The Independent: British taxpayers’ money is being used to whitewash abuses in Bahrain

The British Independent newspaper published a report by Maya Oppenheim entitled “UK government using taxpayer money to fund Bahraini body accused of covering up torture and rape.”
The report said that information showed that the British government’s secret support of millions of pounds to countries in the Gulf region includes support for a highly controversial body in Bahrain that allegedly hid evidence of the rape and torture of women activists in 2017.
The report said the UK government is funding the ombudsman through the Gulf Strategy Fund which provided £8.4m to five Gulf states in 2021, and while ministers say the fund bolsters UK-Gulf ties and boosts trade ties, activists warn the money is being used to train officials in the Office of the Ombudsman.
Ahmed Alwadaei, director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, told The Independent that the UK government continues to support the controversial body, saying, “Once again the government has used taxpayer money to support agencies that have laundered horrific evidence of rape and torture by security forces.”
The report also noted that Bahrain, which is one of the UK’s oldest allies in the Gulf, is one of the most repressive countries in the Middle East, according to the US NGO Freedom House.