SEVENTEEN complaints were received by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in the second quarter of this year, it was revealed yesterday.
The allegations included ill-treatment at the hands of security personnel, said Acting Advocate General and SIU head Mohamed Khalid Al Hazza.
The SIU specialises in investigating complaints and grievances related to abuse, use of excessive force and torture by officers and Public Security forces.
“The SIU received 17 complaints during the second quarter of this year that were investigated to ensure protection and promotion of human rights within the criminal justice system,” said Mr Al Hazza.
Mr Al Hazza
Statistics revealed yesterday showed that the unit heard the testimonies of 31 complainants and witnesses, interrogated 30 accused and suspected members of the Public Security, and referred nine complainants to the Forensic and Psychiatric Medicine Division.
Mr Al Hazza added that during the above period, the SIU completed investigations of one compliant related to alleged ill-treatment, and referred a member of the Public Security force to the court – with a hearing scheduled on September 17 at the Interior Ministry’s Military Courts Directorate.
The unit further concluded its investigations into two separate complaints and referred the accused members of the Public Security forces to the above directorate for disciplinary action of which only one case is pending.
“Additionally, disciplinary sanctions were issued against several members of the Public Security forces in a previous case, which SIU had previously referred to the Military Courts Directorate at the Interior Ministry for appropriate disciplinary action.”
The SIU also received 17 complaints during the first quarter of this year.
The GDN reported in March that allegations of police misconduct last year had dropped for the third consecutive year.
In 2024, a total of 39 complaints were received by the government watchdog.
The 39 complaints involved 51 individuals, 35 of whom were Bahraini and 16 were of other nationalities.
Only one of the plaintiffs was a woman, and eight were under the age of 18.
Mr Al Hazaa had then said that reports received and probed by the unit have decreased by a whopping 50 per cent over the last five years and by 87pc since the organisation was founded in 2012.
The GDN last year reported that the rate had fallen from 136 in 2017, to 108 in 2012, 80 in 2019, 67 in 2020 and 2021, 61 in 2022 and 45 in 2023.
The SIU was established in 2012 following recommendations by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, with a mandate to investigate claims of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment at the hands of the security forces.
The SIU has made it easy and accessible to lodge complaints by simply filling out a form on website www.siu.gov.bh.
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