Bahrain: Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike

Two Bahraini women activists, arrested by authorities for participating in pro-reform demonstrations, began a hunger strike protesting against their imprisonment, according to Amnesty International.

Roula al-Saffar, the head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, and Jalila al-Salman, the vice president of the Bahrain Teacher’s Association (BTA) have been imprisoned for several months near Manama and are the only women who are still in prison as they wait for their trials.  Both women have reported enduring torture during their imprisonment.

Salman was allegedly beaten during the first few days of her detention and Saffar reported that she was beaten, endured electric shocks and verbal abuse for the first 11 days of her detention.

Additionally, Medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reported that Bahraini police barged into offices last week and arrested a staff member and confiscated medical equipment.    MSF also reported that a Bahraini volunteer, Saeed Mahdi was arrested after calling for an ambulance to treat a man with serious head injuries.