Bahrain’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has referred three security men in two separate cases to military courts after being convicted of abuse, torture and excessive use of force. The Unit conducted several investigations into 29 such cases late 2018.
Fatima al-Kooheji, member of Special Unit, revealed that during the same period, the Unit received a number of complaints, ranging from allegations of torture to ill-treatment and the use of excessive force by 29 members of the General Security Forces.
The Unit has initiated investigations into all such complaints. It has heard more than 100 complaints and questioned 66 suspects of the General Security Forces.
The Unit also concluded its investigations into two separate cases involving three members of the General Security Forces and referred them to the Military Courts Administration of the Interior Ministry to impose suitable disciplinary punishment.
The SIU presented a memorandum on its investigations to the Attorney-General into the complaints filed by Hussein Mousa and Mohammad Issa, who were sentenced to death for murdering a policeman and carrying out a terrorist bombing.
The Unit suggested reconsidering the ruling against them, after the discovery of new evidence, despite the fact that the sentence against the convicts was based on many pieces of evidence other than the ones derived from the statements.
On October 18, the 4th Criminal Court sentenced a member of the General Security Forces to three months of imprisonment over the charge of assaulting the safety of others.
The plaintiff reported that the security officer assaulted him during his arrest on charges of criminal prosecution. The Unit completed its investigations into the case and ordered the defendant to be referred to the minor criminal court for sentencing.
