A Bahraini detainee, Hussein al-Sahlawi, has complained of being denied medical treatment, despite his health worsening after contracting Covid-19 earlier this year.
In an audio recording leaked from prison, al-Sahlawi claims that the infection left him with severe chest pains and shortness of breath. However, prison guards initially refused to transfer him to a medical clinic.
As his health worsened, al-Sahlawi was told that no doctors were available. However, after his eventual transfer to a clinic, he was informed that a doctor had always been present.
“After I confronted the guards about their lying, and not taking me to the clinic, they threatened to beat me and place me in solitary confinement, even whilst I suffered from shortness of breath and severe chest pains.”
The Bahraini detainee confirmed his need to see a specialist doctor due to numerous, serious respiratory systems.
Members of the European Parliament recently called on the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to act against the “blatant violations” of human rights in Bahrain.
In a widely-shared petition, EU parliamentarians denounced the Bahraini regime’s repression of its citizens and political activists.
MPs called on the EU to condemn Bahrain’s continued violations of detainees’ rights, calling for the “painful human rights situation” in the country to be discussed in bilateral talks with the Bahraini government, and for the release of all unlawfully detained political prisoners.
