Torture during the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)

Torture during the Bahraini uprising (2011–present) has been described in many human rights reports as being widespread and systematic; 64% of detainees (1866 individuals) reported being tortured. At least five individuals died as a result. During the uprising detainees were interrogated by three government agencies, the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Bahrain Defence Force.

According to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report, physical and psychological abuses were inflicted by the NSA and the MoI systematically and in many cases amounted to torture. The BICI report found that the techniques used were similar to those used during the suppression of the 1990s uprising and indicative of "a systemic problem, which can only be addressed on a systemic level".

Government sanctioned torture was frequently used during the "State Security Law Era" between 1975 and 1999; 17 deaths was the result. After the Emir Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa succeeded his father Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa in 1999, reports of torture declined dramatically and conditions of detention improved. However Royal Decree 56 of 2002 gave effective immunity to all those accused of torture during 1990s uprising and before (including notorious figures such as Ian Henderson and Adel Flaifel.). Towards the end of 2007 torture began to be employed again and by 2010 had become common again.

Detainees have described a number of specific techniques used by the Bahraini authorities to obtain information, induce confessions, inflict punishment or simply for revenge. These techniques involved both psychological and physical abuse.

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