Bahrain Mirror (2021 Panorama): On November 1, 2021, the head of the General Directorate of Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security, lieutenant General Badr Al-Gaith (1981-2021), one of the officers involved in torture cases, dies.

Al-Gaith is the son of the former inspector in the Interior Ministry, Major General Ibrahim Al-Ghaith. He joined the National Security Service before moving to the Anti-Corruption Department.

According to information, Al-Gaith went to Al-Salam Hospital, in Al-Riffa, with a Moroccan woman he said was his wife and was suffering from severe chest pain in the chest before his death.

His death triggered his victims to recall his acts of torture, as he is deemed one of the most infamous officers notorious for practicing torture.

According to several witnesses and reports, Al-Gaith was one of the officers who tortured martyr Abdulkarim Al-Fakhrawi to death in 2011.

Hussein Khayrulla, who had his nationality revoked and was forcibly expelled, said in a testimony to "Bahrain Mirror": "We used to hear the screams of the martyr (Fakhrawi) during torture, but we didn't know who he was because we were all blindfolded. I remember that officer (Al-Gaith) used to brag with his immunity during the National Safety period. He threatened me with death and reiterated: I am in the National Security Apparatus and we are in the National Safety period. If I killed you, no one can hold me accountable."

In 2014, Al-Gaith brutally tortured suspects in the murder case of Emirati officer Tarek Al-Shihi. Martyrs Sami Mushaima and Abbas Al-Samie were admitted to the Military Hospital in a critical health condition as a result of electrocution, severe beatings, prolonged suspensions, and not being allowed alongside the rest of the prisoners in the case to sit for a few days, according to information which Bahrain Mirror confirmed and published earlier.

In the same context, the family of imprisoned human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja said that he was responsible for breaking Al-Khawaja's jaw during his arrest from his house in 2011.

Ali Abdulimam said via his Twitter account: "Executioner Badr Al-Gaith was responsible for my torture and the torture of many people. He died without undergoing a fair trial condemning and exposing his brutality".

"This may be the most annoying part of his death. I wished he was brought before the court where witnesses would be present to attest and expose how he mercilessly tortured and killed," he added. 

Other Twitter users retold what Al-Gaith did to a number of martyrs and political activists. Some shared what prisoner Abdulwahab Hussein said about the torture he was subjected to by Badr Al-Ghaith. He said: "On the way, I was hit, punched and insulted inside the car. They did not forget to insult me as a person, my family, my wife, my mother, my daughters, my sect and my religious symbols."

Al-Ghaith was promoted in 2018 and transferred from the National Security Apparatus to become the head of the Operations Unit at the General Directorate for Combating Corruption and Digital and Economic Security.

Arabic Version