Hawzah News Agency- In a statement issued on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the center said enforced disappearance is not merely the unlawful detention of an individual but a grave violation that places the victim outside the protection of the law, denies the family knowledge of their fate, and creates conditions conducive to torture, ill-treatment and even death without effective oversight.
Case of Seyyed Mohammad al-Mousavi
The center pointed to the case of Seyyed Mohammad al-Mousavi as a painful illustration of the dangers of such practices.
Al-Mousavi was detained at a checkpoint in the Muharraq area on March 19, 2026, but his family was not informed of his fate for nine days. They were later summoned to the Bahrain Defense Force hospital and notified of his death. His body reportedly bore extensive injuries consistent with repeated beatings in custody, and the Special Investigations Unit acknowledged that his death resulted from assault during detention.
Calls for structural reform
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights stressed that cases of enforced disappearance and torture cannot be treated as isolated or marginal incidents. Instead, genuine accountability and fundamental structural reforms are required to prevent the recurrence of such violations.
The center urged Bahraini authorities to immediately halt all acts of enforced disappearance, clarify the fate and whereabouts of all forcibly disappeared persons, and conduct independent and impartial investigations into all cases of enforced disappearance, torture, ill-treatment and death in custody.
It further called for effective accountability and compensation mechanisms, including the prosecution of officials responsible for violations.
Demands for international access
The rights group demanded the release of all citizens detained solely for exercising their basic rights, an end to unjust and collective detentions and any form of collective punishment.
It also called for unrestricted access to Bahrain for UN human rights monitors and other independent international observers, including those dealing with torture and enforced disappearances, and for national laws to be brought into line with international human rights standards.
International pressure needed
The center urged the international community to intensify pressure on Bahraini authorities to end enforced disappearances, torture and systematic repression, address the issue of missing and detained persons, and ensure that human rights remain at the forefront of political, diplomatic and security relations with Bahrain.
"Bahrain cannot speak of genuine reform while the tools of repression and impunity remain in place," the statement concluded.
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