![\"Bahrain-police-beat-minors-threatened-them-with-rape-Report-rapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Bahrain-police-beat-minors-threatened-them-with-rape-Report-rapidnews.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBahraini security forces have beaten minors and threatened them with rape and electric shocks after detaining them in protest-related cases last month, the anniversary of a 2011 pro-democracy uprising, rights groups said.<\/p>\n
A government representative did not comment on the specifics of the accusations in response to a Reuters query, saying in a statement that Bahrain took the protection of human rights \u201cextremely seriously\u201d and had a \u201czero-tolerance policy\u201d of mistreatment in the justice system.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said about 13 minors aged between 11 and 17 were held in early to mid-February as authorities tried to dissuade protesters from gathering to mark the 10th anniversary of the uprising.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFive children, arrested on February 14-15, said that police from the station beat, insulted, and threatened them with electric shocks from a car battery,\u201d the two groups said, quoting the children and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn officer hit a 13-year-old on his head and threatened to rape him, give him electric shocks, and beat his genitals.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some cases, the rights groups said, Bahraini police arrested children accused of burning tyres or blocking a road on the day of their arrest.<\/p>\n
Police also accused children of vandalism, planting a fake bomb and throwing petrol bombs in November 2020, they added in the statement.<\/p>\n
Four of the children, including a 16-year-old with a serious medical condition, remain in detention, New York-based HRW and BIRD said.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Wednesday, Bahrain\u2019s attorney general directed the public prosecution to adopt the aims of a law on corrective justice for children and their protection issued on February 18 and intended to take effect six months later.<\/p>\n
The government representative added that when dealing with those younger than 18, the decisions of the criminal justice system in the Gulf Arab nation weigh \u201ceach individual child\u2019s best interests, as well as their rehabilitation and place in society\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bahrain\u2019s United States-backed, Sunni Muslim monarchy used force to suppress the 2011 uprising, led mostly by members of the Shia Muslim majority, and cracked down hard on sporadic unrest and dissent later. It was the only Gulf state to experience one of the \u201cArab Spring\u201d uprisings a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Mass trials followed and thousands were imprisoned, with many others fleeing abroad. Subsequently, there have been clashes between protesters and security forces, which have been targeted by bomb attacks.<\/p>\n
Rights groups including Amnesty International have criticised the kingdom\u2019s lack of an independent judiciary and accused its security forces of committing torture and other forms of ill-treatment with impunity.<\/p>\n
The government denies the charges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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