Bahrain: The Prospects of the continuation of military trial

The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) said in a statement that the prospects of the continuation of the military trial of civilian victims, some of whom have been sentenced to death, are crumbling in light of the flagrant violation of the principles and guarantees of fair trials. The BFHR pointed out that the proceedings of the trial and the exhaustion of litigation levels through the appeal stage clearly indicate maliciousness, especially since complaints of torture and ill-treatment were ignored and the judiciary lacks independence.

The BFHR added that the judge deliberately closed his eyes on article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly since the detainees were subjected to 11 violations, the most prominent of which are torture by electric shock, forced disappearance and solitary confinement. The BFHR noted that the real picture of the justice system is absent, except for the seats and tables in the courtroom, all the other elements indicate the lack of all guarantees of a fair trial, emphasizing that those elements include the Military Judiciary Law, that some of its articles contradict with the international law, the conditions of arrest and detention and legal adaptation of the case, not giving the case file to the lawyers, and threatening to target some of the victims’ relatives and lawyers if they revealed violations to the media or international human rights organizations.

The BFHR noted that the National Institute for Human Rights, the Terror Crime Prosecution and the Special Investigation Unit have played clear roles in covering up the serious human rights violations committed against some of the detainees in this trial.