Bahrain Mirror: A number of human rights organizations called on the Government of Bahrain to immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation into the death of 35-year-old detainee Hassan Jassim Hasan Al-Hayki, who was held at Dry Dock Prison, amid credible allegations of torture.

"Officials must prosecute and hold accountable anyone found to have caused or contributed to Mr. Al-Hayki's death," said Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy (BIRD), Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), European Center for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) and Justice Human Rights Organizations (JHRO) in a statement.

"These torture allegations also raise further concerns regarding the inability of the Ministry of the Interior's Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) to prevent ongoing abuses in Bahrain's detention centers," the NGOs stated.

The rights groups further stressed that the "lack of due process during Al-Hayki's arrest, interrogation, and detention, combined with a denial of the right to a fair trial and allegations of torture, raise further questions over Bahrain's commitment to its international human rights obligations and its promises of reform," adding that "these allegations of mistreatment coupled with the deceased lack of previous health problems raise serious concerns over his sudden death."

"It is reminiscent of cases documented by the Bahraini Independent Committee of Inquiry (BICI) - which reported at least five cases of death in custody presumed to be due to complications suffered as a result of torture," they noted.

The human rights organizations concluded their statement by urging the Government of Bahrain to:

• Allow an immediate visit by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to conduct an impartial investigation into the death of Hassan al-Hayki.

• Prosecute and hold to account any person proven to be responsible for ill-treatment or torture, including those who authorised or oversaw such abuses.

Arabic Version