PNN – The BBC News Network has reported that a widespread hunger strike by Bahraini political and ideological prisoners has been going on for two weeks now.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Arabi 21 website, citing the British BBC, announced that more than 90 political and ideological prisoners in Bahrain have gone on a hunger strike in buildings 2 and 12 of the infamous “Joe” prison.
According to this media source, this is not the first time that the prison has witnessed such a strike, as prisoners have previously gone on strike for various reasons, most of which have been related to requesting improved detention conditions or requesting unconditional release.
Bahrain has witnessed a widespread wave of repression against Shiites since 2011, following public protests against the country’s rule, and has imprisoned many Shiite political activists on trumped-up charges, sometimes for posting a single post on social media. The new round of protests in Jo Prison, which is specifically for holding political and ideological prisoners, began in mid-October, when prisoners sent letters to the prison administration demanding “their right to freedom.”
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After these demands were ignored, the prisoners first refused to receive breakfast and then dinner, and finally began an indefinite hunger strike on October 14.
One prisoner, who asked not to be named, said: The hunger strike in Bahraini prisons has now entered its second week, and about 90 political prisoners are participating in it, some of whom have suffered severe health problems, with their blood sugar levels dropping to low levels, some of whom have fainted, and some have been taken to the hospital by ambulance.
The prisoner continued: We will continue our strike, raising our voices from inside our cells to defend our right to the freedom we have been waiting for for so long.
He noted that a number of prisoners have been in prison since the events of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, with some of them having spent nearly 15 years in prison without any prospects.
He added that during their years of detention, prisoners have suffered from torture and medical neglect, as well as rationing of water, electricity, and ventilation, and reduced food intake, which has led to the deaths of a number of their fellow prisoners.