however this was refused. The medics
were allowed 10 minutes to meet with their families.
Medics still in detention
The
unlawful arrest and targeting of healthcare professional in Bahrain has
received widespread condemnation from prominent human rights organization and
governments worldwide including the United States and the European Union. Due
to this immense criticism, 36 of the 48 medics on trial were released. However,
12 medics unjustly remain in custody.
Hunger Strike
In
protest of their continued unlawful detention, torture, and trial in military
court, the medics who are still in detention began a hunger strike on August
31, 2011 which coincided with the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, in which Muslims
all around the world ended a month of fasting. Today, September 3, 2011 is the
5th day of hunger strike. Already 7 of the medics have collapsed and
required IV solutions. The hunger strike also includes refusal to take all
medication. Many of these medics suffer from serious health conditions, which
are rapidly deteriorating. Four of these medics suffer from severe depression
and are now not taking their medication. One doctor was forced to stand for two
weeks, which resulted in the destruction of the valves in his legs and feet and
as a result is at high risk of developing deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary
embolism. Another doctor has a complete rotator cuff tear and required surgery.
Another doctor has diabetes for which he needs to take insulin shots.
Conclusion
The medical staff has always done their job with
integrity, adhering to the code of medical ethics, never denying healthcare to
anyone based on gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. The accusations that are
directed towards medical personnel are completely untrue, and no mind can
accept them. Medical personnel have no political agenda, and it is unjust to
target them because they treated the protestors. They merely performed their
duty and provided unbiased healthcare to the people. We seek the World Health
Organization’s help in securing the release of the 12 medics who remain in
custody by condemning their unjust detention and pressuring Bahraini
authorities to release these prisoners of conscience. We appeal to the World
Health Organization to immediately intervene to save the lives of the medics
still in detention who are now on hunger strike, and whose health conditions
are rapidly deteriorating.
Requests
1.The immediate and
unconditional release of all 12 still detained medics.
2.Dropping of all charges
against them.
3.Absolving medics of all
charges against them in state and international media.
4.Returning all medics to
their previous positions.
