Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
administrative point of view, SMC was operating as normal, meetings were
being held and staff were instructed in accordance with the disaster plan.
Although the families of the injured protesters gathered in the parking area
outside the Emergency Section, this did not obstruct the entrance. The
accused doctor further stated that hospital staff were busy treating casualties
without interfering with the other events. 320 He stated that at the end of the
day the doctors’ responsibility was to deal with the injured and that any
security concerns were the responsibility of security and administration. 321
This position was supported by an MoH security guard who stated that
security personnel have an agreement with the MoI that during crisis mode
they would take over the administration of the SMC Emergency Section and
that they would be responsible for the exits and entrances of the hospital, and
that they would take orders from the management of SMC and not the
doctors. 322
717. The accused medical personnel deny that they had any relationship
with the protesters. Their version of events was supported by statements from
Prosecution witnesses in these trials. For example, the Head of
Administrative Services at SMC stated that the Assistant Undersecretary for
Hospital Services had agreed that one of the accused doctors would deal with
the demonstrators as he had obvious influence over them. 323
718. One of the accused doctors stated that on 19 February 2011, two other
accused doctors asked the protesters to leave the Emergency Section. 324 There
was an official meeting on 19 February, during which the Assistant
Undersecretary for Financial Affairs asked the doctors to request the
protesters to leave the Emergency Section. He further stated that none of the
accused doctors were colluding with the protesters camped in tents at SMC,
nor did the doctors order the protesters to stay there.
719. The medical personnel who were convicted of felonies submitted a
joint statement to the Commission in which they asserted the following:
There was no relationship between doctors and protesters.
Doctors were only involve[d] in the treatment of injured patients
according to the nature of their injury. Hospital premises were
under the total control of hospital administration. 325
… There were two types of tents put outside the hospital at the car
park in front of the emergency department: the medical tent was
set by the hospital administration to accommodate anticipated
floods of patients in case of disaster. This tent was authorised and
320
Statement provided to the Commission by the Ministry of Health entitled “Salmaniya
Medical Complex”, 10 September 2011.
321
Witness statement provided to the Commission, 2 August 2011.
322
Minutes of court hearing on 7 September 2011 in Case No. 191 of 2011 (Defence witness
statements).
323
Minutes of court hearing on 7 September 2011 in Case No. 191 of 2011.
324
Interview with the Commission, 27 July 2011.
325
The medical personnel provided a copy of a press report in which the Assistant
Undersecretary for Hospital Services made a statement to the same effect.
184