Bahrain: Life imprisonment for seven innocent victims as notorious SSC re-instated
A new crime against Bahrainis has been committed by the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship. The royal court has decided to jail seven young people for life for a crime they had not committed.
It is a clear revenge for three things. The first is its failure to quell the political unrest that caused their regime to be listed within the “not free” category by Freedom House. The second is its disastrous performance in terms of human rights to the extent that several international reports were issued to condemn its black record of violations, torture and maltreatment of prisoners.
The third is the decision by one its courts to release earlier this year the hostages of the Karzakkan case. Their release gave the opportunity to register their testimonies of torture to Human Rights Watch that subsequently issued its damning report titled “Torture Redux”. The Al Khalifa have now decided to keep the prisoners of Ma’amir locked up in torture cells for the rest of their lives to prevent them revealing the extent of the torture they had endured, and prevent the debacle in the Karzakkan case.
Today’s court hearing was attended by two international lawyers representing the UK Bar Human Rights Committee and the Islamic Commission for Human Rights. They had come to the country to attend the trial of ten people from the town of Ma’amir who have been behind bars for more than two years, accused of causing the death of Mohammad Riyadh, one of the mercenaries in the riot police force. It had been confirmed that the victim had died at hospital as a result of sickness, and had not been attacked by demonstrators. The Bahrainis were arrested, held for more than two years, subjected to various forms of torture and denied proper medical examination.
The two British lawyers witnessed several events. First they listened to the defence lawyers who demanded several documents from the prosecution but were denied their request. Second, they saw how the verdict and sentencing were ready-made and had only to be delivered by the “judge” who acted as a messenger between the royal court and the victims. Third, the lawyers saw the vicious attack by the foreign-staffed riot police and Death Squads on the families of the victims when they protested the harsh sentences passed on their innocent sons. Three were released after enduring more than two years of torture, solitary confinement and humiliating treatment. They are Mohammad Ahmad Haram, Ibrahim Ja’ffar and Ali Ahmad. It is unlikely that they will be compensated for their ordeal.
When the official decision to imprison them for life was announced, the Bahrainis shouted slogans of defiance. Kumaili Al Manami said “God is Great” he was attacked viciously by ten heavily-armed mercenaries. Then Jassim Hassan Issa was attacked by seven mercenaries for protesting the beating of his colleague. Five mercenaries attacked TAwfiq Hassan Ali, whose brother, Jassim is among the hostages. There was a mayhem at the court when the women started crying. That was enough for the police women to attack the Bahraini women. A woman lawyer, Balqis Al Manami fell unconscious after being attacked, and was taken to hospital. Another hostage, Hassan Issa Sarhan was also attacked and his father became hysterical when he saw his son being set upon by the mercenaries. The father was attacked by nine mercenaries. The protesters outside the court were also attacked.
This evening, Bahrainis reacted angrily to the life imprisonment of the young men. Several demonstrations erupted in various parts of the country.
The people of Sitra started their protests outside the court, while others burnt tyres on the roads near Sitra. Then people of Mhazza followed suit.
Last month, the ruler had re-instated the notorious State Security Court (SSC) to deal with three Bahrainis falsely accused of setting fire to a school. This court relies solely on confessions obtained from the prisoners under duress. The re-instatement of this notorious court was announced by the deputy president of the supreme judicial council to deal with tens of cases involving pro-democracy activists.
Meanwhile, the people of Bahrain have commemorated the demise of Grand Ayatullah Sayyed Mohammad Hussain Fadhlullah who passed away yesterday. A symbolic funeral was held today, while many mosques have organized their own services to pray for his soul. He is accredited with providing religious guidance over half a century and had visited the country more than once.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
5th July 2010