Domestic violence cases in Bahrain dip by 44 percent

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Domestic violence in the Kingdom came down by 44 per cent last year compared to 2020, according to Public Prosecution annual statistics for the year 2021.

In a welcome trend, last year also saw a major decrease in many crimes committed across the country. The drug crimes came down by 40pc while theft cases declined by 33.5pc. COVID-19 rules violation cases were down by 32.6pc. The Public Prosecution last year registered 82,746 cases in which 1,137 cases were related to social media abuses.

The Public Prosecution highlighted that the jail terms of 3,741 inmates were commuted to alternate penalties on humanitarian grounds.

The substitution of sentences of imprisonment with alternative sentences follows a judicial process after reviewing the individual, social and economic circumstances of each case, following formal referral by the Verdicts Implementation Directorate of the Interior Ministry.

All cases were each considered carefully by the relevant judge, and all have had sentences of imprisonment replaced with various types of alternative penalties appropriate to the individual circumstances of each inmate and their case, according to Public Prosecution.

The Verdicts Implementation Directorate has always highlighted that the decree-law mentions alternative sentencing as an important tool in the rehabilitation of inmates and their reintegration into society.

The Decree-Law 24/2021, issued by HM the King on penalties and alternative measures states: “The relevant authority at the Interior Ministry may request the executive judge to substitute the original penalty by one or more of the alternative penalties set forth in Article 2 of this Law, provided that it would not pose a threat to public security, and that the convicted person must have paid all the financial liabilities handed down against them by a criminal court unless it is impossible for them to pay.”

With regard to social media crimes, The Daily Tribune last month carried a report showing WhatsApp as the number one platform to commit social media crimes in the Kingdom. It was followed by other platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Imo.