Gurulé travels to Bahrain to support pretrial detention reforms | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Gurulé travels to Bahrain to support pretrial detention reforms Gurulé travels to Bahrain to support pretrial detention reforms Published: March 21, 2012 Author: Shannon Roddel Jimmy Gurulé, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, just returned from a week-long trip to Bahrain to assess the country’s pretrial detention policies and procedures. The trip was funded by the State Department and American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative to support Bahrain’s newly adopted zero tolerance policy toward “torture, inhuman treatment and degrading detention” of political prisoners, which includes detaining them without judicial process. An independent commission found that police tortured and used excessive force against civilians arrested during protests that followed successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia last year. Gurulé toured Bahrain’s major prison and visited with the country’s attorney general, minister of justice, chief justice of the Supreme Court, and senior members of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as human rights lawyers and political prisoners. “The most effective way to prevent torture and other human rights abuses in Bahrain is to strengthen the private legal defense bar,” Gurulé says. “It is imperative that criminal suspects be afforded lawyers immediately after being taken into custody by Bahraini police officers. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of human rights lawyers practicing in Bahrain today.” Gurulé now will evaluate current legislation and procedures that allow for judicial monitoring of detainees and make recommendations on how the legislation and procedures should be improved or amended. He also will make recommendations on the establishment and operations of a Special Prosecution Unit to investigate and prosecute allegations of government-sponsored torture. “I am confident,” Gurulé says, “that the legal reforms being implemented in Bahrain will strengthen the rule of law in that country and serve as a model for strengthening the rule of law in other countries throughout the Gulf region.” Gurulé is a former assistant U.S. attorney general, former Undersecretary for Enforcement for the U.S. Treasury Department, and an internationally known expert in the field of international criminal law. Contact: Gurulé, 574-631-5917 or gurule.1@nd.edu Posted In: International Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related September 30, 2022 Nanovic Institute to welcome former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture September 12, 2022 Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street … in different countries? For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn