Bahrain Torture ‘Ignored’ by Britain-Funded Monitor


Bahrain Torture ‘Ignored’ by Britain-Funded Monitor

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A Britain Foreign Office-backed initiative to monitor human rights abuses in Bahrain has been accused of failing to investigate allegations that opponents of the country’s government are being tortured into making confessions.

In two cases reports say that the confessions resulted in death sentences. The claim, made by several human rights groups, is potentially damaging to the kingdom as Bahrain pledged to introduce reforms following reports that its security services carried out torture during the 2011 uprisings.

One key measure was the appointment of an ombudsman to investigate claims of human rights abuses. But campaign groups say the watchdog is failing to investigate serious claims of mistreatment and torture, including that of Mohammed Ramadan, an opponent of the government who was sentenced to death for taking part in a bombing that killed a policeman.

In April, the Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood told parliament that the ombudsman, whose position is funded by the UK taxpayer, had confirmed to his officials that “there have been no allegations of mistreatment or torture” in relation to Ramadan’s case.

But the Observer has seen evidence that in 2014 the ombudsman was sent a lengthy statement from the civil rights organization Americans for Democracy and Human Rights (ADHR) in Bahrain, which alleged that Ramadan, a father of three who before his arrest regularly attended protests against the government, had been tortured.

Amnesty International and the UN also raised concerns.

The ADHR said in an email, “The officers took Mohammed to another room and began torturing him. They beat, slapped and kicked him all over his body, focusing on his head and ears. They called him a traitor and accused him of killing an officer. When Mohammed denied these accusations, they beat him more violently. This torture continued for four days.”

It continued: “Mohammed finally agreed to confess because he wanted the torture to end. He said that he would sign or confess to anything but the officers refused to tell him what to say.”

Earlier this month Ellwood told parliament that an investigation into the torture allegations had now been launched, the Guardian reported.

The announcement came after the ombudsman explained that the torture allegations had been overlooked because they had been made in an email rather than through an official complaint form.

“The ombudsman, Nawaf Mohammed al-Ma’awda, has issued a statement that addresses the full range of allegations and commits to undertake a full, independent investigation into the treatment of Mr Mohammed Ramadan,” Ellwood said.

The admission has triggered calls for the government to review its support for Bahrain, which insists that the allegations of torture made by Ramadan and another man on death row are untrue.

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