- King Hamad of Bahrain sat next to the Queen at 90th birthday celebration
- But campaigners condemned country’s record of oppression and killings
- UK foreign aid used to train guards at prisons where torture said to be rife
When King Hamad of Bahrain sat alongside the Queen at her 90th birthday celebration at Windsor Castle last week, human-rights campaigners spoke up to condemn his country’s record of political oppression and unlawful killings.
The protesters may also have questioned why millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ cash is sent to the oil-rich regime as UK foreign aid – with some used to train guards at prisons where torture is said to be rife.
Senior officers from the prison service in Bahrain were flown to Northern Ireland in January to visit three jails as part of a £2.1million training project.
They received instruction in restraint procedures, alternatives to custody such as the use of tags and understanding prisoner classification, according to a Freedom of Information request.
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The foreign aid budget is bloated, focuses on inputs rather than outcomes and its record for promoting freedom is poor.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said it worked with Bahrain ‘to provide extensive reform assistance focused on strengthening human rights and the rule of law.
‘Our strong relationship means that we are able to have frank and honest conversations on human rights at the highest levels with the government of Bahrain.’
According to the 2015/16 Amnesty International annual report, the Bahrain government curtails freedom of expression, imprisons opposition leaders and commonly uses torture.
