Human Rights Watch accuses police in Bahrain of beating and torturing detainees, including minors.
The campaign group has issued a report which says police officers regularly take young men to secluded places and beat them for up to two hours before transferring them to a police station. Some said they had been threatened with rape.
The group said it had interviewed 14 young males, including seven children. It said five of the beatings happened in April.
The BBC reports the government pledged reforms after receiving a report six months ago on the handling of protests in 2011. It insists it is committed to putting the recommendations into practice.
More than 40 people died in unrest last year and 1600 were arrested.
The HRW report said treatment inside police stations had improved significantly in the last six months.
