Britain's Klaus Barbie

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights has launched a campaign to put on trial British officer Ian Henderson—the “butcher Bahrain”—for crimes against humanity.

Ian Henderson is renowned for his use of torture to put down the Mau Mau independence uprising in Kenya in the 1950s.

Later he plied his trade in Bahrain where he became head of the security services and director of intelligence.

He gathered around him mercenaries notorious for the use of electric shock equipment.


One victim describes his experience at the hands of "Britain's Klaus Barbie":
"My first experience of Henderson took place in 1982 when I was hanged like a chicken at the office of Adel Flaifel, one of Henderson's henchmen.

"I was hanged by my arms and legs when Henderson entered the room and said: 'Do you want to confess?'. He immediately assaulted me in an immoral way and after a while he left the room."

Hassan said he was naked at the time and Henderson beat him over the buttocks. He went on: "The encounter lasted about 10 minutes during which I was in severe pain.

The three torturers - Flaifel, Abdulla Al Tanak and Abdulla Al Dowsari - stopped when he entered the room awaiting further instructions from him, but upon receiving satisfactory approval from him, they resumed their beating.”