Reported brutal beating of civilians by special security forces and alleged political recruitment of Iraqi Sunnis into special security forces
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
1 March 2007
BCHR Ref: 07030100
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) calls for an investigation into allegations regarding the brutal beating of a Bahraini citizen Saeed Ibrahim (32 years) from Sanabis.
According to eye witnesses, a busload of special secret security forces (notorious for using excessive force against civilians) entered the village of Sanabis last weekend, snatched Ibrahim from his family’s grocery shop and beat him brutally, leaving him bleeding.
Similar violations have occurred in Bani Jamrah and other villages in Bahrain. Villagers claimed that the special security agents were speaking Arabic with an Iraqi accent.
Reported brutal beating of civilians by special security forces and alleged political recruitment of Iraqi Sunnis into special security forces
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
1 March 2007
BCHR Ref: 07030100
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) calls for an investigation into allegations regarding the brutal beating of a Bahraini citizen Saeed Ibrahim (32 years) from Sanabis.
According to eye witnesses, a busload of special secret security forces (notorious for using excessive force against civilians) entered the village of Sanabis last weekend, snatched Ibrahim from his family’s grocery shop and beat him brutally, leaving him bleeding.
Similar violations have occurred in Bani Jamrah and other villages in Bahrain. Villagers claimed that the special security agents were speaking Arabic with an Iraqi accent.
Traditionally the special security forces in Bahrain are non-Bahraini and recruited from Jordan,Yemen and Balochis from Pakistan.
The allegations that Iraqi Ba’athis are being employed by the Bahrain authorities have been addressed by a document leaked recently by former consultant to the Bahraini Government, Dr Salah Al Bander.
According to the report[1], issued by the UK-based Gulf Center for Democratic Development of (GCCD), the Bahraini Authorities employ a humanitarian-front plan; granting refuge to Iraqis fleeing civil war in Iraq- for its own internal political agenda. In the third section
of the said report (pages 99-114), focus was placed on the priorities of naturalization, its challenge and strategy. It monitors the priorities in targeted nationalities as sources of naturalization, and sets the requirement for naturalization of 50 thousand people per year so that a ‘sectarian balance’ is achieved by the end of 2010. Out of the recommendations of this part of the report states:
- “There are more than 120 thousand Iraqi Sunnis in Jordan, fugitives from tyranny and Shiite persecution in Iraq. Make use of this quantity in facilitating the presence of at least 30 thousand of them in Bahrain. Despite the rough nature of the Iraqis compared to the Bahrainis, this will help in elevating the temperature of the Bahraini Sunnis.
- Discrimination and persecution facing Iraqi Sunnis since the fall of Saddam, is still virtually undisclosed in all parts of the Islamic world. Bahrain can use this in its propaganda campaigns, directed internally, to pre-empt the current Shiite schemes”[2]
“These allegations and the excessive use of force by the Bahraini security forces against civilians need to be investigated thoroughly by an independent and trustworthy body”, BCHR vice president Nabeel Rajab said.
“I also repeat the call for a tribunal to be set to investigate the first Bander report”, he added.
“The situation in Iraq is tense, sectarian oriented and leading to a civil war, where people have been arbitrarily killed based on identity and sectarian grounds”.
Rajab added: “Suggestions that the Bahraini Authorities drawing from such disastrous situation, and importing Sunni Iraqis with Ba’athi background to use against the local Shia population in special security forces is extremely worrying, as it paves the path for a replica of the Iraqi case.”
The BCHR calls for an honest and independent investigation into Sanabis incident
We urge the Bahraini Authorities to answer, in public, citizens concerns and fears that Iraqis are being brought into the country to be employed in the state security bodies and deployed for suppression of popular activities calling for democracy and more freedoms.
We also call for the Bahraini Authorities to answer questions over the shocking Bandergate report, which was leaked over 4 months ago but has never been dealt with in appropriate manner, to alleviate these fears and concerns.