15 complaints against Bahrain police officers probed

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Complaints ranging between ill-treatment and torture are being probed against members of 15 Public Security Forces, according to the Head of Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The official said 28 accused have already been interrogated while eight complaints have been referred to the Forensic Medicine and Psychological Support Division.

“In one particular case, the unit has completed its investigation into the allegation that an individual was subjected to physical abuse by a police officer and the accused has been referred to competent criminal court to face trial,” he said.

The unit also referred three cases to department courts within the Interior Ministry to impose appropriate disciplinary penalty on them. Earlier, in cases referred to the courts by the SIU, the High Criminal Court issued a ruling on April 12, 2022, punishing three members of the Public Security Forces with imprisonment for a term of three years, for having committed crimes of physical assault on two inmates, punishing them for violating the instructions.

The attention accorded to human rights in the criminal justice system is the way to the rule of law, the head of the Special Investigation Unit has said.

According to Mohammed Khalid Al Hazaa, the SIU head, 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, Al Hazaa earlier said.

The SIU 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 it in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme.

The SIU’s work is in line with the international principles on the effective investigation and documentation of torture enshrined in the Istanbul Protocol.