UN Urges Bahrain to End Torture, Solitary Confinement
Local Editor
The United Nations Committee against Torture on Friday called on Bahrain to release prominent activist Nabeel Rajab from more than nine months of solitary confinement and investigate widespread allegations of ill-treatment and torture of detainees.
Bahrain's opposition has faced a government crackdown since last year in the Gulf kingdom. The Western-allied government closed down the main opposition al-Wefaq group, arrested Rajab and revoked the citizenship of Shi'ite spiritual leader Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.
The United Nations panel, composed of 10 independent experts, conducted its first review of Bahrain's record in five years at a session ending on Friday.
Abdulla Faisal Aldosari, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs who led Bahrain's delegation, said it faced national security challenges but was acting on torture complaints. So far 52 cases had been brought to criminal courts in which 101 suspects had been found guilty of torture, he said.
The UN experts, in their findings, urged authorities to "put an end to the solitary confinement of Mr. Nabeel Rajab and ensure that he is provided with adequate medical assistance and redress".
His solitary confinement "is reported to have exceeded nine months during which he has been denied adequate medical care".
The UN experts cited "continued, numerous and consistent allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in all places of detention" in Bahrain. A "climate of impunity" seemed to be prevailing, with few convictions and light sentences, they said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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