- Hajer Mansoor hospitalised on her third day of hunger strike
- Madina Ali joined the hunger strike over discrimination treatment
- Duaa Alwadaei convicted yesterday,
- Sayed Alwadaei published an Op-Ed in the Guardian on the matter
BAHRAIN: Female Prisoner on Hunger Strike Hospitalised, as her Medical Condition Worsens
22 March 2018 – Today, female prisoner Hajer Mansoor Hassan (49), the mother-in-law of prominent UK-based Bahraini activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, was urgently hospitalised three days after she began a hunger strike to protest the harsh discrimination she has suffered for being considered a ‘political prisoner’ in Isa Town Prison.
Hajer said yesterday, in a telephone call, “I will continue to strike until prison authorities start treating us with some humanity”.
Madina Ali (28), who is serving a 3-year sentence on charges related to political unrest, also declared a hunger strike today, thereby joining Hajer’s protest against the ill- treatment inflicted to political prisoners in Isa Town.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) spoke with one of the inmates who confirmed how Hajer’s medical condition has sharply deteriorated within the past few hours, including a kidney inflammation which required immediate hospitalisation at the Ministry of Interior “Alqalaa” Clinic. Hajer’s blood sugar is also critical and has reached a dangerous level of 2 mmol/L (normal levels while fasting range between 4-6 mmol/L). Hajer also suffers from severe back pain due to a pre-existing spinal disc disease.
Furthermore, the inmate told BIRD that the punitive measures taken by Isa Town Prison authorities against Hajer are becoming harsher, as her hunger strike increasingly exposes the inhuman reality inmates face at Isa Town.
According to credible sources, Major Maryam Al-Bardouli, Head of the Center for Reform, Rehabilitation and Women’s Custody, has threatened to punish the strikers by revoking their basic right to family visits and phone calls.
On 21 March, Duaa Alwadaei, Hajer’s daughter and wife of Sayed Ahmed, was sentenced to two months in prison as the reprisals against Sayed Alwadaei’s family escalate.
Read More on the Hunger Strike declared by Hajer on 20 March
