Ombudsman launches investigation into Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch’s allegations

Manama, Mar.11 (BNA):The Ombudsman has launched an investigation into the allegations of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International issued a statement on March 3, alleging that “4 children face trial on riot charges” and claimed that two of them were interrogated without the presence of a lawyer. The organisation also called for ensuring that the Child Convention and international standards for the trial of minors are respected in the court proceedings. Human Rights Watch also issued a statement on March 10, citing allegations regarding a number juvenile children without mentioning any names. In the statement, the organization claimed that “all the names which were written in initials are pseudonyms”. The Ombudsman said that it had launched a probe into the allegations as soon as the aforementioned statements were issued, adding that it would follow its work procedures. These include collection of information, meeting complainants or their representatives, hearing concerned officials’ statements, examining the CCTV results, witnesses’s testimonies, in addition to any other means which may provide reliable evidence such as surveillance recordings. The Ombudsman stated that it had already contacted "Human Rights Watch" by email, requesting real names of the juveniles mentioned in its statement, in order to complete the procedures launched an investigation into the allegations, while preserving the privacy and confidentiality of the information.