Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's High Appeals Court presided over by judge Mohammad bin Ali Al Khalifa and secretariat of Naji Abdullah upheld a first instance verdict against an appellant. The first instance court had sentenced him to 15 years in prison over attempting to murder number of policemen and setting fire two police patrols.

The high criminal court had sentenced one of the defendants to 15 years in prison over attempting to murder policemen and setting fire to two police patrols, handed down 7-year jail term to another defendant and bound them to pay 12487 BD.

The authorities claim that at 2:30 PM, the suspects, along with other unknowns, attempted to murder number of policemen found at the patrols situated in A'ali. The suspects, along with other unknowns, assembled in groups and hurled Molotov against the policemen who confronted the protestors.  

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against political detainees, since they doubt the independence of the judiciary, whose members are assigned by royal decrees, and since it issues sentences based on confessions extracted under duress and evidence presented by secret investigations and anonymous witnesses.

Arabic Version