( CNN ) -- Police in Bahrain regularly resort to beating anti-government protesters , despite officials ' pledges to stop such practices , a human rights group said Sunday . A Bahraini government spokesman denied that allegation and others made in the Human Rights Watch report . `` The allegations are absurd , and unfortunately , we ask for human rights organizations not to rely on unreliable sources , '' said government spokesman Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa . Human Rights Watch said interviews revealed at least five instances in the past month in which police severely beat detainees -- some of whom were minors , according to a report issued after representatives from the group finished a five-day visit to the island nation . Visible injury marks appeared to confirm details of accounts from former detainees interviewed by Human Rights Watch , the organization said . Treatment of prisoners inside police stations and formal detention facilities has improved , Human Rights Watch said , and Bahrain appears to have made `` rapid progress '' in eliminating torture inside police stations after a committee last year recommended installing video cameras there . But now , according to Human Rights Watch , beating and torture of prisoners is continuing at informal facilities and in secluded outdoor areas , where detainees have been taken for up to two hours before they 're transferred to police stations . `` Bahrain 's leaders need to make clear that they will investigate and punish those responsible for abuses when the cameras are off , '' Human Rights Watch said . The Bahraini government spokesman said Human Rights Watch 's relationship with political activists `` is such that they do n't check the legitimacy or facts behind the allegations . '' CNN has not independently confirmed the rights group 's report . Al Khalifa said the government has taken steps to implement recommendations made by an independent commission last year . Dozens of officers are currently being investigated under a new government system to look into torture allegations , he said . Sunday 's Human Rights Watch report comes amid growing global scrutiny of the human rights situation in the Gulf state . Earlier this month opposition groups in Bahrain and politicians around the world called for officials to cancel a Formula 1 race as violent clashes continued between activists and authorities . The Bahrain Grand Prix continued as scheduled , but protesters used the international spotlight on the race to call for the release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja , a detained human rights activist who has been on a hunger strike for more than two months . The activist , who was arrested last April for his role in anti-government demonstrations that swept through his country , is protesting his life prison sentence . Last June , al-Khawaja and seven other Shiite opposition activists were found guilty of plotting to overthrow the country 's Sunni royal family . On Sunday , Bahrain 's information ministry denied that it was force-feeding al-Khawaja , saying in statement that al-Khawaja gave consent for doctors to insert a naso-gastric tube for nutrition after his blood sugar dropped . Demonstrations in Bahrain failed to gain the traction of other Arab Spring uprisings after a crackdown by authorities in the island state , backed by troops from nearby Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates . In November of last year , Bahrain 's Independent Commission of Inquiry issued a report critical of authorities ' reactions to the protests , which began in February 2011 , spurred by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt . The independent commission , set up by Bahrain 's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa , found that between February and April of last year , 35 people were killed in unrest there . Two senior international advisers to Bahrain 's chief of public security told Human Rights Watch they had visited some of the informal facilities identified by the group , but found no evidence of detainees being taken there and mistreated . The chief said the government planned to improve police training to stop abuse , according to Human Rights Watch . Earlier this month , the state-run Bahrain News Agency published a statement responding to another report by Human Rights Watch that alleged Bahrain had not lived up to its commitments on reform . The nation 's Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development dismissed the criticism as rash , saying that Human Rights Watch report `` had ignored the positive developments in the country and the continuation of the reform process , '' and that it was committed to the protection of human rights . CNN 's Elizabeth Joseph , Mohammed Jamjoom and Peter Wilkinson contributed to this report .
NEW : `` The allegations are absurd , '' a Bahraini government spokesman says . Beating and torture is continuing at informal facilities , Human Rights Watch says . A report says Bahrain has made `` rapid progress '' eliminating torture inside police stations . " This story was reported by the Associated Press on May 31, 2011.