Manama: Bahrain’s justice minister said that 17 families have benefited from compensation funds over the death of relatives in the unrest that hit the country last year.
“So far, 17 of the 35 cases have been settled while the remaining ones are in the final stages of the procedures,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, said.
The ministry in March set up the Civil Settlement Office as part of the government’s move to award appropriate compensation to injured parties.
The establishment of the fund to assist those affected by the unrest in February and March was a recommendation by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), the panel of five international experts that probed the events.
The BICI in November issued a searing report that also included a series of recommendations to ensure national reconciliation and a no repeat of the events.
The civil settlement initiative included the families of the deceased and cases of injury within the context of the BICI report.
Shaikh Khalid said that the establishment of the compensation initiative was a major step in carrying out the royal directives to fast track the implementation of the BICI recommendations and that it would promote the principles of justice.
However, officials in Bahrain said that the initiative did not “annul the victims’ right to pursue legal settlement”.
“The initiative’s beneficiaries include families of deceased victims or those who suffered physical injuries or abuse, along with other cases seen fit for settlement as per the circumstances of each case.”
In June, Shaikh Khalid said that the first batch of compensation settlements, amounting to more than $2.6 million (Dh9.54 million), would be paid in accordance with royal directives to the families of 17 people who died during Bahrain’s unrest.
