Bahrain: Military court upholds death sentences against 7 anti-regime activists

Highest military appellate court in Bahrain has upheld death sentences against seven anti-regime activists as the ruling Aal-e Khalifah regime presses ahead with its heavy clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy activists in the tiny Persian Gulf island State.

According to Press TV, on Wednesday, Bahrain's Military Court of Cassation found Adel Mubarak Muhanna, Fadel Sayyed Abbas Hassan Radhi, Sayyed Alawi Hussein Alawi Hussain, Mohamed Abdulhassen Ahmed al-Matghawi, Mohammed Abdul Hussain Saleh al-Shihabi, Mohammed Abdul Wahid Mohammed Al-Najjar and Hussein Mohammed Ahmed Shihab guilty of attempts to assassinate Commander-in-Chief of Defense Force Field Marshal Khalifa bin Ahmed Aal-e Khalifah, Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.

Meanwhile, the Bahrain Opposition Bloc in London (BOBL) has strongly condemned the rulings by Bahrain’s top military court, stating that the verdicts against a group of civilians expose absence of an independent judiciary in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

“These verdicts clearly show the lack of an independent judiciary in Bahrain as the court relied on confessions extracted under torture and threats,” the group said in a statement.

It added that Bahrain's self-styled King, Hamad bin Isa Aal-e Khalifah was “responsible for the announcement of these unfair verdicts.”

The BOBL then called on the international community to intervene and halt their implementation.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held peaceful demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in mid-February 2011.

SS