Bahraini Clerics Condemn Death Sentences against Political Prisoners

Rasa - A number of Bahraini top clerics strongly condemned a recent move by the Al Khalifa regime to sentence three people to death on political grounds.

News ID: 426428

Date: 10 January 2017 - 22:04

RNA - In the statement late on Monday, the Bahraini clerics denounced the death sentences as invalid and contrary to the international law and religious and domestic regulations.

They said the concurrence of the death sentences with the recent crackdown on the people clearly is indicative of the regime’s politically-motivated decisions and the political influence on the issues.

A Bahraini court on Monday upheld death sentences against three young people.

Bahrain’s Court of Cassation found Sami Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir al-Sami’ and Ali Abdulshahid al-Singace guilty of killing a member of Emirati forces assisting Manama in its clampdown on Bahraini demonstrators in the northern village of al-Daih back in March 2014. The trio have reportedly denied the charge.

The court also sentenced seven other defendants to life imprisonment while it stripped eight others of their nationality.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.

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