The Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, released at the same time of its submission to HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on 23rd November 2011, can be downloaded in its entirety and is available on the homepage.

Prof M. Cherif Bassiouni speech on 23rd November

Final Audit of the BICI Account

26 09 2011

Over 5500 interviews conducted by BICI

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) has conducted 5549 interviews to date and received 8818 complaints in total since its establishment and the beginning of its investigation on 20th July 2011.

Composed of five leading, non-Bahraini, international Commissioners who are experts in international law as well as international human rights law, the BICI investigative team is also made up of important legal practitioners and human rights advocates. In order to maintain the neutrality and independence of the team and its investigations, none of those employed are Bahraini or affiliated with any local organization or society, which is a party to the conflict and unrest in Bahrain since February/March 2011.

Despite the various statements by local activists to the contrary, the BICI would like to assure Bahrainis that every member of the investigative and administrative teams was carefully chosen and that although a small number of Bahrainis are employed for
administration and outreach purposes, they too have been subject to a rigorous selection process. The confidentiality of all our witnesses is respected and maintained upon individual request.

Interviews will continue until 30th September when the BICI will begin to collate all its conclusions for the development of its final report, which is due to be presented and published on 30th October. In the meantime, written complaints are still being accepted via email: outreach@bici.org.bh, the details for which are available on our website. It is expected that up to 500 further interviews will  be conducted by the investigating team in the coming days.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry was established on 29th June 2011 in the Kingdom of Bahrain pursuant to Royal Order No. 28 by His Majesty, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The BICI is mandated to “investigate and report on the events occurring in Bahrain in February/March 2011, and any subsequent consequences arising out of the aforementioned events, and to make such recommendations as it may deem appropriate”.