Bahrain protesters rap death, jail sentences for dissidents

Rasa - Bahraini protesters have clashed with regime forces during rallies held across the sheikhdom against death sentences and hefty prison terms handed down to opposition figures and political activists.

News ID: 428533

Date: 30 March 2017 - 21:07

RNA - On Wednesday night, Bahraini forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters who had taken to the streets in different areas, shouting slogans against the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty.

The protesters were also chanting slogans in solidarity with the people in Yemen, who have been under deadly Saudi attacks for two years.

Earlier in the day, Bahrain’s Criminal Court sentenced two activists to five years in prison and another to two years over accusations of planting explosives in the Bilad al-Qadim suburb of Manama.

Moreover, Bahrain’s appeals court sentenced five people to five years’ imprisonment for fleeing a prisoner transfer vehicle.

Hassan Isa, one of the leaders of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, which was Bahrain’s largest parliamentary bloc before it was dissolved by the Manama regime, was also sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of funding a “terrorist group.” Isa has categorically denied the charge.

The court also sentenced two other regime opponents, namely Mohammed Ibrahim Al Tawq and Mohammed Radi Abdullah, to death.

The court handed down life sentence to five other activists, and stripped the nationality of four of them. Two others also received 10-year jail terms and were stripped of their nationality. Other revolutionaries also received sentences ranging from six months to 10 years in prison.

The regime in Bahrain has jailed thousands of anti-government protesters since the start of the popular uprising against the Al Khalifah rule in 2011. Dozens have also been ordered stripped of their nationality.

Bahraini protesters are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and let a just system representing all Bahrainis be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its brutal crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and many others gotten arrested in the crackdown.

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