BackThe Bahrain Independent Ombudsman has released his third Annual Report.
The Ombudsman Office was established as a result of recommendations included in the BICI report and has an important role to play in ensuring the delivery of human rights centred policing services in Bahrain.
In 2014/2015, the Ombudsman received 908 complaints, a 375% increase on the previous year. The Ombudsman reports that this high level of demand continued throughout 2015/2016 with 992 complaints received, an additional 9% increase.
The Ombudsman explains the role of his office in investigating serious allegations of human rights violations and explains also the way in which these important investigations are carried out. In connection with this, he emphasises that, every allegation of torture brought to his Office is investigated.
Case studies are described, including examples where Ombudsman investigators have secured CCTV to both evidence police staff wrongdoing and to demonstrate that alleged wrongdoing is not substantiated. The Ombudsman welcomes the efforts of the Ministry of Interior to extend the use of CCTV in places of detention and calls for full implementation of the Prisoner and Detainee Rights Committee recommendation that the detainee pathway from the time of arrest should be covered by CCTV.
The Ombudsman’s explains that his Office has continued also this year to place a high priority on local and international outreach activity. The engagement with Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and a great many international stakeholders is described in Section Four.
In conclusion, the Ombudsman says that his Office “continues to work in a challenging local and international context and we are always willing to learn. But we are proud of what has been achieved over the last three years through sheer hard work and commitment to our belief that we can make a difference. It is a great privilege to work on such an important mission and my staff and I never forget this.”
The report can be found here.
Source: Independent Bahraini Ombudsman Office
