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Eid rioters appeal against jail terms
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 20th October 2008
BAHRAINIS accused of rioting and other offences were tortured with electric shocks, hung by the wrists, or beaten into confessing, four witnesses claimed in court yesterday.
They were testifying as 11 Bahraini men appealed against their convictions and subsequent jail sentences for rioting, torching a police car and stealing police weapons, claimed former detainees.
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Eid rioters appeal against jail terms
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 20th October 2008
BAHRAINIS accused of rioting and other offences were tortured with electric shocks, hung by the wrists, or beaten into confessing, four witnesses claimed in court yesterday.
They were testifying as 11 Bahraini men appealed against their convictions and subsequent jail sentences for rioting, torching a police car and stealing police weapons, claimed former detainees.
They were among 15 originally charged following rioting during the Eid and National Day holidays last December – four of whom were acquitted.
The men appeared for the second time before the High Criminal Appeals Court, seeking to overturn convictions handed down by the High Criminal Court in July.
The four co-defendants who were acquitted at the original trial testified in court yesterday, claiming the men were tortured during interrogations.
Two of the witnesses told the court they saw three of the defendants being tortured.
“During the initial interrogation, police took me to a room where I saw one of the suspects on the floor and he could barely move,” said one 26-year-old Bahraini, in his statement.
“A policeman repeatedly asked him to get up and when he eventually did, he kicked him in his stomach.”
Another Bahraini man, aged 28, shocked the court and the men’s relatives when he claimed one of them was hung from the ceiling by his handcuffed wrists for hours at a time.
“We were in the same cell and police came in and hung him from the ceiling for hours at a time,” he said in his statement to the court.
“It got to a point where his handcuffs were so tight that his wrists started bleeding.
“Then he was given electric shocks until he confessed.”
The judge repeatedly intervened to remind the witness that he was under oath and shouldn’t lie.
“I know I am under oath and I know exactly what they went through,” the witness replied.
Two other witnesses claimed they heard five of the defendants being tortured while in custody.
“I was sleeping in my cell when I heard one of the men screaming for his life as they hit his head against the wall several times,” said one 34-year-old Bahraini.
The last witness, aged 31, claimed he could hear some of the defendants screaming in the interrogation room.
“When they came back into the cell, they were so tired that they couldn’t even move.
However, a prosecutor objected to the men’s statements and argued that they (defendants) could have been tired due to exhaustion or fatigue, not necessarily due to torture.
The defence team later submitted photographs they claimed showed bruises all over bodies of some of men, along with a videotape allegedly showing some of them left out in the cold in their underwear.
The case was adjourned to November 23 for the submission of defence papers.
The men’s relatives were warned by court prior to the session that they would be forcefully removed if they created chaos in the courtroom.
Riot police surrounded the Justice Ministry complex in Diplomatic Area, and the men’s relatives had to be escorted out of the courtroom at the end of the hearing.
One of the 11 was jailed for seven years and fined BD9,985 for causing unrest and hurling a Molotov cocktail inside a police car.
Another four were jailed for five years for clashing with police, torching a police car and stealing guns and ammunition.
Six were jailed for one year each for obtaining and possessing guns and causing unrest.
Defence lawyers previously claimed that all 15 defendants were arrested as a result of a misunderstanding by police.
They claimed they were attending a peaceful gathering to mourn the death of Ali Jassim Makki, who died during a protest in Jidhafs a few days earlier.
The lawyers claimed it was a religious gathering, but that those present started fighting back when police tried to break it up.
noor@gdn.com.bh
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http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=232160&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31214&date=10-20-2008