The Acting Attorney General and Head of the Special Investigation Unit stated that during the first third of this year, the unit had received 15 complaints that varied between torture and ill-treatment by members of the Public Security Forces, and the unit has started its necessary procedures in all these complaints.
Regarding the statistics of the unit’s work during the mentioned period; The unit listened to the statements of 23 complainants and 4 witnesses, while questioning 28 accused and suspects from the Public Security Forces and presented 8 of the complainants to the Forensic and Psychological Support Division.
Regarding what the unit accomplished during the same period; The unit has completed its investigations into the fact that a person alleges that he was subjected to physical abuse by a member of the public security forces; It ordered that the accused be referred to the competent criminal court.
In the same context, the unit ordered the referral of three members of the Public Security Forces to the Military Courts Department of the Ministry of Interior, to impose the appropriate disciplinary penalty on them; What was proven against them of legal violations incompatible with their military function.
On the other hand, and in light of the Unit’s follow-up to the cases referred by it to the competent courts; The High Criminal Court issued a ruling on April 12, 2022, punishing three members of the Public Security Forces with imprisonment for a period of three years, for having committed crimes of physical assault on two inmates, punishing them for violating the instructions.
The head of the unit added that, coinciding with the passage of 10 years since the establishment of the Special Investigation Unit, and under the generous patronage of His Excellency the Attorney General, Dr. Ali bin Fadhul Al Buainain; The Unit, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program and the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies, organized a regional conference entitled (The Effective Role of National Bodies and Mechanisms in the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights), which was held via video communication technology on February 27, 2022 in the presence of heads and members of national bodies and mechanisms concerned with the protection of human rights with the participation of a group of national legal and human rights experts, the conference addressed, during its sessions, the national efforts made in the field of human rights protection and ways to enhance those rights, and to keep pace with Bahraini legislation for international conventions and standards. The conference concluded with several recommendations, including emphasizing the importance of research and training in the field of prevention of crime, and intensifying national efforts to establish a culture of respect for the law and its sovereignty.
