Bahrain Mirror (Reuters): Bahrain's foreign ministry rejected on Wednesday the findings of an Amnesty International report published this week, which said torture and other forms of ill-treatment persist in the Gulf kingdom.

The ministry said in a statement the report was inaccurate and selective in saying that new oversight bodies, such as the Ministry of Interior's ombudsman, lacked independence.

The statement carried by state news agency BNA did not address Amnesty's findings of ongoing abuses by security forces, nor its allegations of impunity for unlawful killings, injuries, torture and other ill-treatment since November 2011.

The ombudsman's office, commenting on Monday after the report was issued, questioned its accuracy on certain specific cases, but also pledged to study its content carefully as it continues to develop its expertise.