Torture is a crime under international law, and it is completely prohibited according to all international instruments and can never be justified, and the practice of torture on a regular and widespread basis constitutes a crime against humanity. This is confirmed by the United Nations. And the General Assembly, in its resolution 52/149 on December 12, 1997, declared June 26 as the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with the aim of eliminating all its forms.
Although Bahrain is obligated to address torture and other forms of ill-treatment or cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment under international law, and while it is obligated to implement the provisions of the Convention against Torture, which it acceded to on March 6, 1998, it has, through its security services, been using systematic torture for decades. Documentation of many cases in local and international human rights reports, especially the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.
Many detainees reported that they were tortured either to extract confessions or as punishment for their participation in peaceful protests. They also reported that all forms of physical and psychological torture against detainees are practiced in various police stations, security headquarters, centers and prisons.
Torture, in both its forms, is considered one of the most severe forms of human rights violations. On July 31, 2016, Bahraini citizen Hassan Jassim Hassan Al-Hayiki, 35 years old, died in custody as a result of injuries he sustained during torture at the Criminal Investigation Offices.
According to his family, Al-Hayiki reported the torture to the Public Prosecution, but instead of investigating his allegations, they ordered him to be returned to the Criminal Investigation Directorate, reinforcing the policy of impunity.
Hence, Nedal Al-Salman, director of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, calls on the Member States of the United Nations to pressure the authorities to support the thousands of people in Bahrain who were victims of torture, and to support those who are still being tortured today in detention centers to extract their confessions.
While Bahrain center expresses its deep concern about the continuation of torture in Bahrain, especially in investigation facilities to withdraw forced confessions, it calls for:
- Pressure the Bahraini authorities to stop torture in prisons, and release all prisoners of conscience, led by the academic Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, who spent nearly two years of his hunger strike to demand the return of his cultural research confiscated by the Jaw Prison administration, and the prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
- Work to put an end to torture in Bahrain and the prevailing culture of impunity in the country, and to conduct an independent investigation into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
- Obliging the Bahraini authorities to receive the Special Rapporteur on Torture, “Alice Gail Edwards”, and to implement the international anti-torture mechanisms.