Mohamed Isa Abdulla Hasan was a 16-year-old minor and school student when Bahraini authorities arrested him without a warrant on 1 March 2026 while he was outside a grocery store in Nuwaidrat. During his detention, he has endured enforced disappearance, torture, coerced confession, denial of access to legal counsel and guardian during interrogation, an unfair trial, deprivation of education and family visits, and sectarian verbal abuse. Currently, he is held in Dry Dock Prison, serving a three-year prison sentence, while his lawyer pursues proceedings before the Court of Cassation.
On 1 March 2026, riot police officers arrested Mohamed during a peaceful demonstration in the Nuwaidrat area held to condemn the Israeli and American aggression against the Islamic Republic, including the killing of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent Shiite religious figure, as well as the death of children at a school in Iran. The demonstration was suppressed and the protesters were dispersed. Riot police arrested several people from the public street who had not participated in the demonstration, including Mohamed. At the time, he was on his way to visit his maternal grandfather and was standing outside a grocery store in the area. The authorities did not provide a reason for his arrest, and his family learned of his detention from other people.
After his arrest, Mohamed was forcibly disappeared for approximately two days. On 2 March 2026, his family searched for him at several police stations and was repeatedly given conflicting information about his whereabouts. They eventually found him at Sitra Police Station on 3 March 2026, where he heard his mother’s voice and began calling out to her, saying, “Mother, I am here; they are lying to you”. Mohamed remained at Sitra police station until the morning before being transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center on 4 March 2026.
From the time of his arrest, Mohamed was subjected to beatings. He was interrogated at the Qudaibiya Police Station without the presence of a lawyer or legal guardian, despite being a minor. The interrogation was conducted in front of a video camera. Whenever Mohamed denied the charges, the camera was turned off and he was beaten and threatened with even more severe beatings if he continued to deny the charges. Officers then repeated the same charges, effectively forcing him to choose between confessing and being subjected to further violence. Mohamed eventually confessed to participating in the assembly. He signed the interrogation records without reading them and was in a poor psychological state as a result of the ill-treatment he had endured.
Mohamed was also questioned by a public prosecution officer at AlHoora police station. He reported that the prosecutor treated him abusively and verbally insulted and cursed his religious sect. The public prosecutor ordered his detention for one week on charges of unlawful assembly, assaulting security personnel, and possessing Molotov cocktails. Mohamed denied the charges except for participating in the assembly, which he admitted out of fear. On 4 March 2026, Mohamed called his family for the first time and informed them that the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) ordered his detention for one week.
Mohamed was not brought promptly before a judge and was denied access to his lawyer during the investigations and court proceedings. The court’s renewal hearings continued for six months, both in person and online, during which the lawyer was unable to meet with Mohamed and was prevented from attending the in-person hearings. Mohamed was not given adequate time and facilities to prepare his defense and was unable to present evidence or challenge evidence presented against him. The confession obtained after he was beaten and threatened was subsequently used against him in trial.
On 15 June 2026, the court sentenced Mohamed to three years in prison on charges of 1) attempting, with other unidentified persons, to assault the physical integrity of members of the Public Security forces while performing their duties by throwing Molotov cocktails on 1 March 2026, 2) possessing and carrying flammable devices with the intent of endangering people’s lives and property, 3) using flammable devices with the intent of endangering people’s lives and property, and 4) participating in a public assembly of more than five people with the purpose of committing crimes and disturbing public order by using violence to achieve the assembly’s objective. On 31 August 2026, the High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld the judgment.
Mohamed’s family has been allowed to visit him only twice since his arrest. His mother went to the prison administration after his transfer to Dry Dock Detention Centre to provide a bank card so that Mohamed could purchase his needs from the prison canteen, as well as a phone card. She also arranged a visit, which took place approximately two weeks after his detention. His phone calls to his family have remained infrequent due to repeated restrictions imposed on detainees in the prison.
Mohamed has also been deprived of his right to education. He was a second-year secondary student at a vocational school specialising in carpentry and had a cumulative average of 83 percent, with a grade of very good. According to the social worker’s assessment following an online interview with Mohamed on 9 July 2026, he was expected to move to the third year of secondary school after the summer holiday. He also reported having no disciplinary violations or undertakings at school. However, because of his detention, Mohamed lost the academic year, and there is currently no clear mechanism to ensure that he can resume his education.
Moreover, Mohamed was taken to a forensic doctor after requesting medical examination. However, the doctor examined areas other than those where Mohamed had been beaten. The family has also received testimonies from detainees and former detainees concerning conditions at Dry Dock Prison, including inhumane treatment, psychological and physical abuse, beatings, pepper spray, solitary confinement, threats of increased violence, sectarian insults and verbal abuse, denial of medical care, lack of educational and recreational programmes, and denial of access to the yard for outdoor exercise.
Mohamed’s arbitrary arrest as a minor, enforced disappearance, torture, medical neglect, and denial of contact with his lawyer and family constitute clear violations of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, to which Bahrain is a party.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) urges Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed. ADHRB further calls for a thorough investigation into allegations of arbitrary arrest, torture, enforced disappearance, denial of family visits and legal counsel, sectarian discrimination, and deprivation of education, ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable and that Mohamed is compensated for the violations he endured. At the very least, ADHRB demands that Mohamed be granted a fair retrial under the Bahraini Restorative Justice Law for Children and in accordance with international legal standards, leading to his release. Furthermore, ADHRB calls on the administration of Dry Dock Juvenile Prison to allow regular family visits for Mohamed, provide the necessary support to enable him to complete his studies and end all retaliatory measures against Mohamed and all detainees.
