Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Bahrain executed on Sunday (January 15, 2017) three Bahraini Shia dissidents, the first execution of the death penalty against dissent since the eruption of the February 14 uprising in 2011.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard described the execution as "extrajudicial killings".

The Bahraini judiciary convicted the three executed political detainees, 21-year-old Ali Al-Singace, 27-year-old Abbas Al-Samee' and 42-year-old Sami Mushaima' of killing Emirati officer Tariq Al-Shohhi and policemen Mohammad Reslan (Pakistani) and Ammar Abdu (Yemeni) during clashes with protestors in March 2014.

Some Information says that Al-Shohhi's family arrived to the country Saturday night, but it is unclear whether they attended the execution, which the Public Prosecution said was carried out by a firing squad in the presence of "a judge, Public Prosecution representatives, prison commandant, a physician and preacher."

There were serious doubts cast over the incident that left the officer and policemen, who were all non-Bahrainis, killed, as well as the trial which the UN Special Rapporteur deemed unfair.

Immediately after the incident, then deputy head of Dubai Police and General Security Dahi Khalfan declared that the descriptions fit one of the suspects which the Interior Ministry will later reveal.

Khalfan said in a number of tweets he sent via his official account that the "felon is not more than 40 years of age and is likely single." The late Sami Mushaima' who was later (at the time) arrested and executed today matched the description.

The Emirati Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed vowed to avenge the death of the slain officer. During the funeral ceremony held for Al-Shohhi, the CP stressed: "Our blood will not go in vain and our revenge shall be taken either today or tomorrow [...] We have patience but we do not forget. Who takes (kills) one of our sons, we will pursue him until the day of judgement."

It was obvious since day one of the incident that the Bahraini authorities were looking for a scapegoat to take the blame for the death of the Emirati officer, whose demise unveiled for the first time the involvement of Gulf forces in the crackdown on the popular uprising in Bahrain, which the government had denied for so long. In a leaked video recorded from inside prison, martyr Abbas Al-Samee' said that he and his family "were the scapegoat that the regime wanted in order to please the United Arab Emirates."

At the time, Bahraini Interior Ministry forces surrounded the village of Sanabes, and three days after the incident announced the arrest of four residents of the area, Abbas Al-Samee', Ali Al-Samee', Taher Al-Samee' and Sami Mushaima'. The authorities claimed that they were involved in the Daih bombing that left the three members of the interior ministry forces dead.

Mother of Ali Al-Singace, who was not among the primary suspects, said on Saturday (January 14, 2017) that her son informed her that he was not interrogated about the death of Al-Shohhi, wondering "how he was sentenced to death without being questioned about the incident."

Al-Singace was beaten on the street by civilian forces months prior to the alleged attack, and found handcuffed behind the back and stripped of clothing, which led activists to confirm that the allegations against him were raised to merely target him.

As for Abbas Al-Samee', his defense team presented a signed address by the school where he worked as a physical education teacher confirming his presence at the school premises on the day the incident took place, adding that he even returned to school in the afternoon to prepare for a sports event.

In another leaked video from behind bars (March 1, 2015), Al-Samee' denied having any involvement in the incident and vehemently asserted that he was innocent, declaring that he adopted peaceful activism in order to help achieve the legitimate demands of the Bahraini people. "As we tossed roses at the authorities military men, they confronted us with their vehicles of suppression," he said.

Arabic Version