Four Bahrain protesters sentenced to death

The now-bulldozed Pearl Roundabout

A court in Bahrain has convicted four demonstrators and sentenced them to death over the killing of two police officers during pro-democracy protests.

Three others were sentenced to life in prison by the military court.

Bahraini authorities have responded harshly to protests which began in February, following uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Hundreds of people have been detained for taking part in protests, many unable to communicate with family.

The seven defendants were tried behind closed doors on charges of premeditated murder of government employees - allegedly running two police officers over in a car.

Rights groups say they were denied communication with family or friends and had little access to legal counsel.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges, reports said.

Crackdown

The trial was the first publicly announced since the Gulf state was put under martial law in mid-March.

That followed more than a month of protests, during which demonstrators had occupied the now-bulldozed Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama.

At least 30 people have been killed since the protests erupted, with four protesters believed to have died in police custody.

Bahrain blames Iran for fomenting the protests, but analysts point to long-simmering tensions between the ruling Sunni minority and Shia majority.

Source: BBC, April 28, 2011

Bahrain sentences protesters to death

A Bahraini military court has sentenced four Shia protesters to death and three to life jail terms for the killing of two policemen during demonstrations last month, state media has reported.

Thursday's verdicts are the first related to the uprising against the Gulf kingdom's ruling family, which begain in February.

The seven defendants were tried behind closed doors on charges of premeditated murder of government employees, which their lawyers have denied.

A Shia opposition official named those sentenced to death as Ali Abdullah Hasan, Qasim Hassan Mattar, Saeed Abdul Jalil Saeed, and Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ibrahim.

He told the AFP news agency that Issa Abdullah Kazem, Sadiq Ali Mahdi, and Hussein Jaafar Abdul Karim were sentenced to life in prison.

Sheikh Ali Salman, president of Bahrain's Al Wefaq, the largest Shia political group in the country, told Al Jazeera that the punishments did not fit the crime.

"I believe that these sentences should be revised and the international community must intervene to stop this," he said.

He added that the proceedings were "unprecedented" and that question marks remain over the conditions the detainees are living in.

Government officials have said that a total of four policemen were killed during the unrest that gripped the country in February and March, at least three of whom were run over by cars around March 16.

Hundreds of thousands of Bahrain's Shia-led opposition have called for greater rights and freedoms in the Sunni monarchy.

Authorities have detained hundreds since martial law was declared last month to quell dissent.

Source: Al Jazeera, April 28, 2011
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