Bahrain has 'investigated every death and torture case'

A top UN war crimes expert says investigators from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry who examined the pro-democracy protests were freely given access to hospitals and prisons 'most of the time'.

DUBAI // Investigators from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry examining the pro-democracy protests earlier this year were freely granted access "most of the time", the group's chairman said yesterday on the sidelines of a legal conference.
Prof Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni pledged that all deaths connected to the uprising and all allegations of torture had been investigated as part of the inquiry launched in June.
"We have had all the doors open to us and were granted access to all the hospitals and prisons freely and without hindrance most of the time," he said while visiting Dubai for the International Bar Association annual conference.
Last month the Commission announced the publication of its much-anticipated report would be postponed until November 23 due to the volume of complaints.
"We received our last complaint on October 31, and we have had a substantial number of complaints to review," said Prof Bassiouni.
The commission announced in August that more than 5,200 complaints had been examined.
According to the commission's mandate, the findings will be presented to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and will be made public.
The Independent Commission of Inquiry was established on June 29 on the king's orders, according to Prof Bassiouni.
"We were mandated by the government to investigate and report on the events occurring in Bahrain during the February, March protests, and any subsequent consequences arising out of those events," he said. "This was the first time a government appoints an international independent commission to investigate itself."
Professor Bassiouni said that since the commission's arrival in the kingdom, it had compiled a day-by-day account of events.
"We have followed all the events and ripples surrounding it after the assaults took place, and I can tell you that every torture claim and person killed during the clashes has been investigated," he said.
According to Prof Bassiouni, fewer than 45 people were killed during the conflict.
The commission was made up of prosecutors, criminal investigators and human-rights investigators, he said.
"We have spoken to opposition groups, the government and civil institutions during the course and have compiled very comprehensive details," he said.
All the written findings from the investigation, however, will be destroyed before the commission departs the kingdom, Prof Bassiouni said. Only one electronic copy will be archived with an international organisation overseas, he explained, to ensure the security of those involved.
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