Statement by the Lawyer of the Bahraini Medics regarding the Start of the Hearings before the Criminal High Court of Appeal

23 Oct 2011
The Criminal High Court of Appeal yesterday, 23rd October 2011,
held its first hearings of the appeals filed by the Medical Staff and also by the Public Prosecution. In a precedent considered the first of its kind in the history of the Courts of Bahrain, the Public Prosecution distributed among the persons attending the Court hearing, just a few minutes before the hearing started, an English statement printed on the Public Prosecution’s letterhead papers, consisting of three pages. The statement was entitled “Fact Sheet for Hearing of 23.10.2011.”

23 Oct 2011
The Criminal High Court of Appeal yesterday, 23rd October 2011,
held its first hearings of the appeals filed by the Medical Staff and also by the Public Prosecution. In a precedent considered the first of its kind in the history of the Courts of Bahrain, the Public Prosecution distributed among the persons attending the Court hearing, just a few minutes before the hearing started, an English statement printed on the Public Prosecution’s letterhead papers, consisting of three pages. The statement was entitled “Fact Sheet for Hearing of 23.10.2011.”

In our capacity as the defense lawyers for the Medical Staff charged in the Case, we hereby lay our response to the Public Prosecution’s statement and also what the Public Prosecution’s representative recorded in the hearing minutes, as follows:

First: There is difference in the charges put against the Medical
Staff before the Court of Appeal and those which were put against
them before the military National Safety Court. The Public Prosecution, for example, dropped three minor charges out of 14
charges put against them. The three charges which the Public Prosecution dropped from the list of charges are only misdemeanors the punishment for which does not exceed a maximum of three years’ prison term.

Continue reading the statement here