Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Bahrain correspondent tortured

France 24’s Bahrain correspondent Nazeeha Saeed was taken for questioning on 22nd May and tortured after covering the pro-democracy protests.

She was verbally abused; mocked and insulted, then slapped, punched and kicked, before having a shoe thrust in her mouth, urine thrown in her face, being blindfolded and beaten. She was forced to crawl on all fours and ‘bray like a donkey’.

She was given no chance to answer questions and forced to sign documents she was not allowed to read.

She was then allowed to return home, though is still being treated for the physical and psychological side-effects.

This has received much international criticism, particularly from Reporters without Border, to whom she gave the interview. It is notoriously difficult to find women willing to speak about what occurs in Bahraini police interviews and Reporters without Borders has strongly urged authorities to investigate the matter further.

1 comment:

Em Christie said...

Another example of brutality is the case of Karim Fakhrawi, one of the founders of Bahrain’s only independent newspaper, Al-Wasat. He died in custody on 12 April, one week after his arrest. The exact cause of death had not been established.