Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): In the adjacent room, a scream of anguish filled the place and then cries of distress followed. We were heartbroken. We raised our heads to be shocked. It's the detainee Ali Sanqour carried by his fellow detainees. He wasn't even able to drag his feet. His body was exhausted. He couldn't move or walk. He .broke his pelvis. Do you want to know how?

They left him hanging in the torture chamber (block 10). In this block, they suspend the detainees from the fan or door a few times every day for a specific period of time and then they bring them back down. They forgot him suspended in the air for long hours. Yes, they simply: forgot him.

Sanqour's mother fainted after seeing him in this awful condition. His family bewailed and wept. Everyone in the room wept bitterly. Sanqour's tragic condition made us forgot our sons' sufferings. He broke all our hearts.
This is how one of the families described the upsetting scene they saw while they were visiting their son on April 12, 2015. However, the family refused to disclose their son's name, fearing that the prison authorities will retaliate. They; nonetheless, felt that they were obligated to report what they had witnessed that day: "It was a very difficult day. The distressing images of these detainees are still vivid in our minds."

On the way to the scheduled visit

The detainee's family experienced a long and hard time as they were on their long way to Jaw Prison. They felt mixed feelings of yearning and fear as they were about to see their son after losing contact with him for over a month and a half. When the family arrived, they saw a group of families that have just left. They were all depressed and tears were pouring down their cheeks. It clearly reflected the amount of pain they experienced during their visits. Some of them were denied visitation and others were just shocked to see the severity of the torture manifested on their sons' bodies.

Their hearts fluttered as they checked the lists, looking for their son's name, as if they couldn't believe that they were going to see him. At the moment they saw his name, joy overwhelmed their distressed faces, yet next to his name they read (block 10) which means that he is in the building, notorious for torture. They passed through the crowded room where they were searched and then sat in the waiting room where they wait for long periods of time. After the agony of waiting so long, some detainees' names were called out but their son's name wasn't among them.

Five hours passed after the time of their scheduled visit. Five families went ahead of us as we were still waiting. They frequently asked why their visit was delayed and why they haven't seen their son yet. The only response was: "We don't know which building he's in." As this family sat watching the encounters between the families and detainees, all it noticed was tears and grief.

I Don't Want to Go the Restroom of Hell

While they were waiting, they saw that most of the detainees were unable to walk. Their bodies were battered and the color of their skin had changed due to the severe torture they were subjected to. Some of them didn't know what was happening around them and most of them were in a hysterical condition as a result of the fear and terror they were experiencing. They were all (except a few) crying incessantly, choking out through their tears.
One of the detainees cried when he saw his mother and said to her: "Mother, mother, look what they did to me." He was weeping bitterly. He embraced his mother who tried to calm him down. His mother didn't sit the whole time, as she was going back and forth buying him food from a nearby shop. It was obvious that he was extremely hungry.

Some of the families bought some snacks for their sons from the cafeteria there, for they are not allowed to bring food with them from their homes. It was strange how each detainee reacted. Some of them vigorously dug into the food as if they hadn't eaten for a year. Others ate five times more than they usually eat. However, some of them did the complete opposite. They refused to even have one bite. When their parents asked them why, they said: "If we eat, it means that we'll have to use the restroom and going to the restroom is as worse as hell. It is unbearable. I don't want food...I don't want to use the restroom."

They Are Killing Us

The family of detainee Ali Haroun, who was brought from Thailand via International Interpol, waited for hours before seeing him. It was obvious that his mother wasn't there, as if she knew that her son wasn't ok. After hours of waiting, everyone was shocked when they saw Ali. He was also carried to the visitation center since his ribs and bones were broken. The severity of the torture he was subjected to changed the features of his thin body. He murmured to his family with a broken heart: "They are killing us. They are killing us. They are killing Sheikh Al-Mahfouz. They are killing Mohammed Al-Shemali." He also told his family that the torture he was subjected to during questioning was nothing compared to the torture he is suffering from now.

Six Brothers and a Distressed Mother

Meanwhile, a mother was waiting to meet her six sons. Yes, six sons at once. Her face mirrored long years of agony. The wrinkles carved on her face were not the making of the long years but the anguish she has experienced throughout these years. She nearly drew her last breath as she waited to see the apples of her eye. When the six brothers entered the room, they starting looking at each other before looking at their mother. They hardly recognized one another. They are all detained in one prison but never see each other and know nothing about their brothers' conditions. They embraced one another and their tears started pouring from their swollen eyes and then they all hugged their mother as she wept bitterly.

A Father Unaware of His Daughter

An innocent child was waiting to see her father. When she saw him, she was stunned: "Mama...Is that papa?" She didn't recognize him because he had changed a lot. He is now much older and all of his hair has turned grey. She called him (papa, papa) yet he wasn't conscious. He wasn't aware of her. He didn't welcome her as a loving father who has waited to see his daughter. It was obvious that he wasn't conscious. He wasn't aware of what was happening around him and why he was there. A police officer forced him to sit down and it is not known whether he was able to reveal what he was suffering from to his family.

Terror Overwhelms Them

The family was still patient despite the prison authorities' provocative actions. They were trying to make the family feel hopeless, but they remained strong and didn't do anything that might cause the cancelation of the visit they waited for so long. They spoke to one of the senior officers there and with one phone call, they brought him to the visitation center.

The family was shocked when they saw him. He looked ten years older. His face was pale and yellow. His hands were shaking, he was completely exhausted and couldn't walk. His ribs were broken and he was leaning on one of his legs because he couldn't sit up straight. His voice was weak. His tears poured down his cheeks unwillingly and he started looking to the left and right as fear overwhelmed him completely.

Arabic Issue