Bahrain SIU to enquire into 21 complaints of torture by policemen

TDT | Manama                          

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Twenty-one complaints of torture and ill-treatment by police officers are being currently probed by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), according to an SIU official. It is learnt that the SIU has questioned 46 accused and suspects, and has referred seven cases to the Forensic Medicine and Psychological Support Division. Apart from these, recommendations have also been made to the Ministry of Interior to take disciplinary action.

Three months before, the Minor Criminal Court had sentenced a member of the Public Security Force to one year in jail after he was found guilty. Later the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to three months’ jail.

The Daily Tribune earlier quoted Mohammed Khalid Al Hazaa, the SIU head, as saying that the presence of the Unit in Bahrain’s judicial system is the mainstay for eliminating all forms of torture or ill-treatment and achieving criminal justice, based on its independent nature and its unique competence to determine criminal liability against government officials who committed illegal acts that caused crimes of torture, abuse or ill-treatment As Bahrain is unique regionally and internationally, it is distinguished by its human rights strides, regulatory and judicial institutions, which were set up to protect the rights of accused and convicted persons in the system, from the initiation of evidence and investigation procedures until the execution of legal penalties, he added.

“The Ombudsman, the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) and the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), established are interlinked and reinforce each other.”

The Special Investigations Unit has been, since its establishment in 2012, taking all the measures required to conduct investigations in cooperation with all the competent authorities in the Kingdom. The Unit endeavors over the years have resulted in a noticeable decrease in the number of allegations of torture and ill-treatment. This reflects that the Unit has earned the trust of the community and that it has achieved the purpose of its establishment thanks to its success in dealing transparently and firmly with all the legal and human rights abuses that came under its review over the years.

civilization of our society. It also reflects the legal and rights awareness of the public security members in light of the constitutional and humanitarian foundations and principles upon which the civilized development of our society is based. Internationally, the Unit won wide acclaim during the conference on the protection of human rights in the criminal justice system, organised by the Unit in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme.