Overwhelming objections to state authority resulted in the forced dissolution of the National Assembly by Amir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the suspension of the Constitution until 2001.
Issued at Rifaa' Palace on 7 Shawwal 1394 (22 October 1974): If there is serious evidence that a person has perpetrated acts, delivered statements, exercised activities, or has been involved in contacts inside or outside the country, which are of a nature considered to be in violation of the internal or external security of the country, the religious and national interests of the State, its social or economic system; or considered to be an act of sedition that affects or can possibly affect the existing relations between the people and Government, between the various institutions of the State, between the classes of the people, or between those who work in corporations propagating subversive propaganda or disseminating atheistic principles; the Minister of Interior may order the arrest of that person, committing him to one of Bahrain's prisons, searching him, his residence and the place of his work, and may take any measure which he deems necessary for gathering evidence and completing investigations.
Subsequently, no new elections were held for the National Assembly which remained dissolved for 27 years until 2001 when a new constitution was drafted under the auspices of the Amir's successor, and current King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Arbitrary arrests, coerced “confessions” under duress, pre-trial detention, unfair trials, and legal introduction of capital law offences were widespread, especially towards the majority Shia population of Bahrain.
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 incited an empowering and enthusiastic response amongst the Shia population, which manifested itself into oppositional organizations like the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain but also in a more generalized sense against a government with a strong sectarian animus with regard to its well-being and empowerment.
In January 1993, a petition requesting new dialogue on restoring democratic rights was signed by leading Sunni and Shia personalities and submitted to the Amir but was met with a negative response.
Two months prior to this petition, the Amir called for the establishment of a Majlis al Shura (Upper House); a placebo democratic body whose 30 members were appointed by the government and had no legislative powers.
Thousands of men, women and children (as young as nine and ten years of age)[10] were detained in a ten-month period between December 1994 and October 1995 under arbitrary accusations under the State Security Law.
[1] Torture remained rife in Bahraini prisons under the State Security Law and was most often conducted in the initial phases of detention against persons undergoing interrogation.
The vast majority of these individuals were denied defense attorneys or access to family members during their detention, and were tried privately by the government's State Security Court, where most due process protections were absent.
The Bahraini government continually denied that forces under its authority committed widespread violations of human rights, that it remained within the legal boundaries with regard to arrest and judicial procedures, and that detainees received fair trials and treatment while in custody.
Shortly after his succession, Sheikh Hamad embarked on a new era of democratic reform, and by November 2000, established a committee to draft a blueprint to transform Bahrain from a hereditary emirate to a constitutional monarchy within two years.
On February 5, 2001, Sheikh Hamad issued a Decree of Amnesty that pardoned all political prisoners indicted for state security crimes whether they were detained, facing charges, or convicted either in Bahrain or while exiled abroad.
On October 21, 2010, the Bahraini government reported that 43 Amnesty Decrees Laws have been issued since 2001 pardoning 2,639 convicts indicted for involvement in terror or state security cases.
The report indicated that Bahrain had successfully ended the use of torture for a good part of the last decade but raised concerns over a recent lack of interest for the government to investigate newly documented cases of abuse.
[15] Since the release of this report, hundreds of young men and 23 more prominent citizens, including four Shia clerics were arrested just weeks before the country's parliamentary elections on charges of spreading false information, inciting violence, fomenting terrorism or plotting the government's overthrow.
According to an August 2010 article featured in The Economist, “Rising sectarian tension, the government’s overreaction to the protests and the blatant harassment of opposition parties, particularly the main Shia-dominated one, are all tarnishing Bahrain’s reputation as a fledgling if limited democracy.”[16]