Tuesday 4 October 2011

Bahrain jails protest Shia’s for life: prosecutor


DUBAI: A Bahraini special court on Monday jailed 36 Shia’s for up to 25 years each in three separate cases linked to pro-reform protests in the Gulf kingdom, a military prosecutor said.


The rulings came only hours after a civil court date was set for a group of medics who were handed lengthy jail terms last week for their roles in the month-long protests, leading to international condemnation of Bahrain.


In Monday’s decision, 14 Shia’s were sentenced to life, or 25 years in prison, after being convicted of beating to death a Pakistani with a “terrorist” intent and gathering for riots, the prosecutor Yusof Fleifel said.Matar Matar, a former opposition MP, said those convicted of killing of the Pakistani had confessed under torture and that the evidence against them was weak.


“Their lawyers had asked for a medical committee to check them for marks of torture, but their request was turned down,” Matar told AFP, adding the defendants had said they only took part in a public gathering.


“The only evidence used against them is through witnesses. There are no fingerprints or any other proof… Their confessions were taken under duress,” he added.


The three groups were sentenced by the National Safety Court, a special security court set up following a mid-March clampdown on the Shia-led protests.Authorities in the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty have said that 24 people were killed when the Shia-led protests were put down, including four policemen. The opposition puts the death toll at 30.

No comments:

Post a Comment