Bahrain doctors jailed for treating injured protesters

Doctors and nurses given up to 15 years in jail for treating people injured during uprising in Gulf kingdom Bahrain’s special security court has given lengthy jail terms to doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters during the uprising earlier this year, a lawyer said. The court, set up under emergency rule, also sentenced a protester to death for killing a police officer. Mohsen al-Alawi said the tribunal jailed 13 medical professionals for 15 years each. In addition, two doctors were sentenced to 10 years each while five other medics convicted on Thursday were given five years each. The harsh sentences suggest the Sunni authorities in the Gulf kingdom will not relent in punishing those they accuse of supporting the Shia-led opposition and joining protests. Earlier this year, the special court had sentenced two protesters to death for killing a police officer. Al-Alawi said all the defendants, who were charged with anti-state crimes, can appeal against the verdicts. A Bahraini rights group identified the protester sentenced to death as Ali Yousef Abdulwahab. The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights said in a statement that another suspect, Ali Attia Mahdi, was convicted on Thursday as Abdulwahab’s accomplice and jailed for life. Hundreds of activists have been imprisoned since March when Bahrain’s rulers imposed martial law to deal with protests by the Shia majority demanding greater rights and freedoms. More than 30 people have been killed since protests began in February, inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere. The Sunni monarchy responded with a violent crackdown in the strategically important Gulf nation, base for the US navy’s 5th Fleet. Thursday’s verdicts came a day after the tribunal upheld sentences for 21 activists convicted over the protests, including eight political figures who were given life terms on charges of trying to overthrow the monarchy. The sentences reflected the authorities’ unwillingness to cut punishments for those considered central to the uprising, although officials have taken some steps to ease tensions. They include releasing some detainees and reinstating state workers purged for suspected support of the protest movement. The doctors’ trial has been closely watched by rights groups, which have criticised Bahrain’s use of the security court, which has military prosecutors and civilian and military judges, in prosecuting civilians. Shias account for about 70% of Bahrain’s population of some 525,000 people, but claim they face deep-rooted discrimination such as being blocked from key government and security posts. The Sunni dynasty, which has ruled the island for more than 200 years, has retained crucial support from the west and Gulf Arab neighbours through the months of protests and crackdowns. Bahrain’s rulers invited a Saudi-led Gulf force to help them deal with the dissent. Sunni rulers of neighbours including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates fear that concessions to the protesters in Bahrain could widen the influence of Shia Iran. Bahrain Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Protest guardian.co.uk

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