(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – On 29 May 2013, the Ministry of Interior posted on its twitter account that 7 policemen sustained injuries in a blast in Bani Jamra village. Bani Jamra was immediately locked down and no one was allowed in or out of the area. The security forces started their usual house raids at dawn, terrorizing the citizens of the village and arresting people without warrants. Ten people were arrested last night during house raids without warrants.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is seriously concerned over the wellbeing of the arrested persons and the high probability that they will be tortured into signing confessions; this has been the case in each of these alleged evidence-less terrorist attacks on policemen which have been very common recently. Until now, no evidence or photos have been published of the incident by the Ministry of Interior, the only further detail provided was by the Director-General of the Northern Governorate Police, who added that the alleged blast was caused by a homemade bomb (http://www.policemc.gov.bh/en/news_details.aspx?type=1articleId=18581).
The BCHR calls for an independent investigation into the incident and more evidence to be provided to the public. The BCHR believes that all people’s human rights should be respected, including those suspected of crimes and arrested, and that no one should be subjected to torture, beating, humiliation or any kind of ill-treatment. Everyone should have a right to due process and a fair trial.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the international community and the governments of the US, UK and other close allies of Bahrain to put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to immediately:
- Ensure that those arrested are not subjected to torture or any form of ill-treatment
- Allow them to contact their families and lawyers
- Put an end to illegal house raids, arbitrary arrests and detainment without a court issued warrant
- Launch an independent investigation and provide evidence of the incident
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