Meeting

The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Committee on Detention & Facilities Visitation convened its 12^th teleconference meeting under the chairpersonship of
Dr. Malallah Jaffar Alhammadi and membership of Mr. Khaled Alshaer, Mrs. Deena Alladhi and Dr. Fawzeya Saeed Alsaleh.

The Committee opened its meeting by praising the Royal Pardon Decree issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, pardoning 901 convicts and replacing the penalties of 585 inmates who spent half their custodial sanction period, for humanitarian reasons, and under the current circumstances witnessed by Bahrain and the whole world, where His Majesty’s pardon complies with the provisions of the Constitution, the Law and the principles of international conventions and instruments for human rights, and takes into account the various groups of inmates, including women, young-aged, old-aged, patients and those who need special care, being the most eligible care-receiving groups.  Such steps are some of the most important pillars for the promotion and establishment of human rights principles in the community.

The Committee also valued the diligence and attention that His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, attaches through his continuous follow-up to the national efforts made in the framework of the national campaign to combat Coronavirus (Covid-19).  The Committee praised the great attention that the Kingdom of Bahrain attaches to the right to health, through its precautionary and preventive measures and steps in order to spread awareness and educate the community about this virus, and its actions to limit its spread in order to preserve the health and safety of citizens and residents.  In addition, the Committee stressed the importance of considering the various human rights of cases under isolation and treatment as well as cases that undergo precautionary quarantine and staff at the centers, especially the right to health and the right to personal freedom, appreciating at the same time the great efforts made by the government, aiming at ensuring the provision of nutrition, water, appropriate clean place, access and communication with family and relatives and various aspects of medical care for all cases in isolation, treatment and precautionary quarantine centers.

Then, the Committee discussed the course of the visit conducted to places designated by the General Administration of Correction and Rehabilitation for examining new inmates at the Correction and Rehabilitation Centre in Jaw, verifying the results of their Coronavirus testing before they are placed at the centers and ensuring the precautionary measures and actions taken under the current exceptional circumstances, with the aim to provide the necessary protection for the inmates of those centers, and ensure the continuous provision of healthcare services to them, in light of the allegations raised through the media and social media during the past days about the infection of some of the inmates of these centers with symptoms of Coronavirus (Covid-19), which have proven to be fake.  The Committee ensured that all safety and prevention measures were provided to preserve the safety and health of all inmates of these centers.