"Excessive force" was used in Bahrain crackdown

Bahrain's security forces used excessive force to suppress protests earlier this year, an inquiry commission said on Wednesday, and urged a review of sentences handed down by authorities against those it held responsible for the turmoil.  

The panel, led by Egyptian-American international law expert Cherif Bassiouni, was formed and funded by Bahrain's government five months ago to investigate any crimes committed during the worst unrest seen in the island kingdom since sectarian-tinged political violence shook Bahrain in the mid-1990s.  

Confessions were extracted under duress and detainees were tortured, Bassiouni said in a speech delivered at the palace of Bahrain's King Hamad, adding that while 35 were killed, including five security personnel.  

On the other hand Bahrain King mentioned that there is no clear no evidence linking Iran to the unrest that swept Bahrain, the head of a government-commissioned inquiry into the anti-government protests by mainly Shi'ite Muslims and the kingdom's crackdown on them said on Wednesday.  

"The evidence presented to the committee regarding the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran on internal events in Bahrain did not reveal a clear link between events that took place in Bahrain and an Iranian role," said Cherif Bassiouni.  

Bassiouni leads a group of international law experts the kingdom funded to investigate protests led by Shi'ites and the government's crushing of them. He was speaking as he delivered his findings to Bahrain's king.

Bahrain's rulers had suggested the protests were fomented by Shi'ite Iran among its Bahraini co-religionists in order to expand its influence in the Gulf.