Torture in Bahrain

Torture in Bahrain refers to the violation of Bahrain's obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture) and other international treaties and disregard for the prohibition of torture enshrined in Bahraini law.

Torture was routine practice in Bahrain between 1975 and 1999, during the period when the State Security Act 1974 was in force. Individuals have been tortured after being detained at demonstrations and public gatherings. On 17 December 2007 on Martyrs' Day, commemorating past victims of torture, the Special Security Forces began a wave of arrests targeting more than 60 persons, among them over ten activists. During February 2009, several key human rights defenders in Bahrain were arbitrarily arrested and detained.

The issue of immunity for past violations has also been a continuing concern. In 2001, the King pardoned all those involved in the political violence of the 1990s, freeing hundreds of prisoners. In 2002 Royal Decree 56 established the clarification that amnesty was also granted to all state security officers who may have committed human rights abuses prior to 2001. In 2005 the United Nations Committee against Torture, expressing concern over the failure to investigate allegations and a pattern of impunity for torturers, referred specifically to the Decree 56 amnesty. Nevertheless, the Decree has not been amended.

Torture was particularly endemic in Bahrain between 1974 and 1999, when the State Security Act 1974 was in force prior to the accession of King Hamad. The Act, formally scrapped in 2001, contained measures permitting the government to arrest and imprison individuals without trial for up to three years for crimes relating to state security. Other measures associated with the 1974 Act, such as the establishment of State Security Courts, added to the conditions conducive to the practice of torture.

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