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BAHRAIN-UNREST-TRIAL
Bahrain sentences four to death for police killing
DUBAI, Nov 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Bahrain’s top criminal court on Monday
sentenced four Shiite Muslims to death for a 2017 bombing that killed a
policeman, a judicial official and the public prosecutor said.
A statement by the prosecutor’s office said the four were found guilty on
charges of premeditated murder and possession of unlicensed arms “with
terrorist aims” over a June 18, 2017 bombing.
A police officer was killed in the blast in Diraz, a flashpoint village
outside the capital Manama.
Bahrain, a tiny Sunni-ruled kingdom located between regional rivals Saudi
Arabia and Iran, has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security
forces crushed protests led by majority Shiites demanding an elected prime
minister.
Authorities have since jailed hundreds of dissidents and stripped many of
citizenship, banning all opposition groups under court orders.
Diraz in particular has been rocked by protests, police raids, riots and
sporadic bombings.
The village is home to Sheikh Isa Qassim, Bahrain’s highest Shiite
dignitary, who was stripped of citizenship in 2016 and is under house arrest.
Bahraini authorities accuse Shiite Iran of provoking unrest in the
kingdom, which Iran denies.
Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have
labelled many of the trials as politically motivated and said they fail to
meet basic standards of due process.
Monday’s verdict comes ahead of controversial parliamentary elections that
Bahrain’s King Hamad has called for November 24.
Dissolved opposition parties, including the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular
Al-Waad, do not have the right to put forward their own candidates in the
vote.
Bahrain, a key ally of the United States, is home to the US Fifth Fleet
and a permanent British military base.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1703 hrs