September 30, 2011 :Bahrain jailed 20 doctors on Thursday for between
five and 15 years on theft and other charges, the state news agency
said, in what critics claimed was reprisal for treating protesters
during unrest in the Gulf kingdom this year.
A security court also sentenced a man to death for killing a
policeman by driving his car over him several times and joining illegal
gatherings for “terrorist goals,” the BNA news agency said. Another man
was handed a life term for his involvement.
The doctors, who denied the charges, were among dozens of medical
staff arrested during protests led by the island’s Shi’ite majority
demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and a greater say in
government.
Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers quashed the protests in March, with the
help of troops from fellow Sunni neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates. At least 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and
more than 1,000 detained — mostly Shi’ites — in the crackdown.
The doctors were charged with stealing medicine, stockpiling weapons
and occupying a hospital during the unrest and in addition were jailed
for forcibly occupying a hospital, spreading lies and false news,
withholding treatment, inciting hatred of Bahrain’s rulers and calling
for their overthrow.
“We were shocked by the verdicts because we were expecting the
doctors would be proved innocent of the crime of occupying the Salmaniya
medical complex,” defence lawyer Mohsen al-Alawi said, adding the
hearing had lasted no more than 10 minutes.
The doctors say the charges against them were invented by the
authorities to punish medical staff for treating people who took part in
anti-government protests.
“Those doctors who have been found guilty were charged with abusing
the hospital for political purposes. Nobody is above the law,” a
spokesman for the government’s Information Affairs Authority (IAA) said.
Ten of the doctors, including senior physician Ali Al-Ekri, were
given 15-year terms, two were sentenced to 10 years in prison and the
rest to five.
“After today’s verdict and those issued yesterday we feel pessimism,” Alawi said, adding they would appeal against the decision.
On Wednesday a military court upheld life sentences against Shi’ite
opposition leaders for organising protests in a trial described as a
“sham” by Amnesty International, which also called the latest
proceedings a “travesty of justice.”
In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the United States was “deeply disturbed” by the sentencing of the doctors.
No comments:
Post a Comment