Manama: Bahrain’s Ombudsman Office has received 242 complaints from the community and places of detention in the first 10 months of its inception, its annual report said.
According to the figures released by the Ombudsman, 39 complaints are still under investigation.
“Of these, 29 were referred to the Special Investigations Unit, 15 to the Security Prosecution and one to the Public Prosecution,” Nawaf Al Moawdah, the Ombudsman, said as he launched the report at a press conference.
He said that 49 complaints resulted in recommendations for action being made to the establishments where the complaints originated and that 109 complaints were either not eligible for investigation by the Ombudsman “because they did not concern the Ministry of the Interior, were resolved or were not upheld.”
The Ombudsman added that 12 members of the Ministry of Interior were referred to the Criminal Courts, and two to the Disciplinary Courts following criminal investigations resulting from the Ombudsman Office referrals. He added that the Office was monitoring the progress of all the cases.
“The complaint investigations carried out by the Ombudsman Office over the ten months, covered a wide range of concerns including allegations of misconduct and alleged violations. Many cases were, following investigation, referred to other authorities for criminal investigations and many other recommendations for action were issued to the establishments where the complaints originated. Other cases were not upheld,” Al Moawdah said on Wednesday.
“The publication of the report is in line with his office’s commitment to engagement and transparency and seeks to inform the general public and all interested stakeholders about significant achievements to date, but also challenges moving forward, bearing in mind the expectations, aspirations and hopes for the Ombudsman Office,” he said.
“The Ombudsman’s Office has made significant progress since its inception, particularly in implementing the required administrative and professional operational framework and developing the methodologies and standards for investigating complaints, making visits to rehabilitation and detention centres and ensuring stakeholder engagement.”
Al Moawdah added that the number of complaints received by the Ombudsman Office over time suggests growing confidence.
“This, in turn, emphasises the imperative for the Ombudsman Office to continuously develop the way in which it delivers its service. Current priorities include the further development of arrangements for communicating with complainants to inform them of the progress of complaint investigations and the achievement of greater accessibility to the services of the Ombudsman,” he said.
Discussing visits to prisons and places of detention, Deputy Ombudsman Osama Al Osfoor said that they “have given rise to a number of issues of concern which need to be addressed urgently, most important of which is the quality of healthcare in prisons and detention facilities.”
