Domestic violence reports have dropped by 49 per cent since last year, it has been revealed.
Reports brought forth to the Family and Child Prosecution decreased from 2,770 in 2024 to 1,412 in 2025 – almost halving in number, according to Attorney General Dr General Dr Ali Al Buainain.
One‑third of all inmates in Bahrain’s prisons were foreigners, representing 436 out of a total of 1,356 prisoners. Forty per cent of individuals receiving alternative penalties were also expatriates – accounting for 1,038 out of 2,411 cases.
Details were released yesterday by the Attorney General at an annual media briefing held at the Public Prosecution’s headquarters in the Diplomatic Area, in the presence of Head of Judicial Inspection Dr Ahmed Al Hamadi and Assistant Attorney General Dr Wael Buallay.
A total of 1,246 individuals were freed from prison last year through Royal Pardons issued by His Majesty King Hamad on the occasions of Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and National Day.
Ninety-nine per cent of the 59,922 criminal reports processed and investigated by prosecutors in 2025 have reached a resolution – having either been dismissed or referred to court for trial – a slight increase from 57,668 in 2024 and 47,678 in 2023.
“Thanks to the efforts of members and employees of the Public Prosecution, 99pc of incoming cases have been completed,” he said.
“This isn’t just a number, but a reflection of an institutional will to deliver justice swiftly without any delay,” he added.
Of these reports, criminal court issued 19,278 verdicts, with 65pc (12,576) coming from the Lower Criminal Court, 2pc (484) from the High Criminal Court, and 32pc (6,233) from courts of appeal.
Criminal trials saw 13,886 defendants in 11,693 cases.
The number of decisions issued by the Sentencing and Execution Prosecution reduced to 78,783 in 2025 from 79,851 in 2024.
“The development of crime and its methods mean that the prosecution must equally develop tools to combat these new forms of crime, without violating laws or the rights of individuals,” Dr Al Buainain said.
He explained that the Public Prosecution has progressed in digital transformation and training of its members, and strengthened international co-operation. It has also introduced accessibility measures for persons with disabilities and the elderly, ensuring they can access all Public Prosecution services with the same ease and dignity as everyone else.
He also highlighted that Bahrain’s Human Trafficking Prosecution received the Excellence Award from the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP). The Forensic Science Directorate was also certified for ISO 17025, an international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, he added.
Family and Child Prosecution
The number of domestic violence reports processed by the Family and Child Prosecution halved to 1,412, from 2,770 in 2025. There were 2,807 reports in 2023 and 3,017 in 2022.
It is understood that the drop does not indicate a decrease in total domestic violence incidents, but reflects the number of cases filed with authorities.
l There were 1,079 child defendants aged between seven and 15, and 1,099 aged between 15 to 18.
Ninety-four of these children received alternative penalties. The measures include releasing them to a guardian who must sign a pledge to provide appropriate care, placing them under digital monitoring, or admitting them to social care homes or rehabilitation programmes.
Among victims, 373 were younger than seven years old, 1,323 were aged from seven to 15, and 470 from 15 to 18.
l Bahrain recently introduced new standards for questioning child sexual abuse victims – they should be interviewed only once, so that they are not made to repeat their story before police, prosecutors, judges and more. A total of 131 children benefited from this rule – 76 boys and 55 girls.
l A bureau specialised to facilitate the resolution of family-related cases was opened by the Family and Child Prosecution in October 2024 to help families solve issues without resorting to legal action. Within the last year, 657 cases were seen by the office, 41pc (272) of which were resolved out-of-court.
l Forty-one families are receiving assistance under Reaya, a social care initiative launched by the Public Prosecution. A total of 409 individuals benefited from the initiative last year, compared to 246 in 2024 and 123 in 2023.
The initiative started in 2021 with a focus on helping abused women and children to recover from trauma. They are provided everything from psychiatric care to financial assistance and legal services.
l The total number of forensic tests conducted were 74,587, rising by 56pc from 47,681 in 2024. The tests include toxicology, DNA analysis, forgery reports and medical reports.
l Most cases were registered in the Capital Governorate (16,935), followed by Northern (6,167), Southern (5,509), and Muharraq (4,620).
They were handled by the following specialised prosecutions: 9,956 in the Cybercrimes Prosecution, 9,811 cases in the Ministries and Public Bodies Prosecution, 5,167 in the Family and Child Prosecution, 4,625 in the Traffic Prosecution, and 1,629 at the Anti-Narcotics Prosecution.
l Cases involving the misuse of social media increased by 29pc – from 807 in 2024 to 1,044 in 2025, with WhatsApp taking up the majority of the cases, followed by Instagram and TikTok.
Increase in social media-related reports
Appeals
The prosecution lodged 260 appeals in appeals court last year – 191 were accepted by judges and 53 rejected, while the rest are still currently being litigated. Twenty seven cases were taken to Bahrain’s highest court, the Cassation Court – four of which were accepted and two were rejected.
Revenue
Almost BD16 million was collected by the Public Prosecution last year, including confiscated funds and fines, it was revealed yesterday.
The revenue increased by 56pc in 2025, rising to BD15,945,078 from BD10,219,885 in 2024.
A total of BD7,154,796 was confiscated in rulings – an amount which not only includes cash but also the value of items such as gold and vehicles. The amount raised through fines in various embezzlement, theft and corruption cases totalled BD1,580,273.
Meanwhile, BD6,835,151 was recovered in restitution for cases involving stolen or embezzled funds, and BD374,858 was collected in evaded taxes owed to the National Bureau of Revenue.
Alternative penalties
The prosecution revealed that 2,411 defendants benefited from alternative sentencing last year – increasing by 53pc from 1,575 in 2024.
A total of 3,214 alternative penalties were issued. These included community service, rehabilitation and training workshops, restitution for damages caused, restraining orders, bans from certain locations, house arrest, and monitoring via electronic bracelet.
The vast majority of them were men (2,166), while there were 213 women and 32 young people (aged from 18 to 21).
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