Arab women condemn torture in Bahrain

Sat Apr 16, 2011

A group of Arab women and activists have gathered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to condemn the use of torture against Bahrain's protesters and the regime's crackdown on opposition groups.

According to the human rights activists, a number of women, doctors, nurses and teachers were “detained in Bahrain even killed” while trying to make their voices heard, a Press TV correspondent reported.

“Women are being jailed in Bahrain because they want freedom and democracy. It is unacceptable to treat women like this under Islamic law and tradition,” said Nahed Mehros, a Syrian civil rights activist.

The campaign was aimed at drawing international attention to the oppression on the Bahraini women. Organizers urged human rights groups around the world to condemn the use of torture.

“We have put a case before the ICC [International Criminal Court] against the kingdom of Bahrain. I am trying now to tell everybody how to go through legal ways against what is happening in Bahrain,” said May el-Khansa from International Coalition Against Impunity.

Advocates condemned what they called the inaction of the international community and the silenced media, and demanded the recognition of the situation of women in crisis-hit Bahrain.

“Media reports are not clarifying a lot. There are a lot of human rights NGOs that say that there is a total abuse for the detainees. But I think the international NGOs are not doing a lot,” to prevent the use of torture in Bahraini jails, said Leila Nicolas Al-Rahbani, the professor of Lebanon's International University.

According to the Press TV correspondent, one Bahraini woman has died in captivity while tens of others remain detained in undisclosed locations. The women were either detained during anti-government protests or as they were carrying out their job duties.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175089.html.