MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A commission investigating violence in Bahrain said security forces in the country used "excessive and unnecessary lethal force" in repressing an uprising.
Cherif Bassiouni, a former U.N. human rights lawyer, led an independent panel of non-Bahrainis to examine the Sunni regime's response to a Shiite uprising early this year.
Bahrain was criticized for its response to the uprising and for calling on security assistance from members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The United Nations had said it believed the country was torturing people in state hospitals amid the crackdown.
Bassiouni, in a 500-page report, said protesters arrested by authorities during the uprising were subjected to "physical and psychological torture" while in detention.
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More than 40 people died during the uprising and the commission found that 13 civilians died at the hands of state security forces, seven of them from the use of a shotgun. Some of those deaths were attributed to the country's Ministry of Interior.
"The commission finds that there were nine deaths which are attributable to the Ministry of Interior and which resulted from the use of excessive and unnecessary lethal force," the report read.
The Bahraini government, in statements published through the official Bahrain News Agency, welcomed the findings from the independent commission.
"Those who abused their powers and prerogatives, in breach of the law and orders, or committed violations will have to assume the responsibility for their acts," lawmakers said. "Any responsible government shall be prepared to hear the truth about its performance and acts."
The government said the report would be used to develop a vision for the country's future. Washington had said it would withhold military aid to the tiny island kingdom while it awaited the commission's findings.
