MANAMA, 12 December 2004 — Tens of prisoners being held by Bahraini authorities on drug-related charges went on hunger strike yesterday to demand that they be released or tried. However, the Ministry of Interior denied that they had gone on hunger strike.
A spokesman for the prisoners said that 64 prisoners being held at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) began their strike yesterday noon when they refused to have lunch.
He added that two of the prisoners had begun their strike the day before.
“This is an open strike until they either charge us and put us on trial or shift us to the central prison system,” he said.
“The majority of us have been here for months. They take us to appear in front of the public prosecutor and he orders to renew our detention for 45 days without looking into our cases.”
The spokesman added that their demands are based on their right for trial as guaranteed by the Bahraini law.
“We need to know what will happen to us,” said the spokesman. “They cannot leave us stranded like this with no trial and no release. We are Bahrainis and if they have nothing to charge us with they could release us on bail and ask us to appear in court when they can charge us.”
A Ministry of Interior official who wished not to be identified said that the prisoners were being detained in accordance with the law. “They are being held based on orders by the public prosecutor who is reviewing their cases and the ministry is only enforcing the law,” he said.
In August, 40 prisoners in the custody of the CID went on hunger strike to protest the continual renewal of the detention of five of them who were being held on drug-related charges.
Saudi Motorist Dies in Bahrain
A 63-year-old Saudi died at the wheel of his Toyota Camry while driving in Manama early yesterday morning.
Abdullah Mohammed is believed to have died of a sudden heart attack he suffered at 2.40 a.m. while driving inside Gudaibiya area of the city.
Mohammed lost control of the vehicle and hit a parked minibus on the other side of the road, before hitting the outside wall of a house.
No details were immediately available about Mohammed whose body was moved to the Salmaniya Medical Complex morgue.
