Bahrain blasts Amnesty, says allegations are false

Manama : The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the allegations of an Amnesty International report on human rights situation in the Kingdom, saying what it called “suppression of opposition”  as false. 

“The country exerts utmost efforts to promote and protect human rights in spite of external interference in its affairs and sovereignty, sectarian and extremist dangers, regional conflicts and intolerance,” the Ministry said in a report entitled “The Legal protection of Human Rights - Achievements and Challenges”. Amnesty’s accusation of “suppression of the opposition” contained false allegations and interpretations, the Ministry said in the report, harshly criticising the erroneous methodology adopted by Amnesty to prepare their report.

The Ministry said that Amnesty did not even mention its method of verifying the credibility of its sources, and the objective indicators it had set for itself in reading media reports or other references.  “Amnesty as a human rights organization should review with the authorities concerned the information rather than level false allegations based on false information from vague sources,” the Ministry said.

“It would be detrimental to the Organization to adopt its report as a method that deviates from a careful human rights concern,” said the Ministry, harshly criticising the Amnesty report. The Ministry said that the Kingdom recognizes the process of promoting respect for and protection of human rights, a process that is free of challenges and difficulties. 

“Bahrain seeks, in accordance with the law, to confront and deal with these acts while safeguarding human rights by providing national protection mechanisms that monitor the respect of national laws and institutions without prejudice to individual rights in social, political and civil rights,” the Ministry said.

As for Amnesty International’s recommendation on freedom of assembly, the Ministry stressed the keenness of the Ministry of Interior to ensure that there is no prohibition on the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and that the exercise of this right is in accordance with legal provisions to ensure the safety of participants of these gathering and marches, and to maintain public order and morals as well as protect the rights and freedoms of others, according to Decree-Law No. (32) for the year 2006, that amended certain provisions of Decree-Law No. (18) of 1973 on public gatherings and rallies. The Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain affirms that all persons arrested, including those mentioned in the report, were arrested in accordance with legal procedures and not for their exercise of their right to expression or for any other reason related to human rights.  

Use of force, torture

Regarding the allegations of the use of force, torture and other ill-treatment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that, in accordance with the decision of the Attorney-General of 2012, the Special Investigation Unit of the Kingdom of Bahrain operates independently in the Public Prosecution. Its legal practices shall be exercised under the power of its Chairman, and the Attorney-General shall supervise its work with administrative oversight. The Unit is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all allegations of murder, torture and ill-treatment attributed to persons in leading positions, whether they were civilian and military, who are under “command responsibility in accordance with international standards.  

The General Secretariat Ombudsman was also established, which is an administratively and financially-independent body in the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior has also established a new Directorate of Internal Investigations, which is responsible of examining complaints related to allegations of wrongdoing by any members of the public security forces. It has also issued the Code of Conduct for Policemen under Ministerial Resolution No. 14 of 2012. It is derived from the best international practices and codes of conduct for law enforcement officials of the United Nations. Ministerial Decree No. 24 of 2014 was issued to promulgate the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, in line with the basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials of the United Nations.   With regard to allegations of arbitrary deprivation of nationality and forced deportation, the Ministry stated that the deprivation of nationality occurs in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom and is only in accordance with the mechanism provided by the law - a Royal Decree - either on the basis of judicial decisions or upon the order of the Minister of the Interior after receiving the approval of the Cabinet. The Ministry referred to the right to appeal against the decision to revoke citizenship by persons involved before the Bahraini judiciary in accordance with legal procedures.  

The Ministry affirmed that the Government has compensated victims of human rights violations. The Government adopted the civil settlement initiative to compensate the victims of the events of February and March 2011 upon the proposal of the National Committee that was established to follow up on the recommendations of the report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry. 

No arbitrary detention in Kingdom

With regards to Amnesty International’s recommendations on freedom of expression and arbitrary detention, the Ministry said that the Public Prosecution of the Kingdom performs its duties with full objectivity and in full compliance with the provisions of the law. No one is accused for exercising political activity established by the Constitution and the law, unless an offense is expressly committed by law. 

The Ministry confirmed that after examining the legal status of the prisoners referred to in the report, it was found that they had been convicted under final judicial rulings in criminal cases unrelated to human rights and after a trial that met all standards of justice and transparency. 

On Amnesty’s recommendation, “Immediately stop harassment and targeting of human rights defenders,” the report contained general and ambiguous terms that were not specific to the Ministry so that the Ministry could respond. The Ministry explained that legal means have been provided to ensure criminal and disciplinary accountability for those charged with committing acts of torture or cruel or degrading treatment. The Public Prosecution of Bahrain has affirmed its keenness to confront these facts as provided by the law and to conduct them in criminal liability, extending to the determination of disciplinary responsibility.

Violation of law forced action against Al-Wasat

As for the shutdown of Al-Wasat newspaper, the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the legal procedures to suspend Al-Wasat newspaper in June 2017 came as a result of the newspaper’s  repeated violations to the Law of Press, Printing and Publishing  of 2002, and the national and international press and media covenants, through its involvement in spreading rumours and false news that would incite sectarian hatred, racism and harm the Kingdom’s relations with fraternal and friendly countries, and serve extremist organizations in in light of the violence and terrorism taking place in the Kingdom. The most notable violations that took place in the last three years, and the procedures taken against them are as follows:  

In the past years, the Public Prosecution, under Article 80 of the Press, Printing and Publishing Law, has summoned a number of Al-Wasat authors to question them after publishing news and reports that would stir sectarian divisions, threaten national security, incite hatred and disregard laws. Opinion articles that included violations were published in the newspaper 4-6 times a month.