Bahrain: Coronavirus

(asked on 5th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2020 to Question HL3434, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on the veracity of statements on covid-19 in Bahrain prisons from the Bahraini National Institute for Human Rights of the 9 April 2020 Reuters article which found that prisoners in that country were subject to overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of medical care.


Answered by
James Cleverly Portrait
James Cleverly
Home Secretary
This question was answered on 9th June 2020

The Government of Bahrain has been clear in public statements that access to appropriate medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. Bahrain has stated publicly that under normal circumstances, any prisoner wishing to see a doctor is taken to the prison clinic, with referral to specialist facilities where required, but as part of the COVID-19 precautions, all medical consultations now take place via a video call, ensuring the safety of the patient and the medical staff. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain and urge continued transparency.

We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body. We continue to encourage the oversight bodies in Bahrain to carry out thorough and swift investigations into any such claims.

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