Bahrain Mirror- Exclusive: Amnesty International called on its followers to "express grave concern that Maher Abbas Ahmad's death sentence was upheld and to urge the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to immediately commute the death sentence imposed on Maher Abbas Ahmad and establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty."

The organization also urged to "call on the authorities to conduct an investigation into the allegations of torture made by Maher Abbas Ahmad and his co-defendants, acknowledge the Bahraini government's responsibility to protect the public and bring to justice those who commit crimes, but insist that this should always be done in accordance with international law and Bahrain's international human rights obligations."

Amnesty asked people to send appeals before June29 to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Ministry of Interior and to send copies to the Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs.

Maher Abbas Ahmad was tried along with eight men which included three of his brothers. The Bahrain High Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence imposed against him over a case of killing a policeman in Al-Sahla.

The same court accepted the appeals presented by Fouad Ali Fadel and Fadhel Abbas and upheld the life term sentence issued against them. The court also sentenced each of Mohammad Abbas Ahmad, Falah Ali Fadel, Ibrahim Abdullah Shabib, Isa Abdullah, Khalil Ibrahim Al-Qassab and Mortada Abbas Ahmad to 10 years in prison.

Arabic Version