For immediate release: Bahrain must thoroughly investigate the death of Hussain Aman, which marks the second such tragedy in Jau Prison this year.
Hussain Aman, a 41-year-old political prisoner, tragically passed away after collapsing in the yard of Building 11 in Jau Prison yesterday, 5 December 2024.
He was convicted to life imprisonment and stripped of his nationality in a mass trial amid allegations of torture, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) stated today.
Eyewitnesses reported to BIRD that Hussain collapsed in the prison yard of Building 11 at Jau Prison between 7:11 and 7:30 PM local time in Bahrain yesterday, 5 November 2024.
Many prisoners were present in the yard playing football when Hussain collapsed, and there was a panicked commotion, with prisoners shouting, “Someone collapsed! Move away, let him breathe!”
The ambulance arrived after a delay of about 7-8 minutes when no emergency first aid was administered, according to the witness.
Another eyewitness stated that Hussain was taken to the prison clinic while still unconscious, and authorities then removed other prisoners from the clinic, seemingly to conceal the situation from them.
Hussain’s death is expected to fuel further tensions.
Key details
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- A certificate by Bahrain’s Ministry of Health seen by BIRD confirmed Hussain’s time of death as 9.04 PM Bahrain local time while en route to BDF Hospital from Jau Prison. It stated cardiopulmonary arrest as the cause of death. This was also confirmed in an official statement issued by Government Hospitals.
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- In the highly edited video footage from CCTV cameras released by the Ministry of Interior earlier today, 6 December, Hussain can be seen collapsing to the ground. Although the video is not time-stamped, it subsequently verifies the accounts provided by the eyewitness accounts.
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- The video footage and eyewitness reports indicate that the medic arrived at the prison yard where Hussain lay unconscious, but no immediate resuscitation efforts, such as CPR or AED use, were initiated.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Advocacy Director at BIRD, stated:
“Hussain’s death marks the second tragedy in Jau Prison this year, making it apparent that the prison is not equipped to handle emergencies in which every moment can mean the difference between life and death.
Authorities should release all political prisoners to avert further tragedies. As Bahrain’s National Day approaches, the King can act decisively and release all of them with a single pen stroke.”
According to medical experts, immediate first-aid for cardiac arrest is critical to improving survival chances if administered within the first 5 minutes, and for every minute without defibrillation, survival chances decrease by approximately 10%.
Bahraini authorities must ensure that, in a crowded prison, both prison guards and prisoners are given proper training to provide timely intervention, especially sudden unconsciousness and cardiac arrest and heart failure.
For the full details of the context of the incident and Hussain’s background, see BIRD’s briefing.
