Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
d) Recommendations
890. In accordance with the Principles on the Effective Prevention and
Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, the GoB
should conduct effective investigations into all the deaths that have been
attributed to the security forces. These investigations should be capable of
leading to the prosecution of those implicated, both directly and at all levels of
responsibility, if the conclusion is that there was a breach of the law.
891. The appropriate prosecutions should be initiated with a view to
ensuring punishment consistent with the gravity of the offence
892. There should be a standing independent body to examine all
complaints of torture, mistreatment, excessive use of force or other abuses at
the hands of the authorities.
893. The families of the victims should be entitled to compensation that is
commensurate with the gravity of their loss. In this connection, the
Commission welcomes Royal Decree No. 30 of 2011 establishing the National
Fund for the Reparation of Victims on 22 September 2011.
894. The GoB should implement an extensive program of public order
training for the public security forces, the NSA and the BDF. This training
should include training on the use of force and should be consistent with the
UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement
Officials.
895. In the light of the preference of article 6 of the ICCPR for the
abolition of the death penalty and in light of the concerns identified by the
Commission in regard to the fairness of trials conducted by the National
Safety Court, the Commission recommends that the death sentence for murder
arising out of the events of February/March 2011 be commuted. 523
Part 2 – Case-by-Case Analysis
a) Deaths Attributed to Security Forces
Deaths caused by the use of a shotgun
Case No. 1 - Ali Abdulhadi Saleh Jaafar Almeshaima
896. At 20:20 on 14 February 2011, Mr Ali Abdulhadi Saleh Jaafar
Almeshaima was pronounced dead. The death certificate states that the cause
of death was shotgun injuries to the back.
897. A forensic report determined the cause of death to be from a single
shot, which was fired from behind at a distance of approximately two to five
523 See Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 6: The Right to Life (article 6),
30 April 1982, para 6. Article 6 “refers generally to abolition in terms which strongly
suggest… that abolition is desirable. The Committee concludes that all measures of abolition
should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the right to life.”
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