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Riot five lose prison appeal
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 29th DECEMBER 2008
LAWYERS yesterday pledged to take the case of five men jailed for rioting to Bahrain’s highest court, after they lost their appeal conviction.
The defence team appeared before the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court yesterday, without their clients, seeking to overturn convictions handed down by the High Criminal Court in July.
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Riot five lose prison appeal
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 29th DECEMBER 2008
LAWYERS yesterday pledged to take the case of five men jailed for rioting to Bahrain’s highest court, after they lost their appeal conviction.
The defence team appeared before the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court yesterday, without their clients, seeking to overturn convictions handed down by the High Criminal Court in July.
They appealed against their convictions and subsequent jail sentences for rioting, torching a police car and stealing weapons.
However, Judge Abdulla Yaqoob upheld the original conviction and rejected the appeal, saying all the evidence proved the men are guilty.
The team vowed to take the case to the Cassation Court, the highest in the land.
“We will definitely take this to the Cassation Court and will appeal against both rulings (the High Criminal Court and the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court),” said defence lawyer Mohammed Al Jishi.
They objected to the appeal decision, claiming it was an invalid verdict as their clients were not present in court.
“This is a criminal trial and the defendants should be present in the courtroom and since they were not there the verdict is invalid,” said Mr Al Jishi.
“We as lawyers are supposed to be here with our clients and not on behalf of them and it is their constitutional right to attend their hearing.”
However, a court official told the GDN a judge can order the defendants not to attend a hearing if the case has already been adjourned for the verdict.
The men were among 15 originally charged following riots during Eid and National Day holidays last December – four of whom were acquitted.
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, but were released following a royal pardon.
Extra riot police surrounded the Justice Ministry complex in the Diplomatic Area yesterday.
The men’s relatives were not allowed to enter the courtroom, after the judge previously warned them they would be forcefully removed if they created chaos.
The four co-defendants who were acquitted at the original trial testified in court at an earlier hearing during the appeal that the men were tortured during interrogations.
They were tortured with electric shocks, hung by the wrists, or beaten into confessing, claimed witnesses.
Three of the witnesses told the court they saw and heard three of the defendants being tortured while another shocked the court when he claimed one of them was hung from the ceiling by his handcuffed wrists for hours at a time.
Defence lawyers previously claimed that all 15 defendants were arrested as a result of a misunderstanding by police.
Peaceful
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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© Gulf Daily News
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/story.asp?Article=238855&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31284
