© AFP 2016/ Mohammed al-Shaikh
According to Amnesty International, security forces in Bahrain had killed at least 30 protesters while arresting and torturing many others during peaceful protests that had spread out across Bahrain in February and March of 2011 to call for government reforms.
The actions performed by the security forces have caused an international outrage, which led King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain to amend several laws and to create the post of ombudsman of the Ministry of Interior and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) within the Public Prosecution Office in 2012. Both institutions that receive training from the United Kingdom were created to investigate human rights violations and to prosecute people responsible for committing human rights violations.
"There is no denying that the Bahraini government has taken a step in the right direction by setting up institutions to investigate human rights violations and hold those suspected to be responsible accountable. Sadly these reforms remain woefully inadequate. Torture and other ill-treatment by security forces persist within a system of entrenched impunity," Lynn Maalouf, the deputy director for Research at Amnesty International's Beirut Regional Office, said.
The rights group said that despite those institutions achieving a certain level of success in reporting and investigating certain cases, they have failed to put an end to human rights violations and even gain the trust of the public in Bahrain for lack of effectiveness. The watchdog also slammed the United Kingdom and other allies for "prioritizing defense and security" with Bahrain over human rights by not revealing the full picture when it comes to these institutions failing to respond to allegations of human rights violations and taking a long time to respond.
Amnesty International urged the government of Bahrain to continue the good job it has started and to work on ensuring that the institutions are working effectively to ensure accountability for all human rights violations.
Comment: No worries! Bahrain is a friend of the West, at least to our weapons manufacturers. In time maybe they can build up enough abuses to lead the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The situation in Bahrain follows a pretty simple formula: prop up Western strongman, instigate uprising and opposition, import mercenaries, and sell weapons to perpetuate conflict.