Issue

Khalil Al-Halwachi is a 63 year old electrical engineer and political activist from Bahrain. After working as a professor in Sweden for 14 years he returned to his home country around 2000.
He was one of the funding member of the political opposition party Islamic Action Society (AMAL). The AMAL calls for public demonstrations and political awareness over issues that affect the majority of Shia Muslims, who are ruled by the minority of Sunnis Muslims in Bahrain. 
Prof. Al-Halwachi was arrested, prosecuted and in the end convicted for a crime he had not committed, more like it was set up by the governmental forces.
On September 3rd officers in uniform and civil raided his house in the early morning hours. His daughter told us that armed policemen stormed the house after 1am and took her still sleeping father into custody. He was accused of illegally possessing an AK-47, which the police officers claimed to have found on the kitchen table.
Khalil Al-Halwachi and his daughter Fatima deny that there was ever a gun in the house.
The family suspects the government of having placed the gun there and is actually prosecuting Khalil Al-Halwachi for his work for and with AMAL. This is supported by the fact that the interrogations were only about his involvement in the party, not about the weapon. Oftentimes he was blindfolded during the interrogations and had reported torture to his family.

He was forced to sign a declaration that sealed his destiny while being blindfolded. To protest against this procedure he was absent from his hearing. In reaction to this the judge not only charged him for illegal possession of a weapon but also for insulting the judge. Sentence: 10 years in Jau Central Prison.

In detention Khalil Al-Halwachi is denied medical care. According to his daughter, he suffers from numerous health problems, including the consequences of a stroke and a hernia. He is denied any access to medical care.

 

Background

The royal family of the Al-Khalifa is in power since 1782. Even though Bahrain is one of the first Arab countries to support women rights (e.g. they have the right to vote and even be up for vote), the structural discrimination against the Shia Muslims is omnipresent. Especially when it comes to housing and jobs, especially important governmental ones, Shia Muslims per se have worse chances than Sunnis Muslims. Also their benefits of the reform from a total monarchy to a constitutional monarchy in 2002 is questionable. Although the parliament is mainly taken by Shia parties, the king installed his closest family in the important ministries (the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister's post are occupied by male relatives of the King.) 

When there have been successful revolutions against the government in Tunisia and Egypt in early 2011, the frustrated Bahrainis have also taken to the streets. AMAL was one of the main organisers of the protests. In February people gathered at Lulu Square in the center of Bahrains capital Manama for a peaceful sit-in protest. In March the government forces, supported by Saudis, stormed the square in the early morning. The protesters where forced out of their tents wit tear gas and beaten with sticks. After storming the square the government blew up the monument on it, to destroy the new symbol of hope for many Bahrains. 

In the aftermaths of the protests, which are still ongoing in very small but constant formats, many activists got arrested and parties dissolved. Khalil was first arrested in 2011. It is since then that he is being banned of teaching. The AMAL was dissolved in 2012. 

 

Patterns

His daughter reported to us that is a popular government tool to charge political activists with illegal possession of a weapon. Thus they try to discredit the activists in Bahraini society as terrorists. 

Access to targets at night can also be subject to a pattern. Thus, targets are caught unprepared and unexpectedly, which makes access much easier.

By installing his close male relatives in important ministries the king ensures that the legislation stays in his favour. 

Depriving inmates from medical care, as it is widely practiced in Jau Prison, has several effects. It can be seen as a form of torture since some suffer from severe illnesses and wounds. The latter are in many cases caused by physical torture. The wounded are left to their pain. Also the psychological facts are to be considered: the fear and uncertainty that surrounds the people when not knowing wether or not they are taken to a medical care unit. And even if they are wether the doctors will actucally help them. There have been reports of an inmate who suffered from an injury in his eye with no treatment. He describes the pulsation in his eye and how nobody talks to him. Another one was taken to the hospital but never saw a doctor.  
It is only our assumption this form of psychological torture is used to make the prisoners confess, guilty or not.