Alwaght- UK charities condemn their government over a secret program to teach Bahraini police how to whitewash custody deaths.
The British charity, Reprieve, condemned UK foreign ministry and Northern Irish Police for training their Bahraini counterparts how to tell bereaved families that officers would not be prosecuted after loved ones have died in custody.
According to the charity, the UK foreign ministry is helping the Persian Gulf country with a multimillion pound aid package, despite its security forces being criticized for the use of torture and death sentences before, during and after the country was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2011.
The accusations are leveled at a delegation from the Bahraini police, part of the unit called the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which visited Northern Ireland on request from the foreign ministry.
Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said: “It is shocking that Britain paid for Bahrain’s police to learn how to whitewash deaths in custody.
"Bahrain’s police have tortured innocent people like Mohammed Ramadan into confessing falsely to crimes that carry the death penalty, and intimidated relatives who try to complain,” she added.
She demanded an urgent suspension of the program amid growing concerns on Bahraini crackdown on opposition forces.
