The BFHR’s Statement on the Killing of Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi: Disturbing Signs of Torture on the Victim’s Body

In a serious and alarming escalation, Bahrain’s official security forces killed Sayed Mohammed Abdulmohsen Al-Mousawi extrajudicially (on March 27, 2026) after subjecting him to severe torture while in detention. His death followed his arbitrary arrest under unclear circumstances on March 19, 2026, along with a group of other citizens, after which they were forcibly disappeared. This occurred as checkpoints were set up across various areas in Bahrain, where citizens’ phones were searched and individuals found expressing solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the context of the U.S.-Israeli attacks were detained.

According to reliable sources, Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi was with Sayed Ahmed Al-Mousawi and Mustafa Yusuf in a single vehicle, heading to a suhoor meal after attending a Ramadan religious gathering in the Muharraq area, when they disappeared on March 19, 2026.

On the same night, Ali Mohsen Gharib, Ammar Hafez, and Ali Ishaq also went missing under similar circumstances, as they too were in a single vehicle on their way to suhoor when they disappeared.

Following these incidents, the families of the missing individuals filed reports with the security authorities regarding the disappearance of their sons. However, they received no confirmation that their sons were being held in official detention facilities. Instead, the Criminal Investigations Directorate contacted the families asking whether they had received any information about their sons’ whereabouts – an indication of a troubling lack of transparency.

Following the two disappearance incidents, the security authorities arrested four friends of the disappeared: Ahmed Mohammadi, Mohammed Mashhadi, and Ammar Yasser through home raids, and Imran Amiri after being summoned for questioning.

On March 27, 2026, the military hospital administration contacted the victim’s father, requesting his presence regarding a matter concerning his son. Upon arrival, he was asked to identify his son’s body in the morgue. He confirmed the identity and observed clear and severe signs of physical torture on the body (some images are attached to this statement). He was then given a death certificate without being informed of the circumstances of his son's death. The family was also not provided with the victim’s personal belongings, including his phone, wallet, and clothing.

The death of torture victim Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi revealed that he had been forcibly disappeared while in the custody of security authorities and subjected to severe torture. This has heightened fears among the families of other disappeared detainees, who remain deeply concerned about the fate of their sons, especially as the authorities continue to deny holding them.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior effectively confirmed that the victim had been in official custody, stating:
“Regarding what has been circulated on social media about the death of Mohammed Abdulmohsen… the Interior Ministry: the deceased had been detained on charges of seeking, communicating, and transferring information to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”

It is worth mentioning that, on March 9, 2026, the Bahraini Public Prosecution called for the death penalty for anyone expressing solidarity with what it described as a “hostile state,” in the context of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Note that the Bahraini government has officially normalized relations with Israel and allows U.S. military bases on its soil, from which operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran are conducted. At the same time, a significant portion of the Bahraini population has openly expressed solidarity with Iran and called for the removal of these U.S. bases – through dozens of peaceful demonstrations in over twenty areas of Bahrain, some of which faced security crackdowns; by hanging banners and writing slogans on walls across various neighborhoods; and by sharing their views widely on social media.

Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi was previously a prisoner of conscience. He was arbitrarily arrested on October 1, 2013, following a raid on a private facility, and spent 11 years in prison before being released under a royal pardon on April 8, 2024. He was neither compensated nor provided with redress for his years of arbitrary detention, nor officially recognized as a prisoner of conscience – just as the Bahraini government never granted any prisoner of conscience this status, which would entitle them to the right to reparations.

The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) stresses that this incident is not isolated but rather part of a recurring and deeply concerning pattern of serious violations. In such cases, the bodies of victims who die under torture in detention are effectively turned into deliberate messages of intimidation sent by the authorities to society, in an attempt to spread fear and break popular will through tools of repression and revenge.

The BFHR further emphasizes that the death of Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi in such a violent manner constitutes a grave crime that requires an urgent, independent, and impartial international investigation, free from any official interference, to establish the facts and ensure that all the perpetrators are held accountable.

At the same time, the BFHR notes an increasingly repressive climate marked by intimidation and escalating campaigns of incitement and defamation. Official institutions, including judicial bodies, are being used to justify or conceal repressive policies, including the pursuit of the harshest penalties, up to and including death, within a highly charged and hostile atmosphere.

The continuation of these policies reflects a dangerous approach aimed at silencing dissent and intimidating society through threats of imprisonment, torture, or even death, in an environment that lacks basic human rights safeguards and seriously undermines the principles of justice and the rule of law.

Accordingly, the BFHR calls for the following:

• The establishment of an independent and credible international investigation committee to determine the circumstances of this crime.
• The immediate disclosure of the fate of all forcibly disappeared individuals and guarantees of their physical and psychological safety.
• An immediate end to all forms of torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities.
• Accountability for all those responsible for this crime, regardless of their rank or position.
• The release of all arbitrarily detained individuals and the protection of their legal and human rights.
• An end to incitement and hate speech, and the safeguarding of citizens’ dignity and fundamental rights.

The BFHR extends its sincere condolences to the victim’s family and expresses its full solidarity with all the victims and their families, reaffirming its commitment to continuing human rights advocacy to expose crimes and violations and defend human dignity in Bahrain.

Photos of the victim showing signs of torture on his body: