30 April 2011
WASHINGTON — The United States on Friday criticized Bahrain over the speed of a trial in which Shiite pro-democracy protesters were sentenced to death and life in prison for killing two policemen.
State Department Policy Planning Director Jacob Sullivan also said Washington has urged Bahrain at the highest levels to move toward “a comprehensive political dialogue” to end the political unrest.
30 April 2011
WASHINGTON — The United States on Friday criticized Bahrain over the speed of a trial in which Shiite pro-democracy protesters were sentenced to death and life in prison for killing two policemen.
State Department Policy Planning Director Jacob Sullivan also said Washington has urged Bahrain at the highest levels to move toward “a comprehensive political dialogue” to end the political unrest.
Sullivan criticized a Bahraini military court over the speed with which it sentenced four Shiite protesters to death and three to life in prison Thursday for the killing of two policemen at a crackdown on a pro-democracy rally.
The trial of the seven began on April 17, with BNA news agency reporting at the time that they were accused of committing voluntary homicide of public officials with “terrorist” intentions.
“We are troubled by the speed with which the trial was conducted and the swiftness of the verdict,” Sullivan told reporters.
“And from our perspective, as we’ve said repeatedly, it’s important that legal processes be carried out in a manner that is legitimate, credible and transparent,” he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior State Department officials have argued that “security measures alone are not going to solve the challenges that are posed in Bahrain,” he recalled.
“It’s critical that all the parties move forward to a comprehensive political dialogue, and this is a message that we’re continuing to send as late as within the last 24 hours at high levels in the Bahraini government,” he said.
State Department officials said the message was sent by Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, to Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa.