Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Friday, 8 July 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 22 July 2016. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Monday, 25 July 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Bahrain: Prisons

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Bassiouni Commission on the solitary confinement, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in Bahrain; and whether they plan to ask the International Committee of the Red Cross to inspect prison conditions in Jaw Central Prison, Al-Hawd Al-Jaf prison and all other prisons and places of detention, and to make recommendations.

Answer: The British Government unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and it is a government priority to combat it wherever it occurs. We are aware that there have been allegations in Bahrain, and we raise concerns with the authorities. Our support to Bahrain’s reform programme focuses on strengthening independent oversight bodies such as the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) who provide oversight of police behaviour and detention standards. In May, the PDRC released an independent report which included testimonies of detainees and highlighted a number of key concerns in respect to prison conditions at Jau Prison. We welcome the transparent approach taken by the PDRC, and the Ministry of Interior’s commitment to implement all recommendations made in the report. We continue to call upon the Government of Bahrain to agree a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL1082
Session: 2016-17
Subjects: Inspections Prisons International Red Cross Prisoners' rights Bahrain
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk