Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Releases and arrests. This was the scene in Bahrain on Monday (September 13, 2021).

While the Ministry of Interior was calling the families of detainees to inform them of the decision to release their sons, it was raiding citizens' homes at dawn to arrest youths, including a child.

Under the Alternative Penal Code, the Bahraini authorities have released dozens, including prisoners who have benefited from recent legal amendments allowing the release of an inmate, even if he did not serve half of his sentence yet.

Among the 30 released, the authorities freed prisoners who were children at the time of their sentencing. The list of those released included Kamil Joum'a, 18, who was serving a 29-year prison sentence.

Joum'a was arrested when he was a child and served one year and seven months in prison over the charge of taking part in protests.

At the same time, the authorities arrested at least 10 youths in raids over the past two days, including child Ali Abdulmohsen. The raids were carried out in Samaheej and Buri.  

The families of prisoners stated that the police raided their homes at dawn and did not provide any explanation on the reasons for the raid or arrest.

In the same context, a Bahraini court sentenced 10 youths up to 15 years in prison after being convicted of vandalism, after giving confessions under torture.

This is the scene, the release of one child and the arrest of another, the commutation of a sentence and issuance of harsh rulings against others. It's as if there are two authorities or the existing authority doesn't know which route it wants to take: is it moving towards the direction of easing tensions or is it going to fall back into the madness that started 10 years ago.

The government wants to improve its human rights situation, but it does not want to abandon its repressive practices, sending a positive message on the one hand and negative messages on the other.

"This may carry political messages," says Salam Vice President Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafda.

"I think a separation should be made between the two events... The government may have a desire to expand the implementation of the Alternative Penal Code, a step that we encourage despite reservations about conditional release," he added. 

Al-Muhafda tells Bahrain Mirror: What we need is more than alternative sanctions if we want reform. We need a just law for the victims, and other laws that stop abuses and violations.

"Others will be arrested as long as the awful security services are working and have not been held accountable for the violations that have taken place over the past years," he stressed.

Al-Muhafda does not seem optimistic about the path of the authorities, highlighting that the people have been "struggling for civil and political rights for too long and we are still at the beginning of the road."

The authorities are heading in an unclear path by sending contradictory messages with the aim of wasting time. Nothing yet suggests that there is a real breakthrough that the authorities want to occur.

Arabic Version