Bahrain Mirror: The High Appeals Court issued 5-year jail term against a defendant accused of taking part along others in attacking security forces and attacking the bodily integrity of a policeman while performing his job.

The authorities claim that the suspect took part along with other 5 in an assembly in 2013 in which they acquired Molotov, aiming at setting tires to fire, disrupting traffic and public peace and intimidating people and passengers. However, the security forces confronted the protestors, dealt with them and dispersed their assembly.

The authorities allege that the suspect hurled, along with others, rocks, metal rods and Molotov at the security forces, and went, along with others, to roofs of buildings in the region and threw metal rods at the security forces, leaving a policeman with a serious injury.

The first instance court sentenced the suspects to 5 years in prison. The defendants appealed the verdict, however, the appeals was rejected. Thus, they resorted to the cassation court that accepted the appeal and ordered referring the court to the appeals court.

The suspect's defense tried to prove that the defendant's confessions came under duress. However, the appeals court once again rejected the appeal and upheld the sentence issued against the suspect based on his confessions.

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