Sheikh Abdullah Isa Al-Mahroos

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BAHRAIN / Detained April 1, 2011

Sheikh Abdullah Isa Al-Mahroos is a religious leader and the Vice President of the Al-Zaharaa Society of Orphans, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the peaceful 2011 pro-democracy Pearl Uprising.

On April 1, 2011, Bahraini police arrested Sheikh Abdullah Isa Al-Mahroos (also known by Mirza Al-Mahroos) a religious leader and the Vice President of the Al-Zaharaa Society of Orphans. Al-Mahroos is considered one of the “Bahrain 13″—the name given to 13 Bahraini opposition leaders, rights activists, bloggers arrested and charged for participating in peaceful demonstrations in 2011.

During his arrest, police blindfolded and brutally beat Al-Mahroos in front of his family. Shortly after, a military court charged him with “conspiring against the government and plotting to overthrow the regime” and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Subject to continual threats of violence, he signed a written statement to be used in court against him without review for fear of retaliation in prison.

Like other Bahraini political prisoners, Al-Mahroos has been repeatedly tortured and denied medical access while behind bars. In August 2014, he made a distressed phone call to his family complaining about the deterioration of his health in custody. He reported to have been refused adequate medical attention by the prison administration for lingering physical pain caused by the torture he had endured in 2011 at Castle Prison. He was not permitted to see his wife who died of a chronic disease during his imprisonment.