To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 3 December (HL3112), what specific measures to prevent torture and maltreatment of persons in custody they consider have resulted from British expert assistance to Bahrain.
Answered on
17 December 2014
The Government has supported the establishment of the Office of the Ministry of Interior’s Ombudsman and the Prisoners’ and Detainees’ Rights Commission (PDRC) in Bahrain through the provision of UK training and expertise. In 2013, we funded Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas’ (NICO) work with the Office of the Police Ombudsman on several priority areas. This included sharing UK best practice on complaints procedures, investigation reports and the role of prison inspection. We have built on this work, and since early 2014 we have been supporting NICO to deliver a 15 month package of support to help build the capacity of the Ombudsman's Office, increase accountability and public confidence. We have also provided UK-based training to all PDRC members through Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) including sharing best practice on inspection procedures.