Bahrain Mirror: Member of the Committee against Torture (CAT) of the HRC's Office of High Commission for Human Rights, Mr. Abdelwahab Hani, expressed concerns over the possibility of arbitrarily trying civilians before military courts in Bahrain, under the recent constitutional amendment at the military judiciary.

During the session held Monday (April 24, 2017) in Geneva to present the Bahraini delegation's responses to the committee's inquiries, Hani said, "We cannot consider the committee on the rights of prisoners and detainees as a preventive mechanism against torture. We are keen that Bahrain joins the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture, especially as it accepted this recommendation before."

Hani also wondered whether the committee to follow up the implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) recommendations includes representatives of civil societies and victims.

For his part, CAT Chairperson Mr. Jens Modvig, reiterated the need for medical specialists in the Ombudsman, believing that lack of evidence of torture doesn't deny its occurrence.

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