Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's First High Criminal Court, presided over by judge Mohammad bin Ali Al Khalifa with the membership of judges Dia' Huraidi and Issam-Eldeen Mohammad Khalil and Naji Abdullah as secretariat, sentenced 22 defendants between the ages of 15 and 26 to three years in prison after convicting them of assaulting policemen, protesting and having Molotov cocktails in their possession.

The court stated that the suspects on September 1, 2015, assaulted along with other unknown suspects a policeman, and acquired and possessed flammable and combustible materials, aiming at endangering people's lives and properties. They also participated in an assembly made up of five persons for the purpose of committing crimes and threatening public security, using violence to achieve their goal which they gathered to fulfill, according to the court.

The authorities claimed that around 150 protestors took to the streets in the island of Sitra, and while the security forces "were dealing with them," two policemen were injured. The authorities further state that after investigations, the information was confirmed by an anonymous source that five suspects along with others were involved in the incident, as they prepared Molotov cocktails and other objects in order to use them against security forces.

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