Acting Advocate General and Head of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has stated that the SIU had received 16 complaints during the second third of this year, including allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the members of the Public Security forces, adding that the Unit initiated its investigation procedures into all these complaints.
He added that during the same period, the SIU heard the statements of 22 complainants and witnesses, questioned 33 suspects and members of the Public Security Forces, and referred four of the complainants to the Forensic and Psychological Support Division.
Regarding the Unit’s achievements during the same period, he said that it had completed its investigations into the incident in which a member of the public security forces assaulted the physical integrity of others while performing his duties. The Unit decided to refer the suspect to criminal trial after finding that he did not have the right to use physical force, in accordance with the provisions of the law and the basic principles of the use of force. The lower criminal court convicted the defendant, and the same verdict was confirmed on appeal before the higher criminal court.
The SIU, based on its jurisdictions stipulated in the decision to establish it, has ordered the referral of three members of the Public Security Forces to the Military Courts Department at the Ministry of Interior to take appropriate legal measures against them, after it was proven that they had committed a legal error during the performance of their duties, which caused one of the forms of mistreatment that warrants disciplinary accountability.
On the other hand, the SIU has been informed about the disciplinary sanctions taken by the Military Courts Department at the Ministry of Interior against nine members of the Public Security Forces in cases referred previously to it by the Unit.
The SIU Chief indicated that in line with its constant keenness to communicate with the authorities and the national and international institutions and bodies in order to exchange views and enhance joint cooperation to ensure commitment to the local and international human rights standards and rules, the SIU had held a virtual meeting with the members of the Shura Council.
The meeting highlighted the powers vested in the SIU, its application of the international standards, work mechanism as an independent judicial entity within the kingdom’s judicial system, and success over the years in dealing with all legal and human rights violations, which resulted in a remarkable steady drop in the crimes related its terms of reference, becoming, thanks to that, the main pillar for guaranteeing human rights in the kingdom’s criminal justice system.
The meeting also gave a detailed explanation about the SIU’s various specialised divisions, the legal procedures that are followed in dealing with the complaints received or monitored, and the international principles and standards applied to them at work, especially the Istanbul Protocol or the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Shura members expressed their keenness to support the SIU in undertaking its role to the fullest, as well as to strengthen joint cooperation with it in reviewing and developing laws that support the role and competencies of the Unit to contribute to reducing crimes of torture and ill-treatment.
Source: Bahrain News Agency