Policemen charged with torturing detainees

Manama Bahrain’s public prosecution said Monday it charged eight policemen with torturing detainees in the wake of last year’s protests.

“Five cases have been referred to special courts after charging eight policemen, including a lieutenant,” the prosecution said in a statement carried by the BNA state news agency.

The charges range from “using torture to force a defendant to confess, to causing a permanent disability, as well as insults and physical assaults,” the statement said.

In September, a policeman was jailed seven years for killing a protester during the month-long protests that were brutally quelled in mid-March 2011.

The authorities say they are implementing the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry called for by the king that confirmed allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during protests.

Home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain still witnesses sporadic demonstrations, mostly outside the capital.