DR.
ABDULJALIL AL-SINGACE
Bahraini academic and human rights defender serving life imprisonment since 2011. On a liquid-only hunger strike since July 2021 in protest at the confiscation of his manuscripts.
- Country
- Bahrain
- Role
- Academic
- Arrested
- 17 Mar 2011
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment (June 2011, upheld on appeal 2012).
Imprisoned for
Five thousand five hundred+ days.
Days in prison since 17 March 2011. Counter live · updates daily at 00:00 UTC
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Arrest
Seized in night raid after Pearl Roundabout uprising
Security forces took him from his Manama home days after the launch of mass pro-democracy protests. He was placed in incommunicado detention and later reported torture, beatings and sexual humiliation.
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Verdict
Life sentence handed down by military court as part of Bahrain 13
A special National Safety Court sentenced him alongside opposition leaders, clerics and rights defenders to life imprisonment on charges related to "plotting against the state". His confession had been extracted under duress.
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Case update
Court of Cassation upholds life imprisonment
Bahrain's highest court confirmed the sentence despite extensive documentation of torture, denial of counsel and the use of a military tribunal against a civilian.
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Case update
Begins liquid-only hunger strike over confiscated manuscripts
After Jaw Prison authorities seized his handwritten research on Bahraini Arabic dialects, he refused all solid food. He has sustained himself only on water, salts and vitamins since.
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Case update
Two years on hunger strike; transferred to medical facility
Now held at the Muharraq specialised health-care centre, he developed tremors, prostate problems and a critically low white-blood-cell count.
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Case update
Three years without solid food; family fears for his life
A joint letter from rights organisations warned that his refusal of nutrition had become medically unsustainable. He has continued to insist his strike will end only when his manuscripts are returned and he is released.
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Case update
UN Committee against Torture demands his immediate release
In concluding observations on Bahrain, the Committee named him by name and urged the government to free him together with Hassan Mushaima and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.
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Case update
15 years in detention; fifth year of hunger strike begins
He marked the 15th anniversary of his arrest still confined at the Muharraq facility, still refusing food, his manuscripts still withheld.
Approved
The arrest, and what followed.
Background and work
Dr. Abduljalil al-Singace is a Bahraini engineer, academic and one of the most prominent voices to emerge from the country's pro-democracy movement. A former head of mechanical engineering at the University of Bahrain, he was also a leading member of the opposition Haq Movement and used his blog to document discrimination, sectarian policy and the situation of political prisoners. His scholarship later turned to the cultural fabric of Bahrain itself, including the dialects of Arabic spoken across the islands.
Arrest and detention
He was first detained in August 2010 and released the following February, only to be re-arrested on 17 March 2011, days after the launch of the Pearl Roundabout protests. Security forces took him from his home in a night raid. In the weeks that followed he was tortured, held in solitary confinement and subjected to sexual humiliation, abuse he later detailed before a military court. He has since been recognised as one of the "Bahrain 13" — a group of opposition leaders, clerics and rights defenders tried together by a special military tribunal.
Conviction and imprisonment
In June 2011, the National Safety Court sentenced him to life imprisonment on charges connected to "plotting to overthrow the government" and forming a terrorist organisation. The conviction was upheld on appeal in 2012 despite credible reports of torture and a trial that fell far below international fair-trial standards. He has been imprisoned ever since, much of it at Jaw Prison, where he has documented systematic mistreatment of detainees and the denial of medical care.
Current status as of 2026
On 8 July 2021 he began an open-ended hunger strike after prison guards confiscated his handwritten research on Bahraini Arabic dialects. He has sustained himself on water, salts and vitamin supplements ever since. As of mid-2026 he has passed his 64th birthday, his fifth year refusing food, and his 15th year behind bars. He is held at the Muharraq specialised health-care centre, where he suffers from tremors, prostate disease, a depressed white-cell count and chronic pain. In November 2025 the UN Committee against Torture explicitly called for his release. Bahrain has not responded.
Sources on file with HuMENA EditorialReading time · 6 minutes
"I am ready to die. They confiscated my work. They will not confiscate my dignity."HuMENA Editorial · 2026
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Compiled by HuMENA's Bahrain research team from primary documentation, public filings, family-supplied legal documents, and confidential partner reporting. Editorial responsibility: HuMENA Editorial Board.
Editorial sign-off · published