Inmates in Bahrain's prison will soon have television in their cells, attached toilets and new furniture as part of a long-term strategy to safeguard their rights.

In addition, six new buildings - two in the Dry Dock Detention Centre in Hidd and four in Jaw Prison - are expected to open next week to provide modern facilities with safety requirements, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) chairman Nawaf Al Ma'awada announced this yesterday at a Press conference, in which he also released reports following surprise visits to four governorate police stations and the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, Adliya.

Teams from the PDRC made unannounced visits on December 24 and December 25 and interviewed 50 inmates, who Al Ma'awada said were randomly selected and included foreigners and those between the ages of 15 and 18.

"The teams looked at the condition of centres, living standards, health conditions of the detainees, and their rights," he said.

"We visited the Northern, Muharraq, Capital and Southern governorate police stations to access documents to ensure they follow administrative procedures, as well as conducted interviews with employees and senior officers."

He said five teams interviewed 10 detainees each who were under the legal custody of the four police stations and another 10 inmates whose cases were handled by the CID.

"Members of the commission carried out the visits within its role of supporting human rights in the field of monitoring prisons and places of detention," he said.

"We found some violations - CCTV cameras were not installed in some areas, no separate waiting hall for female prisoners to be transferred and lack of procedures for personal inspection.

"There were also no clear rules of handcuffing the suspects because there was no secure waiting area at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) for them before they were transferred to police stations."

Some of the violations mentioned in the reports state prison staff are not trained to deal with special needs inmates and detainees aged between 15 and 18.

The report with regards to expatriate inmates states they are allowed to contact their respective embassies, but there is no procedure for them to receive a written manual in Arabic, English and Urdu stating their rights.

In addition, the PDRC report mentions though there is a medical record of all detainees, the staff at the facility are not trained to even provide first aid.

Detainees, who were interviewed, said they were provided clean food, water, suitable beds and had access to showers and possessed their personal file with all their details.

The PDRC report about the visit to the CID mentioned how the team probed reports that a detainee had been tortured by officers from Anti-Narcotics Directorate.

According to reports, officers tortured and coerced the suspect into confessing he was a drug trafficker.

"The Special Investigation Unit and the Ombudsman's Office investigated the case and five members of the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, including an officer, were referred to the High Criminal Court," said the report.

The next hearing is set for June 4.

"We have submitted our reports to the Interior Ministry which has accepted our findings and created a committee to follow up on our recommendations to be implemented."

Al Ma'awada yesterday (May 13) visited the four new buildings at Jaw Prison.

It includes an education and rehabilitation facility - the Royal Charity Organisation's (RCO) Nasser Centre for Vocational Training.

Al Ma'awada inspected the facilities in his capacity as the Ombudsman Office secretary-general along with Ministry Under-Secretary Major-General Khalid Salem Al Absi and RCO secretary-general Dr Mustafa Al Sayed.

The official said construction of the new buildings does not solve the problem of overcrowding of prisons, adding authorities were discussing different punishment systems such as community service to tackle the problem.

The PDRC will soon issue reports of their visit to the Reform and Rehabilitation Centre for Women, the Women's Detention Centre in Isa Town, and the Juveniles Care Centre. - TradeArabia News Service