Two top British lawyers have been appointed to assist the government in pushing through the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) recommendations on human rights.

Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG QC, former principal legal adviser to the UK Foreign Office, and Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC, emeritus professor of public law at University College London, will begin their work this month.

They will be joined shortly by other top international lawyers with expertise in areas such as international human rights and civil law, relevant to the implementation of the BICI proposals.

Sir Daniel and Sir Jeffrey will be responsible for advising on accountability mechanisms, including establishing a national watchdog to bring to justice police officers responsible for torture, death or mistreatment of civilians.

The government has pledged that the BICI proposals will be implemented by February-end. Many of these have been carried out, and others partially done or are in progress through the National Commission. – TradeArabia News Service