Bahraini authorities announced Thursday they have filed criminal charges against a member of the National Intelligence Agency following the death of a detained man whose body showed evidence of severe physical abuse.
Officials brought charges weeks after the Interior Ministry launched an inquiry into Mohamed al-Mousawi’s death. His family received his body on March 27 showing extensive bruising, burns and lacerations.
Five individuals who witnessed al-Mousawi’s remains at the morgue and funeral spoke with The Associated Press. A forensic specialist from Physicians for Human Rights examined photographs of the body. Those who saw the remains described evidence of beatings, cable whipping and electrical burns. The human rights organization determined the wounds were consistent with blunt force injuries and torture.
Al-Mousawi was detained along with many others during the Iran conflict. His relatives told AP he vanished on March 19 following prayer services with two companions, who remain imprisoned. Officials later confirmed his arrest on allegations of Iranian espionage, which his family has rejected.
Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy called for a thorough investigation. When the Interior Ministry announced its probe, officials dismissed photographs from the military hospital morgue as “inaccurate and misleading.”
The Public Prosecution Office Thursday labeled the charges as “assault resulting in death.” Investigators examined medical documentation, video footage and interviewed witnesses who observed the body. Officials did not mention torture or identify the accused individual, but stated the person confessed to the alleged crimes and was taken into custody. Authorities maintained the original arrest was legitimate.
In 2017, Bahrain reinstated detention authority to its intelligence service, reversing previous limitations enacted due to earlier abuse accusations as the nation intensified its ongoing efforts to silence opposition voices.
Rights organizations claim Bahrain — a Sunni monarchy governing a predominantly Shiite population similar to Iran — exploited the conflict to suppress critics. The island nation, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, endured weeks of Iranian aerial attacks before a ceasefire was established. Security forces detained longtime Shiite activists, foreign workers who recorded strikes, and protesters who mourned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death or opposed American military presence.
While authorities did not specify the charged individual’s position within the National Intelligence Agency, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy stated they believe the person was likely a security officer, based on the investigative unit’s responsibilities in examining al-Mousawi’s death.
The organization urged officials to share their conclusions with the victim’s family and highlighted that his two companions who disappeared in March have only contacted relatives twice and could not reveal their detention location.
