Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the verdict issued against 15 appellants, sentencing them to 15 years in prison over killing a policeman in Al-Ekr area.

The court of first instance had issued life sentences and one acquittal in a trial held on (January 9, 2014) in the case of 24 suspects accused of killing a policeman, Omran Ahmad Mohammad, and attempting to kill another in Al-Ekr.

The court sentenced 3 (fugitive) suspects to life-imprisonment and handed down a 15-year prison term to 19 others. Meanwhile, it sentenced a suspect to 3 years and acquitted another.

The court accused the defendants of intentionally killing a policeman, with the help of other unknown suspects, for "performing his duty"  in October 2012, attempting to premeditatedly kill others, using explosives, starting fires, attacking policemen with metal rods and Molotov cocktails, and taking part in an assembly.

The court stated that one of the suspects was sentenced to 3 years in prison due to the case conditions and because he is only 15 years old.

Concerning the suspect it acquitted, the court said that he was not caught red-handed and all the evidence proved that he did not take part in the crime.

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against the defendants, 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