The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights said that the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) has ignored following up on the reported details about the serious human rights violations related to the first trial of civilians before the military judiciary, noting that the performance of the NIHR in monitoring the trial became well known when it ignored the violations occurring during the trial hearings.

The BFHR added that guaranteeing fair trials is necessary not only to protect the rights of the defendant but also to ensure the achievement and promotion of justice in a legal government; and the observation of trials professionally and objectively is crucial for achieving justice.

The BFHR further added that the NIHR should remember that monitoring the trial depends practically on the actual presence at all hearings and the full view of the proceedings and the circumstances of the case and not submitting results before publishing a detailed report on the case that is being observed. The BFHR wondered: “Why did it ignore the obvious torture marks on the bodies of some victims during the trial sessions?”

The BFHR concluded that if the NIHR considers complaints of torture and ill-treatment, the use of electric shocks to extract confessions under torture, and the judge's refusal of hearing complaints of torture are evidence of abiding by fair trial guarantees, it should enroll those monitoring the case in a special and intensive course on monitoring trials and the guarantees of trials.