The Acting Attorney General and Head of the Special Investigation Unit stated that during the second third of this year, the unit had received 21 complaints, the allegations of which varied between torture and ill-treatment by members of the Public Security Forces, and the unit has started the necessary investigation procedures into those complaints.
Regarding the statistics of the unit’s work during the mentioned period; The unit heard the statements of 15 complainants and 9 witnesses, while questioning 46 accused and suspects from the Public Security Forces, andpresented 7 of the complainants to the Forensic and Psychological Support Division. As the unit finished its investigation in one of the cases it summoned a member to The Military Department of the Ministry of Interior for disciplinary action.
With regard to the unit’s follow-up of cases referred by it to the competent courts; On May 15, 2022, the Minor Criminal Court issued a ruling punishing a member of the Public Security Forces with imprisonment for a period of one year for committing the crime of assaulting the integrity of the body of others, while the Court of Appeal ordered to amend the ruling and only imprison the accused for a period of three months.
In the same context, disciplinary penalties were issued against four members of the Public Security Forces, which varied between warning and postponing promotion for a year, in cases that the unit had previously ordered to be referred to the Military Courts Department of the Ministry of Interior to impose a disciplinary penalty.
The head of the unit added that within the framework of the implementation of the National Human Rights Plan 2022-2026, especially with regard to developing the roles of national protection mechanisms and restorative justice, and in light of the unit’s constant endeavor to communicate with all national and international bodies; With a view to strengthening bonds of cooperation and exchanging legal and practical experiences and introducing the role entrusted to it in the protection and promotion of human rights; The unit participated in the annual meeting of the United Nations Development Program on the rule of law and human rights for the sustainability of peace and the promotion of development, which was held virtually on 21-22 June 2022, and addressed several axes related to human rights, sustainable development and justice. During the mentioned period, the unit also organized several virtual meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies, the Southern Governorate Police Directorate, and the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and its implementation to the international standards, and what it has achieved in strengthening the principles of the rule of law and ensuring accountability, and in achieving a significant decrease in the rates of crimes it deals with.
