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11/03/2021–|Last updated: 3/11/202104:10 PM (Mecca)
Two human rights groups accused the Bahraini security forces of torturing the children, both physically and psychologically, by beating them and threatening them with “rape and electric shock”.
These children were detained in cases related to last month’s protests, which marked the 10th anniversary of the 2011 uprising demanding democracy and freedom in this kingdom.
According to a joint statement by Human Rights Watch and the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, around 13 children between the ages of 11 and 17 were arrested from early to mid-February when authorities tried to dissuade protesters from to gather to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the uprising.
“Five children arrested on February 14 and 15 said that two police officers at that police station beat them, insulted them and threatened to shock them with a car battery,” the statement said, citing the children and their families.
“The father of one of the children said that a policeman hit his 13-year-old son on the head and genitals, threatened to rape him and gave him electric shocks,” the statement added.
He also claimed that the police arrested children in some cases for allegedly burning tires or bicycle seats or cutting roads on the day of their arrest.
“Children and their families reported that police officers accused children of planting fake bombs, sabotaging and throwing Molotov cocktails in November 2020,” the statement added.
The Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights said that 4 of the children were still in detention, with one of them being 16 years old and “has serious medical complications.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the Public Ministry issued a directive to the members of the Public Ministry to implement the purposes of the Children’s Correctional Justice Law issued on February 18, whose provisions will enter into force 6 months from the date of its publication, and to keep its provisions in mind during the investigation.
The government spokesman stated that when the criminal justice system in the Kingdom deals with minors under 18 years of age, it makes decisions based on considerations of “the best interests of each child, as well as their rehabilitation and their place in society.”
He did not comment on the details of the allegations in response to a Reuters inquiry. The spokesman said in a statement that Bahrain treats human rights protection “very seriously and has zero tolerance” for ill-treatment within the judicial system.
Manama used force to quell the uprising in 2011, and after that, it cracked down on sporadic unrest and opposition.
Massive trials followed, the authorities jailed thousands and many fled abroad. After that, Bahrain witnessed sporadic clashes between protesters and security forces.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, criticize the lack of an independent judicial system in this kingdom, accusing its security forces of practicing torture and other forms of violations, while enjoying impunity.
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