Bahrain promises human rights reforms

05 December 2011

In the wake of the Arab uprisings, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa says events would not be repeated

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has promised reforms to prevent abuse by security forces, following an investigation into the crackdown on the protests, which said authorities had used “excessive force”. King Hamad said that those painful events would not be repeated.

The investigation found that during the revolt earlier this year, officials arrested protesters and then subjected them to abuse, including blindfolding, whipping and kicking them, subjecting them to electric shocks and threatening them with rape to extract confessions.

The king promised to reform Bahrain’s laws to protect freedom of speech and other basic rights. He also promised to sack those officials who had abused their power.

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