Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's Supreme Court of Appeals sentenced a suspect accused of arson and assembly in Muharraq to ten years in prison. The Fourth High Criminal court sentenced 8 suspects accused of assembly and arson in Muharraq to 10 years in prison and sentenced 2 others to 3 years in the same case.

The Bahraini Public Prosecution stated that the suspects "along with other anonymous suspects deliberately set fire to the properties mentioned in the documents in a way that endangered people's lives and properties. It also accused them of participating in an assembly of more than 5 persons, aiming at breaching public security and acquiring and possessing Molotov cocktails."

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against the suspects 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 Issue