(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The head of a fact-finding mission set up by the Bahraini government to investigate reports of the maltreatment of anti-regime detainees says Manama has used the systematic policy of torture against protesters.
Cherif Bassiouni said on Tuesday that he has found 300 cases of torture during his investigation. He, however, said that use of torture had been a limited policy.
"It is not possible to justify torture in any way, and despite the small number of cases, it is clear there was a systematic policy," Bassiouni said in an interview with Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum.
"I investigated and I found 300 cases of torture and I was helped in that by legal experts from Egypt and America," he added.
Bassiouni had earlier said that he did not believe maltreatment was systematic, comments that provoked an angry reaction from anti-government protesters.
The commission is due to present its final report to King Hamad on Nov. 23, 2011.
Since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February, hundreds of people have been arrested and thousands have lost their jobs for supporting the anti-government movement. Bahraini protesters demand an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Many of those released from jails in Bahrain have accused the Manama regime of serious abuses. Some also charge that a member of Bahrain's royal family named Sheikha Noora bint Ibrahim Al-e Khalifa beat prisoners with sticks and rubber hoses and gave them electric shocks.
Several prisoners have died under torture and rights groups have raised concerns about the torture and abuse of detainees in Bahrain.
/129
Cherif Bassiouni said on Tuesday that he has found 300 cases of torture during his investigation. He, however, said that use of torture had been a limited policy.
"It is not possible to justify torture in any way, and despite the small number of cases, it is clear there was a systematic policy," Bassiouni said in an interview with Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum.
"I investigated and I found 300 cases of torture and I was helped in that by legal experts from Egypt and America," he added.
Bassiouni had earlier said that he did not believe maltreatment was systematic, comments that provoked an angry reaction from anti-government protesters.
The commission is due to present its final report to King Hamad on Nov. 23, 2011.
Since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February, hundreds of people have been arrested and thousands have lost their jobs for supporting the anti-government movement. Bahraini protesters demand an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Many of those released from jails in Bahrain have accused the Manama regime of serious abuses. Some also charge that a member of Bahrain's royal family named Sheikha Noora bint Ibrahim Al-e Khalifa beat prisoners with sticks and rubber hoses and gave them electric shocks.
Several prisoners have died under torture and rights groups have raised concerns about the torture and abuse of detainees in Bahrain.
/129