Manama, May 3 (BNA): The Acting Attorney General and head of the Special Investigation Unit stated that the unit received 14 complaints during the first quarter of this year.
The allegations varied between torture, ill-treatment and the use of excessive force by members of the Public Security Forces, and the unit took the necessary legal measures in all of these complaints.
Regarding the unit’s work statistics during the mentioned period. The unit interviewed 33 defendants and witnesses, while 43 defendants from the Public Security Forces were interviewed, and referred 18 defendants to the Department of Forensic Medicine and Psychological Support.
What the unit accomplished during the same period. The unit ended its investigations with a person who claimed to have been subjected to physical assault with the knowledge of a member of the Public Security Forces and ordered that the accused be referred to the competent criminal court, and the case session will be on the next day. May 15, 2023.
– With regard to the unit’s follow-up of cases referred to it before the competent courts. On January 26, 2023, the Minor Criminal Court acquitted a member of the Public Security Forces of the charge, while on January 31, 2023, the Major Criminal Court ruled to punish four members of the Public Security Forces with one year in prison over the charge against them, and the verdict was confirmed.
In the same context, the unit received disciplinary sanctions from the Military Courts Department of the Ministry of Interior against two members of the Public Security Forces in a case that had previously ordered referral to the Military Courts Department to impose the appropriate disciplinary punishment against them.
On the other hand, SIU launched its website at the end of this February, which comes within the strategy of digital transformation and technology and reinforces the principle of transparency that the unit has adopted since its inception, where complaints can be submitted through the website. And review the periodic and annual reports issued by the unit.
The head of the Special Investigation Unit concluded his statement by referring to the completion of the activities of the national training program to enhance the capacities of those concerned with protecting human rights in the criminal justice system.
The program, which began at the end of last October for a period of six months, was a joint organization between the Special Investigation Unit, the United Nations Development Program, the Royal Police Academy and the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies.
The program dealt with 50 topics during nine activities, in which a group of national and international experts participated, with 80% of Bahraini experts, and 30% of female speakers.
The total number of participants in the activities of the training program from all stakeholders was about 900.
The program concluded with many outputs, including the continuation of appropriate training for those charged with imposing and applying the law on practical problems in criminal cases, to achieve the Kingdom’s future vision for the advancement of human rights, and work to achieve the goals of the national person. The human rights plan for the Kingdom of Bahrain (2022-2026), especially with regard to developing national protection roles and correctional protection mechanisms.
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