Horrors facing female prisoners of conscience in UAE jails revealed

The International Centre for Justice and Human Rights has received a voice recording from prisoner of conscience Maryam al-Balushi that was leaked from jail on Saturday 19 May 2018.

In her record, Maryam spoke about her exposure to torture and humiliating treatment at Al-Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi.

“I was draining blood because of malnutrition, lack of ventilation, ill-treatment by police officers and racism,” she said.

In a letter recently smuggled out of Abu Dhabi’s al Wathba Prison, 21-year-old Maryam has said that since her detention she has been threatened with rape and subjected to torture, which has included verbal and physical abuse.

This seems to be a common theme of complaint across the Emirati prison system. In recent years, Nepalese guards, in particular, have become notorious for their aggressive treatment of prison inmates.