News / Persian Gulf

Bahrain court turns down appeal against death verdicts

Monday, 16 November 2015 3:33 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 16 November 2015 3:34 PM ]

An Asian worker walks past images of political prisoners plastered on a wall in Malkiya village, Bahrain, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (AP photo)

Bahrain has rejected a bid to reverse death sentences handed down to two of its citizens convicted of anti-government activity.

Bahrain’s Court of Cassation said on Monday that an appeal by two men sentenced to death over their alleged role in a 2014 bombing which killed a police officer has been dismissed.

Prosecutor Nayyaf Yusuf announced the decision without elaborating on further details.

Bahrain's high criminal court had condemned Hassan Mosa and Mohammed Ramadan to death over their purported role in a bombing in the village of al-Dair, northeast of the capital, Manama.

Mohammed al-Tajir, the defense lawyer, said that only Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al khalifa can now halt the implementation of the sentences.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful rallies.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have on occasions criticized the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom over its “rampant” human rights abuses against opposition figures and pro-democracy demonstrators.

In its April report, entitled “Behind the rhetoric: Human rights abuses in Bahrain continue unabated,” the UK-based rights organization censured Manama for resorting to torture, arbitrary detentions, and the excessive use of force against peaceful government critics, including some as young as 17.

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