Marking the anniversary of February 14, the Bahrain Forum for Human Rights said confronting the legacy of grave human rights violations is indispensable to securing genuine and lasting stability, warning that sidestepping the past would only entrench the crisis and deepen mistrust between the state and society.
In a statement, the Forum stressed that transitional justice is neither a temporary political expedient nor an exceptional short-term measure. Rather, it is a comprehensive legal and human rights framework aimed at uncovering the truth, delivering justice to victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and preventing recurrence. At its core, the Forum said, transitional justice reflects respect for human dignity and the rule of law.
The organization argued that violations witnessed in Bahrain recently were not isolated incidents but part of a systematic pattern that included arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, and trials falling short of fair standards. Such a record, it said, requires a serious and comprehensive response—not symbolic or partial remedies.
Today marks 15 years since the Day of Rage in #Bahrain. May we continue to draw courage and inspiration from the unparalleled mass mobilization of the Pearl Revolution and keep insisting on accountability for the perpetrators of the brutal repression of a people demanding… pic.twitter.com/6RhwmGZrHZ
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) February 14, 2026
Since 2011, the Forum added, Bahrain has experienced an escalating trajectory of serious human rights violations, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment in custody, and unfair trials. Other measures cited include revocation of citizenship, implementation of death sentences, restrictions on public freedoms, targeting of human rights defenders and political activists, expansion of political isolation laws, curbs on peaceful assembly, and dissolution of political societies.
The absence of a genuine transitional justice process—grounded in truth, accountability, and reparations—has been a key factor in the evolution of these abuses from sporadic practices into entrenched patterns, the Forum said. Impunity and the lack of institutional reform have allowed violations to persist. Failure to address the legacy of abuses since 2011, it argued, has contributed to their recurrence in different forms, deepened victims’ suffering, and eroded public trust. The lack of transitional justice, therefore, is not merely a policy shortcoming but a direct driver of the continuing human rights crisis.
Core Principles Outlined
Right to Truth
The Forum underscored that establishing the full truth of what occurred and identifying those responsible is an inherent right of victims and society at large. No genuine reconciliation can be achieved without transparent fact-finding conducted through independent and credible mechanisms.
Accountability and Ending Impunity
Any transitional justice process loses its meaning if accountability is excluded, the statement said. Fair and impartial prosecutions are essential safeguards against recurrence and vital to restoring confidence in state institutions.
Reparations and Redress for Victims
The Forum called for comprehensive reparation programs, including compensation, restoration of rights, and psychological and social rehabilitation, taking into account the human and legal dimensions of victims’ suffering and that of their families.
Institutional Reform and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence
A rights-based future requires genuine structural reform, particularly strengthening judicial independence, reviewing legislation that restricts freedoms, and ensuring that security agencies are subject to legal oversight and accountability.
Victim and Civil Society Participation
No transitional justice process can be legitimate or effective without the meaningful participation of victims and the empowerment of civil society to operate freely and independently, the Forum said.
The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights concluded that transitional justice represents a unifying national option—one that turns the page on violations by addressing them rather than denying them and that builds a future founded on rights and freedoms, not exclusion or retaliation.
It renewed its call for the launch of a serious and comprehensive transitional justice process in Bahrain, grounded in international human rights standards and centered on human dignity and the rule of law as pillars of reform and national reconciliation.
Source: Al-Manar Website