Inmate death suspects jailed

Manama, May 31 (BNA): The High Criminal Court has issued its verdict in the case of torturing an inmate at the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre to death, and other inmates to extract confessions of possessing narcotic materials, Advocate General and Chief of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Nawaf Abdulla Hamza has stated. According to the court ruling, the lecturer of the Recovery Programme at the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre, and First-Lieutenant and Lance Corporal at the Anti-Narcotics Directorate were sentenced to five years in jail. A Major at Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre was jailed for three years, and two lieutenants at the same centre were given a one-year prison sentence. Documents of the case indicate that the Public Prosecution had reported the death of an inmate at the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre to the SIU on November 6, 2014. The SIU launched an investigation into the incident as soon as it was notified. It assessed the corpse of the deceased, was informed about the statements of the witnesses, had a forensic expert to identify the causes of the death, deployed crime scene experts to lift fingerprints and requested the investigation reports of the Judicial Police on the incident. Investigations revealed that the person in charge of delivering awareness lectures on the harmful effects of drugs discovered that the goods given to him by an inmate’s brother contained some narcotic materials, so he informed the Anti-Narcotics Directorate. The lecturer, an officer and a policeman from the Anti-Narcotics Directorate went to the Reform and Rehabilitation Centre to examine the materials, and the two officers in charge allowed them to meet the inmate who asked for the goods. They beat the inmate and other two detainees, which led to the victim’s death. Investigations also revealed that three other officers from the Reform and Rehabilitation Centre approved the torture acts committed by the suspects, and accept to put a person in prison contrary to rules applied in this regard. The forensic report revealed that the death was the result of traumatic injuries described corpse including fractured ribs, bleeding and shock. The SIU's psychiatrist's report concluded that the victims suffered from psychological disorders as a result of what had happened to them, and recommended continuous psychiatric treatment for them and provision of the appropriate medications. The Advocate General affirmed that SIU had conducted its investigations according to the anti-torture Istanbul Protocol, including having the victims examined by forensic and psychiatric experts. The SIU charged the suspects with torture leading to death, accepting torture, putting a person in jail contrary to legal procedures and defamation. The Advocate General said the court had held several sessions during which the SIU delivered verbal and written pleadings and provided evidence. He added that the heirs of the deceased had presented the court with a notarized waiver of all criminal and civil rights against all the defendants during a previous court hearing. He noted that the SIU would study the court verdict further.