Manama: The Interior Ministry has stressed that the aggressive defaming campaigns against Bahrain through the Qatar-sponsored Al Jazeera channel are systematic and are staged at particular times. The campaigns include a broadcast by Al Jazeera of an alleged conversation between Bahraini youth and one of the Interior Ministry’s personnel, the ministry said in a statement.
Along with frequent allegations of torture and of visit prevention against inmates, it referred to the youth as “imprisoned children.” The intensity of incitement against Bahrain intensifies during the annual assembly of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. This particular defamatory campaign by the channel targets Bahrain and its national and civilised accomplishments, including the “alternative penalties” programme.
The facts on the ground are vastly different. The alternative to incarceration programme is a remarkable project launched by Bahrain that has been highly appreciated by many countries and human rights organisations and experts.
Hence, the Interior Ministry highlights the following:
First: Until now, 3,552 individuals have benefited from the alternative penalties programme hailed by international human rights organisations for its humanitarian and legal goals. Second: Qatar should rather focus on developing its human rights protection laws and programmes instead of challenging the successes of others.
Third: The approach adopted by Al Jazeera Qatar to incite people and buy their souls and conscience and to use aggressive practices that violate international conventions as part of the campaign against Bahrain and its people is blatant. The broadcast by Al Jazeera claimed it was about an attempt to recruit a Bahraini youth, while it has been proven by evidence beyond any doubt, how Qatar has been attempting to recruit Bahraini military and security personnel.
Fourth: The channel has the habit of airing wrong allegations and misinformation, including preventing inmates from their visitation rights. Such baseless allegations are expected from the channel that is specialized in interfering in the affairs of others.
Fifth: Those at the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre in Jau serve their sentences in criminal and terrorist cases after going through all judiciary phases and fair fair trials. The centre is open to human rights organisations, including the National Institution for Human Rights, the Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission. They make announced and unannounced visits to ensure that inmates receive services stated in the Reformation and Rehabilitation Law and its rules.
Sixth: The channel’s claims of “children prisoners in Bahrain” are baseless and are proven wrong by facts. Inmates in the 15-18 age group serve their penalties at a different reformation centre, “the Juvenile Care Centre,” under the supervision of the General Directorate of Women Police. Moreover, those below 14 come under special legal and human rights welfare procedures, a reality and a practice that do not exist in the country that sponsors the channel.
Seventh: Bahrain is proud of the endorsement of the Law on Restorative Justice for Children and Their Protection from Maltreatment. It is a law that affirms the implementation of corrective methods that meet human rights protection standards to provide children with welfare and protect them from abuse. The steps include a judiciary committee to look into requests of changing jail terms before serving them for children who were 18 at the time of committing the crimes. It also includes the formation of corrective justice courts for children of the 15-18age group. Therefore, claims of maltreatment of children and others are baseless. The desperate attempts against Bahrain’s national cohesion and civilized accomplishments, including the professionalism of human rights organizations, cannot succeed.
Bahrain implements the alternative penalties programme as a national project that reflects a progressive reformation vision within the reformation and rehabilitation system. It is one of Bahrain’s human rights achievements. The Bahrain community will remain a potent example of peaceful coexistence and robust cohesion thanks to the nature and character of its people and the fairness of its laws. This clarification is based on the open communication with the public prevailing in the Kingdom and consolidates the principles of transparency and of highlighting facts.
