Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has ordered an investigation into possible rights violations by police during the Gulf state’s crackdown on anti-government protestors last year, the country’s state news agency said.
Lt-General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior, said Bahrain is “fully committed to upholding human rights standards and maintaining transparency in its investigations”.
The probe into alleged police abuses is in line with recommendations by a report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). The report said that 35 people died during the Gulf state’s unrest, which began in February 2011 after revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Five died due to torture, it said.
Bahrain faced international condemnation from governments and human rights groups after its crackdown on the Shi’ite demonstrators took to the streets last year demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and more say in government.
Authorities last month charged 15 policemen with “mistreatment” of detainees as part of the country’s investigation into reports of torture of protesters rounded up during the unrest. Several other policemen have been sentenced to imprisonment, the Information Affairs Authority said earlier.
Although the Gulf state has put police officers on trial for abuse, international rights groups and opposition activists claim the government is dodging accountability at higher levels where security policy is decided.
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