Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's Public Security Chief Major-General Tariq Al-Hassan leveled a blast at the recently released prisoner, Rayhana Al-Mosawi, over the statements she made to Bahrain Mirror, implicitly accusing her -without mentioning her name- of attempting to defame Bahrain and incite public opinion.

Al-Hassan deemed Al-Mosawi's comments on the abuses she suffered while in prison "desperate attempts, part of a despicable scheme to defame Bahrain and incite public opinion," claiming that her statements are but fabricated stories, lies and allegations that "change every day and are backed with no evidence".

He further stated in a series of tweets posted on his personal Twitter account on Friday (May 6, 2016) that "it is the duty of the competent authorities in Bahrain to investigate any complaint or allegation in a transparent way and the Ministry of Interior has always been ready to hold accountable who has been proven guilty," noting that "the victim should file a complaint which the official parties will investigate and act upon according to the law. Bahrain has established several institutions that look into the complaints of victims."

"People realize now that the problem lies in the people who still have the crisis living within themselves and adopt emotional rhetoric built on rumors and inflammatory statements without any evidence," Al-Hassan added.

He concluded his tweets by stating that "the Ombudsman and Special Investigation Unit looked into the complaints and referred those confirmed to the judiciary."

Bahrain Mirror will soon publish a long interview with the recently released detainee Rayhana Al-Mosawi who recounted the torture and degrading treatment she was subjected to in the police station, Criminal Investigation Department and Public Prosecution. Al-Mosawi also stated that she was stripped of her clothing by policewomen, who aimed at insulting her and pressuring her to sign false confessions.

Rayhana's statements echoed throughout Bahrain and hashtag #Thank_You_Rayhana was launched and used by tweeters to salute Rayhana for her strength and steadfastness.

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— Tariq H.E AlHassan (@Talhassan) May 5, 2016

Arabic Version