Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini High Criminal Appeals Court denied the challenge of a defendant sentenced to 15 years in prison, while upholding a life imprisonment sentence against another in the case involving the murder of a Pakistani national, known as the "Manama Youth" case during 2011.

On December 26, 2012, the high appeals court had commuted the sentences issued against 12 defendants in this case from life to 15 years in prison, while acquitting the 13th defendant of the charges raised against him.

One of the defendants challenged the verdict and thus his sentence was commuted from life imprisonment to 15 years in prison, yet during yesterday's session, the court denied his challenge. Meanwhile, the court upheld the life imprisonment verdict against the other defendant.

The authorities claim that the defendants killed a Pakistani national named Abdulmalek Gholam Rasoul, by ambushing him as he left his house in the Manama area, and then attacking him with wooden planks and metal rods. They also allege that the defendants assaulted another person called Mohammad Khadem Gholam by beating him with wooden planks, and participated in an illegal assembly for the purpose of rioting and committing crimes.

The first degree court had sentenced the 14 defendants to life in prison.

The defendants' lawyers had stressed that their clients were innocent, pointing out the practice of extracting confessions under torture as mentioned in the BICI report.

They highlighted that there was no physical evidence incriminating their defendants, adding that the testimonies of the attesting witnesses were contradicting.

Arabic Version