Bahrain Regime Promotes Environment of Impunity while rewarding Police for torture and brutality

Bahrain: Police Officer Accused of Torture is Rewarded with Promotion to High Government Position
01 February, 2013 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is concerned about the culture of impunity that governs the police forces in Bahrain, and allows for officers accused of torture to be promoted, instead of prosecuted.

Credible torture allegations have been made against Bassam Al-Miraj for several years by local and international human rights organizations. In 2010, Human Rights Watch published the findings of an investigation they conducted in Bahrain, and concluded that there were many allegations that linked Al-Miraj to the systematic torture in the Bahraini prison system. A video release by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, also from 2010, contains many testimonies from victims who implicate Al-Miraj in the torture they were subjected to.

Instead of ordering an investigation into these allegations, the King has promoted Al-Miraj to be the General Director for Anti-Corruption, Economic and Electronic Security in the General Directorate. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its extreme disagreement with this decision, and calls for an end to the culture of impunity that rewards human rights abuses. Reform will never be realized in Bahrain as long as officers are free to act without fear of reprisals.

The King’s decision to not pursue accountability is a clear indication that the government of Bahrain is not interested in reforming the police forces. This is why torture remains to be a serious problem in Bahrain, and the BCHR continues to receive a large volume of reports of torture allegations.

The BCHR calls for:

– An immediate investigation, that is both fair and transparent, into the allegations of torture against Bassam Al-Miraj and the dozens of other security officers who have been implicated in torture and other human rights abuses.

– Compensation and reparations for the victims of torture, and the initation of a rehabilitation center for victims of torture.

– An end to the culture of impunity that governs the police forces, and sweeping reforms to ensure that transparency and accountability are guaranteed. …more