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Kuwait
Internal Security
The Bahraini national police force was believed by most sources
to number about 2,000 in 1992. In addition to the usual police
functions, the mission of the force is to prevent sectarian violence
and terrorist actions. Bahrain has a high proportion of native
Shia, possibly 65 to 70 percent of the population. Iran tried
to fuel existing resentment over the inferior place of Shia in
the social and economic structure. The government sought to moderate
the socioreligious cleavage by appointing Shia to a number of
cabinet posts and senior civil service posts, although generally
not in security-related positions. A failed coup d'état against
the Al Khalifa in 1981 resulted in the expulsion or trial of many
Shia dissidents; Iran had armed and trained most of those convicted.
A number of persons were arrested in 1987 in another plot linked
to Iran. In 1989 twenty-two persons were sentenced to prison by
the Supreme Court of Appeal, sitting as the Security Court, for
plotting to overthrow the government; no claim was made of Iranian
involvement.
Two clandestine political groups with ties to Iran are active
in Bahrain. The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, which
was responsible for the 1981 coup attempt, consists of militant
Shia calling for violent revolution. The Islamic Call Party, which
also has ties to Iran, is more moderate, calling for social and
economic reforms. Two secular leftist groups with ties to Arab
regimes and Arab nationalist organizations are the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Bahrain and the National Front for the Liberation
of Bahrain. Their influence appeared to be on the decline as of
early 1993. The agencies of the Ministry of Interior, the police
force, and the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) maintain
strict control over political activity. It is thought that their
operations are extensive and highly effective. Detention and arrest
can result from actions construed as antiregime activity, such
as membership in illegal organizations, antigovernment demonstrations,
possession or circulation of antiregime writings, or preaching
sermons of a radical or extreme Islamist tone. The Department
of State reported some loosening of controls in 1991 over actions
previously regarded as subversive, reflecting the government's
assessment that domestic and foreign threats to its security had
receded.
Under the State Security Act of 1974, persons can be detained
for up to three years, with a right of appeal after a period of
three months and thereafter every six months. Arrested persons
tried in ordinary criminal courts are provided the usual guarantees,
such as public trials, the right to counsel (including legal aid
if needed), and the right of appeal. Prisoners charged with security
offenses are tried directly by the Supreme Court of Appeal, sitting
as the Security Court. The procedural guarantees of the penal
code do not apply: proceedings are in secret, and there is no
right of judicial appeal, although cases can be referred to the
amir for clemency.
According to Department of State human rights studies, there
have been credible reports that the SIS engages in torture and
mistreatment of detainees. Convictions in some cases have been
based only on confessions that allegedly have been extracted by
torture. There were, however, no confirmed cases of torture in
1991. The independent human rights group Amnesty International
claimed that as of 1992 about seventy political prisoners, many
with ties to banned Islamic groups, were serving sentences after
unfair trials. Between 220 and 270 people were held in Bahraini
jails in 1992. Of these, fewer than 100 were thought to be serving
sentences for security offenses.
Data as of January 1993
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