THE government has been accused of financially supporting “serious and persistent” human rights abuses by security services in Bahrain in a new report by Human Rights Watch today.

The 61-page report highlights the cases of eight men who say they were tortured at the Bahraini Interior Ministry Criminal Investigation Directorate. 

They are all defendants on death row in Bahrain for homicide but claim they were tortured into confessing to crimes they didn’t commit. 

The report, which is mostly based on court documents and other official records, highlights allegations of beatings, sleep deprivation, attempted rape, use of electric shocks and repeated violations of defendants’ right to a fair trial.

And it reveals that Britain’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gave the Ministry of Interior and other security bodies in Bahrain £1.8 million in support this year.

The British government’s funding is channelled through the FCDOs secretive Gulf Strategy Fund, which MPs have criticised for its lack of transparency.

Human Rights Watch director Yasmine Ahmed said: “It is shameful that the government is supporting institutions implicated in grave human rights abuses.

“The findings of this report highlight a glaring lack of oversight and accountability at the FCDO. 

“In light of this new report, we are calling on the government to immediately publish what human rights assessments were undertaken ahead of the funding being provided and to immediately suspend all funding and support to institutions implicated in these serious violations.”

One of the defendants, Mohamed Ramadhan, has written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly criticising him for not raising his case when the minister visited Bahrain last year as he had pledged in 2020.

He said: “Britain has continued to support and train the very same people and bodies who are responsible for the torture I was subjected to, covering it up and paving the way for Bahrain’s courts to convict me on the basis of a false confession extracted under torture.

“If my execution is carried out, my blood will be on the British government’s hands.”

A Foreign Office statement said: “All projects on justice and security issues with partners overseas are subject to rigorous risk assessments to meet our human rights expectations. 

“While we recognise challenges remain, stepping back from supporting reforms would be counterproductive.”

The Bahrain embassy in London said that the country had “a zero-tolerance policy towards mistreatment of any kind.”