[imc-presse] PRESS RELEASE: Prosecution of Bahrain Attorney General sought in Irish torture complaint

Tue Sep 13 16:42:07 CEST 2016

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PRESS RELEASE

Prosecution of Bahrain Attorney General sought in Irish torture complaint

Dublin/Berlin/London, 13 September 2016 - The Dublin District Court today
rejected a criminal complaint seeking a summons for Bahraini Attorney
General Ali Bin Fadhul Al-Buainain concerning his alleged role in the
torture of a detainee in Bahrain. Al-Buainain is expected in Dublin this
week for the annual conference of the International Association of
Prosecutors. The application was made by Jaafar Al-Hasabi, who was subjected
to beatings, electric shocks and other forms of abuse while in detention in
Bahrain in 2010. 

Al-Hasabi was one of a number of Bahraini rights activists arrested and
tortured in a systematic crackdown by the government authorities. His case
elicited direct interventions from several UN Rapporteurs. Bahrains
Attorney General is accused of authorising Mr Al-Hasabis detention while
ignoring concerns expressed by human rights groups and experts that he was
being tortured.

Last year the Swiss prosecutor determined that an investigation should be
carried out into the involvement of the Attorney General of Bahrain in the
brutal torture of Jaafar Al-Hasabi. Todays decision is a failure by the
courts to adhere to commitments given by Ireland under international law.
Questions also have to be asked of the International Association of
Prosecutors who just last year promoted the Attorney General of Bahrain to
the position of Vice President, said GLAN Director Gearóid Ó Cuinn.

The decision casts doubt on Irelands commitment to implementing the UN
Convention against Torture. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction,
no state should offer safe haven to those complicit in grave crimes abroad,
said Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary of the European Center for
Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).

Sayed Ahmed Al Wadaei, Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for
Rights and Democracy: We are extremely disappointed at the decision today.
It has undermined Irelands commitment to the Convention against Torture. Mr
Al-Hasabi suffered severe torture that Bahraini officials carried out with
impunity. Without accountability, Bahrain has no hope of reform.

Jaafar Al-Hasabi is represented in Ireland by solicitor Michael Finucane and
the court application was moved by Giollaoísa Ó Lideadha SC and James
McCullough BL. The action was mobilised by the Bahrain Institute for Rights
and Democracy (BIRD), ECCHR in Berlin, the Global Legal Action Network
(GLAN) in Dublin and REDRESS in London. 

This NGO network also submitted a criminal complaint against the Bahraini
Attorney General in Switzerland last year initiated by and based on legal
research from ECCHR. The Swiss investigation is ongoing. The criminal
complaints in Switzerland and Ireland are part of efforts to end torture and
repression in Bahrain and enforce the obligation on all states to
investigate and prosecute perpetrators of torture on a global level. Under
the UN Convention against Torture, all states have an obligation to
prosecute those responsible for or complicit in torture. 

For more information on ECCHRs work on torture and impunity in Bahrain see:
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/bah
rain.html

Please excuse double posting.

Contact:

ECCHR                                  

Berlin

Anabel Bermejo 

Phone: +49 (0)172 5870087

Mail:
<file:///C:\Users\Ecchr\AppData\Local\Microsoft\ECCHR\AppData\Local\Microsof
t\Windows\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Content.Outlook\PUVZI8K4\bermejo at ECCH
R.eu> bermejo at ECCHR.eu

BIRD

London

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei

Phone: +44 7445382565

Mail: Sayed at birdbh.org

GLAN

Dublin                         

Gearóid Ó Cuinn        

Phone: +44 (0)7521203427

Mail: gocuinn at glanlaw.org 

+---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anabel Bermejo 

Media & Communications

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)

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D-10961 BERLIN

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E-Mail:  <mailto:bermejo at ecchr.eu> bermejo at ECCHR.eu

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