severe pain or suffering, whether physically or mentally, on a
person who was detained or under his control for the purpose
of obtaining information from him or another person or
confession, punishment for an act committed or suspected to
be committed by him or another person, intimidating or forcing
him or any other person for any reason based on discrimination
of any kind. In this amendment, the legislator excludes these
crimes from statutory limitation period for crimes of torture,
and considers the crimes against the right to physical and moral
integrity as felonies rather than misdemeanours.
1.4 Law No. 49 of 2012 amending Article 81 of the Public Security
Forces Law was promulgated by Decree Law No. (3) of 1981,
under which crimes related to allegations of torture, inhuman
or degrading treatment or death related to military crimes are
excluded. Therefore, the jurisdiction to consider these crimes
lies with ordinary courts, as this is a legislative approach in line
with the relevant international standards.
1.5 In the context of international human rights instruments, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which
the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain has acceded under
Law No. 56 of 2006, affirms in Article 6 that every human being
has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by
law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. In countries
which have not abolished the death penalty, death penalty may
be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance
with the law in force pursuant to a final judgment rendered
by a competent court. Article 7 provides that no one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment and no one shall be subjected without his free
consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
1.6 The accession of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
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