Bahrain Human Rights Minister dehumanizes victims of human rights violations

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society has strongly denounced the statements made by Bahrain  human rights minister on 25th February,2014, in a press conference ,and by which he humiliated the victims of human rights violations in Bahrain.“Any official in his position is supposed to protect human rights,” Al-Wefaq said, adding “The Minister provided misleading information about the situation of human rights in Bahrain , and this indicates either one of two possibilities: that he knows the truth but is lying, or he is unaware of the real situation of human rights in Bahrain and that  has already been documented by many international human rights organizations”.” Bahrain does not approve of torture”, the Minister stated in his press conference. The LHRD described this statement as a dehumanizing and superficial statement because torture, mistreatment and other cruel practices have already been documented by credible international organization. The last of which was the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report that was received by the King on 23rd November,2013. On the contrary, the state has issued Decree-law No.65 that provided impunity to torturers and human rights abusers in 2002, this law is blatant evidence that the crime, criminals and victims exist.Al-Wefaq added that over 85 torture cases have been documented by the BICI report as 300 out of 600 victims have undergone medical examination. However, their abusers who either serve at the Ministry of Interior or are military personnel have not yet been held accountable.“The international NGOs are biased in Bahrain’s human rights issues”, Bahrain’s human rights minister stated.Al- Wefaq commented that all human rights reports are regularly released on a monthly or annually basis by international NGOs about all the countries where human rights violations exist”.Al-Wefaq added that if the Minister is demanded to be impartial and talk frankly about the crimes of torture perpetrated against citizens and must work hard to make justice accessible for those victims.The Human Rights Minister talked about what he called “human rights achievements” in Bahrain by issuing decrees and laws to form the establishments that have so far failed to convince the international community of their role. They have been established to whitewash the government’s outrageous human rights violations, al-Wefaq said.” Bahrain is keen on cooperating with the governmental and non-governmental human rights institutions”, the Minister went on.This is one of the most contradicting statements made by the minister. Many human rights organizations have been denied access to Bahrain and local human rights organization have been targeted. The Head of  Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, has been targeted and put on sham trial and sentenced to three years in jail. Bahrain Youth Centre for Human Rights has not been permitted to exercise its human rights activism, in fact, one its members, Naji fateel,  has been jailed“The organizations are receiving false information from biased sources”, he claimed.Al-Wefaq stressed that the prominent human rights NGOs do not need a minister of state to accredit them because they are not owned by families or groups. They are independent bodies with a clear aim and vision and this is what frustrates the repressive regimes. The Minister reminded in his conference of the visit of the UN HCHR delegation in late 2012 and early 2014. The LHRD said that this is a sign of neglect and lack of cooperation. The authorities in Bahrain must  admit involvement in human rights violations, some of which are considered crimes against humanity. The authorities must end impunity and incriminate the criminals to show real cooperation with the HCHR. The LHRD added that welcoming the delegation of the HCHR any other human rights organization does not mean that the authorities are innocent from any crime against political, civil, financial, social, cultural or religious human rights violations.About the continuity of torture, the minister said that the king is directing to a “No to Torture” approach while the LHRD said, “Does a state of law need to be directed to stop torture? Isn’t this a sign of the presence of torture in the first place?”While the minister quotes the kings statements about torture, the victims of torture are being removed from court for complaining of torture.The minister also said that the visit of Mr Juan Mendez, the special rapporteur on torture and other special procedures, is a sovereign measure limited to the state. On this the LHRD commented by saying this statement is a clear evidence of the widely monitored torture in this island’s prisons. This is supported by the procrastination of accepting the rapporteur’s visit twice because the regime will not be able to comment on the upcoming reports if the delegation entered the country and met with the victims using appropriate procedures to approach evidences of torture that are internationally appreciated. The regime in Bahrain had previously refused to receive the UN torture expert in the 90s, who was Sir Nigel Rodley at the time. Rodley is member of the BICI founded in 2011 to inquire human rights violations in Bahrain./129