The Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain and Christian Work to Abolish Torture launched a distress call for action on two Bahrainis facing the death penalty.
According to the two organizations, Zuhair Abdullah and Hussein Rashid had been tortured with the aim of forcing them to confess to terrorist acts, which led to their recent death sentences from the Court of Cassation in Bahrain.
According to a joint statement from the two organizations, Zuhair Ibrahim Abdullah, 40, the father of 5, was arrested on November 2, 2017, and held for 55 days in solitary confinement after his arrest.
The statement stated that during that period, Zuhair was subjected to ill-treatment and torture, including forced nudity, electric shock, sexual harassment and beatings, and that his wife was beaten at her home, and the force of weapons was threatened with rape by Bahraini officers.
The statement said that after 13 days of ongoing mistreatment in detention, Zuhair signed a forced confession obtained under torture confessing several allegations that occurred between 2012 and 2017, including joining a terrorist group, participating in the killing of members of the security forces, and making explosives.
The statement indicated that although Zuhair's lawyer stated that he had not provided any physical evidence linking him to the crimes against him, he was sentenced to death and his citizenship was revoked on November 29, 2018, in a flagrantly unfair trial.
The joint statement, which reached Al-Jazeera Net, did not include a copy of it, mentioning the case of Hussein Rashid.
The joint statement stated that Bahrain continues to disdain due legal procedures and international standards, using the judicial system as a means to silence political opponents, noting that there are currently 26 political and non-political prisoners awaiting execution.