Farewell Mousa Al-Abbar: The Man who Defeated the Authorities

Mousa Al-Abbar with his grandchildren
Mousa Al-Abbar with his grandchildren

2020-01-26 - 2:53 am

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Only one man in Bahrain managed to force the authorities to issue a death certificate for his son with the real cause of death after it was faked by the authorities the first time.

Mousa Al-Abbar passed away on Saturday (January 18, 2020). He's the father of martyr Abdulaziz Al-Abbar. He spent his last days in Al-Salmaniya medical complex since he suffered from health complications due to multiple strokes.

Martyr Abdulaziz was injured and remained 52 days in a coma before he passed away. His death was followed by a battle to obtain a death certificate that states the real cause of his death. His story is one of immortal stories of the February 14 uprising.

On April 18, 2014, Abdulaziz Al-Abbar (27 years old) was injured by regime forces. He sustained an injury in his head in clashes during a mourning procession of an activist in Sar. He slipped into a coma for 52 days and then died.

The Bahraini security authorities denied the real reason for his death in his death certificate. They wrote that he died due to brain damage, noting that the martyr didn't suffer from any disease.

The battle of Al-Abbar's family began in order to change the false report. The family embarrassed the directorates affiliated with the authorities.

The family headed to the Public Prosecution, Special Investigation Unit, the office of the forensic physician who was on duty, head of criminal evidence directorate, the Ombudsman, National Institute for Human Rights, office of the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Al-Budai police station to report the injury and urged a number of figures and lawyers to seek a copy of the prosecutor's report. The Bahraini authorities; however, did not show any leniency in changing the death certificate, which the family considered to be compelling evidence of its involvement in his death.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people, human rights activists, politicians, media people and clerics flocked to the martyr's house in solidarity with the family's position and demands.

The family of the martyr, led by the hard-working father Mousa Al-Abbar, worked non-stop, and their son's body remained without burial for about 80 days, awaiting the release of the real report that shows the true causes of his death.

On International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the martyr's family protested in front of the UN building and called on the UN Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to intervene.

Indeed, the authorities were forced to yield to the exceptional determination and patience of Mousa Al-Abbar and his family and thus handed them a death certificate proving that the martyr was shot in the head with birdshot pellets, which is the real cause of his death.

After receiving the body, martyr Abdulaziz Al-Abbar was mourned in a mass funeral procession despite the siege imposed on Sanabis village, leaving two orphaned children, and two parents who did not let the truth of his death get lost between the coverups of the public prosecutor's offices and the Ministry of Health.

Now, six years after the martyr's death, his father follows him as a witness. He leaves with peace that he obtained evidence proving that the oppressive regime killed his son.

Arabic Version