Bahrain Mirror: The third minor criminal court presided over by the judge Jaber Al-Jazzar and secretariat of Hussein Hamad, sentenced a youth accused of monitoring the activity of policemen in Bani Jamra to 3 years in prison. The court claims that the suspect was giving signs to the protestors to attack the policemen.

The Public Prosecution charged the suspect of participating with other anonymous citizens in an assembly of more than 5 people for a terrorist aim, attacking police and acquiring Molotov cocktails.

The authorities claim that a number of protestors in Bani Jamra took to the streets night holding Molotov cocktails to attack the policemen. Once the police patrols arrived, protestors received a sign, thus they attacked the policemen who confronted and attempted to disperse them.

The authorities allege that they could reach the suspect through investigations and it was revealed that his mission was to mount his home's roof, being the nearest point where the protestors gathered, and monitor the policemen's activity to give a sign to the protestors at the right time to attack the police.

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