Scotland Yard could probe claim Bahraini prince tortured prisoners
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:17am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:17am
Reuters in London
The prince at the 2011 Arab Games in Doha, Qatar. Photo: AFP
Scotland Yard is to be asked to investigate allegations that a Sandhurst-educated Bahraini prince should be prosecuted for torture.
The request comes after the high court in London quashed a decision by the director of public prosecutions that Prince Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa was immune from legal action owing to his royal status.
A Bahraini citizen known only as FF has sought the arrest of the son of Bahrain's king following allegations he was directly involved in the torture of three prisoners in Bahrain during a pro-democracy uprising there in 2011.
FF, who says he was tortured, was granted refugee status and now lives in Britain. He was challenging a 2012 ruling by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service that the prince enjoys immunity from prosecution because of his royal status.
Two High Court judges ruled that Prince Nasser's immunity in Britain should be quashed.
After yesterday's ruling, lawyers for FF said they would provide evidence against the prince to London's Metropolitan Police Service.
"Today's decision is an important decision. It's a message to the general public that the UK does take such allegations very seriously," his lawyer, Sue Willman, told the BBC.
Prince Nasser is a regular visitor to Britain and has met members of the British royal family.
Bahrain - one of Britain's closest Arab allies, which was not a party to the case - denies the torture allegation.
"The government of Bahrain again categorically denies the allegations against Sheikh Nasser," it said.
"The government reiterates its firm condemnation of torture and recognises its responsibility to investigate any reasonable allegation."
It said the ruling would not open the door to a prosecution because there was no evidence against Prince Nasser.
"This has been an ill-targeted, politically motivated and opportunistic attempt to misuse the British legal system," the statement added.
