Ahmed Mansoor being held in “medieval conditions”, according to former UAE prisoner

Ahmed Mansoor being held in “medieval conditions”, according to former UAE prisoner

In early April the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) received news from a fellow prisoner that Ahmed Mansoor was being kept in a cell with no bed and no running water and had no access to a shower.

The prisoner, who has since been freed and left the country, has now provided additional details of Mansoor’s detention conditions. He told GCHR that prisoners are expected to keep their own cells clean despite having no access to running water or cleaning supplies. While there are showers installed in the cells, they do not work due to a problem with the water system.

The former prisoner described the conditions in the isolation ward, where Mansoor is being held. He said many of the prisoners, some of whom have been there 20 years, do not receive medical care.

The cells measure 2 x 2 meters with a small window that only allows around three hours of sunlight a day. With the walls running up to 11 metres high, prisoners have to shout to hear one another from cell to cell. The lights are very abrasive so detainees request them to be kept off most of the time.

The former prisoner says that most of the people in the isolation ward are allowed to go to the canteen, except Mansoor, who receives his canteen items in his cell. He has not been allowed to leave the cell since his arrest, except for family visits.

However, after the hunger strike garnered publicity, Mansoor was allowed to go outside to the sports yard for the first time. Normally, prisoners in the isolation ward are not permitted outside, but the former prisoner said Mansoor was allowed out around five times after some Embassies and European Union representatives took up his case. However, prisoners from the isolation ward are still not allowed to mix with the general population when they go outside.

The prisoner arrived in Al-Sadr at the end of January 2018 and Mansoor was there already. While the former prisoner did not witness any acts of torture perpetrated against Mansoor, he said he had been psychologically tortured due to his “medieval” detention conditions. He added that Mansoor had been sleeping on the floor since his detention in Al-Sadr, although he may now have received a mattress after increased attention on his case.

Tags: #FreeAhmed

 

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