Military courts in Bahrain

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has issued a report titled The Massacre of Justice. The introduction states:

In Bahrain, the judiciary authority is divided into two branches: the Civil Law Courts (commercial, civil, administrative and criminal) and the Shari›a Law Courts. The King chairs the judicial authority under article 33 of the constitution and appoints judges of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The Minister of Justice (from the Executive Authority) runs the work in the courts and court hearings. In addition to the civil court, there is the Military court (private) which is established and organised by law, as defined by Article 105 of the constitution. The jurisdiction of military courts are confined to military offences committed by members of the Defence Force, the National Guards, and the Security Forces. There is a military court in the Ministry of Interior for the members of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Apparatus. Another military court is in the Ministry of Defence for the members of the Defense Force and the National Guards. After an amendment to Article 105(b) of the Bahraini Constitution on March 30th, 2017, military courts have been authorized to have jurisdiction over civilians, which was condemned by the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) when 380 citizens were sentenced during National Security Period in 2011. The BICI recommended transferring all trials conducted before the military court system to the civilian court system. Thus, 380 Bahraini citizens have been tried, but in 2017, military courts were re-established to try civil people following the amendments of Article 105 of the constitution, which allowed amendment of the Military Judiciary Law.

Contemporary human rights standards strongly disfavor the trial of civilians by military tribunals.

The report observes:

Military Judiciary does not apply the safeguards of fair trials given in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, greatly raising the level of threat. Defendants at the Military Prosecution do not enjoy the basic rights such as the right to defend themselves against the charges. Moreover, the prisons under the military judiciary are not subject to legal and human rights observations, making the defendants in danger of being subjected to torture, physical coercion, and detention in solitary confinement.