About This Report
Torture Redux
February 8, 2010

VII. Detailed Recommendations

To the Government of Bahrain

  • Investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of torture or ill-treatment by security or law enforcement officials of any rank, and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, in a court that meets international fair trial standards, any official found responsible for ordering, carrying out, or acquiescing in torture or ill-treatment.
  • Immediately suspend any security or law enforcement official when credible evidence exists showing that such official ordered, carried out, or acquiesced in acts of torture or ill-treatment.
  • Appoint a special independent public prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture or ill-treatment in detention by security or law enforcement officials as documented in this report, including in the Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigation (CID), and the National Security Agency (NSA). Such investigations should include an investigation into the alleged responsibility of Major Yusuf al-Arabi, Captain Fahd Fadalah, Captain Bassam al-Muraj, Lieutenant Isa al-Majali, and First Lieutenant Badr al-Ghaith for acts of torture or ill-treatment. The special prosecutor should be empowered to report his findings publicly and to bring criminal charges, if warranted, against any officials identified as responsible for ordering, carrying out, or acquiescing in acts of torture or ill-treatment.
  • This independent investigation should also determine the extent to which public prosecutors failed to respond properly to detainee complaints of torture or ill-treatment, or when detainees with visible injuries were brought to their offices, and recommend appropriate sanctions or criminal charges.
  • Issue and publicize widely a directive from the king, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, stating unequivocally that the government will not tolerate acts of torture or ill-treatment by security and law enforcement officials, will investigate allegations of torture or ill-treatment promptly and thoroughly, and will criminally prosecute officials suspected of such acts.
  • Ensure that allegations of torture or ill-treatment by CID or other Ministry of Interior officials are thoroughly investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted before an independent civilian court, and ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment receive appropriate compensation from the government and those officials responsible in accordance with Bahraini law.
  • Ensure that allegations of torture or ill-treatment by NSA officials are thoroughly investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted before an independent civilian court, and amend Decree 14/2002 to ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment are able to file civil or criminal complaints against the NSA or any of its forces and receive appropriate compensation from the government and those officials responsible in accordance with Bahraini law prohibiting torture.
  • Establish an independent civilian authority to receive complaints of torture or ill-treatment by security or law enforcement officials, to monitor investigations and prosecutions in response to complaints, and to make public the numbers and types of complaints, and the results of any investigations and prosecutions.
  • Ensure that administrative and judicial proceedings regarding alleged acts of torture or ill-treatment are subject to public scrutiny.
  • Enact legislation, consistent with Bahrain’s obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture), clarifying that Decree 56/2002, providing a general amnesty for offenses committed prior to 2001, does not preclude the investigation or prosecution of persons alleged to have committed torture or ill-treatment and does not eliminate the opportunity for redress or an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation by victims of torture or ill-treatment.
  • Amend the penal code by adopting a definition of torture consistent with article 1 of the Convention against Torture in order to ensure that all acts of torture are criminal offenses under the law and that penalties reflect the grave nature of such offenses.
  • Invite the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to visit and report on conditions in Bahrain.
  • Ratify without delay the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture to allow independent international experts to conduct regular visits to places of detention in Bahrain.
  • Allow nongovernmental human rights organizations, including medical professionals, access to all places of detention.

To the Members of the League of Arab States

  • Call upon Bahrain to respect and comply with article 8 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which prohibits subjecting any person to torture or cruel, degrading, humiliating or inhuman treatment.

To the Governments of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom

  • Urge Bahrain to enact and comply with the recommendations of this report. Bearing in mind their own legal obligations with respect to the absolute prohibition of torture, make clear that close relations with Bahrain, including the provision of training to Bahraini security forces, will depend on the Bahraini government’s taking measurable steps to stop torture in places of detention and to end impunity for those officials who order, carry out, or acquiesce in such acts.

To the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

  • Request an invitation from the government to visit Bahrain to discuss allegations of torture and other issues of concern.

To the Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

  • Question the government of Bahrain on reported cases of torture or ill-treatment in light of the government’s statement during its Universal Periodic Review in April 2008 that there are no cases of torture in the country.