24 Apr 2011

Bahrain military prosecutor demands death penalty for 7 Shiite protesters on trial

Look at this Bahrain billboard: It says: “We demand from the government…the maximum punishment. No to Amnesty…for the heads of fitnah and the misguided element.”

bahrain-poster
(image from A New Worlds in Birth)

Bahrain's state news agency says a military prosecutor has demanded death penalty for seven anti-government protesters on trial in the Gulf kingdom for the killing of two policemen during protests.

The Bahrain News Agency says the prosecutor presented evidence during a hearing Sunday that showed the opposition supporters attacked the policemen "on purpose and called for inflicting the capital punishment."

The seven were charged in a military court with premeditated murder of government employees. The defendants' lawyers denied the charges, the report said.

The next hearing is set for Thursday. Hundreds of protesters calling for greater rights and freedoms have been detained since Bahrain declared martial law last month.

Winnipeg Free Press

A FOURTH detainee has died in Bahraini custody, the country's Shi'ite opposition claims, as Human Rights Watch urged the Gulf kingdom to investigate the deaths of arrested activists.  Read more at news.com.au