Bahrainis rally for freedom & women hold protests against detention

Beating and arresting a person:

Attacking houses with tear gas:

Bahraini Women Hold Protests against Detention

Moqawama

Bahraini women hold protests in the country’s capital against the detention of anti-regime protesters and the harsh sentences handed down to them as well as those, who helped them.

The demonstration was held in Miksha just outside Manama on Thursday after Bahrain sentenced 20 doctors to between five and 15 years in jail for their treating anti-regime protesters, reported Reuters.

The doctors, who denied the charges, were among dozens of medical staff arrested during protests, which have been raging on since February 14.

Ahlam al-Khezaei, the head of Women’s Affairs for Al Wefaq, the biggest opposition party in Bahrain, called for the release of female prisoners.

Bahrainis have been holding the peaceful rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa’s over-40-year-long rule over the Persian Gulf Island.

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Bahrain doctor shares Manama abuse

Press TV

female Bahraini doctor, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for treating injured anti-regime protesters, recounts her mistreatment at the hands of government’s forces.

Nada Dhaif, who used to attend to protest-related injuries at Salmaniya, the largest hospital in the Bahraini capital of Manama, was arrested during a regime-ordered attack on her house on March 19.

She was sentenced during a Thursday trial, which saw 19 other doctors also being issued five-to-15-year prison terms for the same charges.

“It was 03:00 a.m., when they broke into my house. I was taken away blindfolded and handcuffed. I didn’t know that they were security forces,” she said.

“They were in civilians clothes. So, I thought I was actually kidnapped,” she said.

Dhaif said, “I was thinking that I was being taken to an unknown place. Later on, I came to know that they were from the Central Investigation Department (CID).”

“Immediately after I was taken away…I was treated with beating and cursing.” She said the torturers had even touched her face, using ‘electrocuters.’

“I was crying and I lost consciousness two or three times during this time in the military clinic.”

Dhaif said, while detention, she was only allowed very limited or excessively-belated controlled contact with her family, while completely denied access to her lawyer. The regime forces also prevented her from using the bathroom or shower for a long time span.

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Bahrainis rally for freedom

Press TV

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in Bahrain to demand freedom and democracy in the country.

Shouting anti-government slogans, demonstrators on Friday called for the down fall of Al Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled Bahrain for more than four decades.

The rally was organized by the country’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq.

The protesters also called on the international community to stand by the Bahraini people.

The massive rally came one day after hundreds of Bahraini women staged a protest rally in the village of Maqsha to condemn the imprisonment of female doctors, teachers and other demonstrators jailed for taking part in anti-regime protests earlier this year.

On Thursday, a military court in Bahrain sentenced 20 medics, who treated anti-government protesters, to up to 15 years in prison each, after convicting them of conspiracy to overthrow the regime.

In a separate case, the special security court sentenced a protester to death over the alleged killing of a policeman.

One day earlier, the same court had upheld the life sentences handed to eight opposition leaders convicted of having vital roles in the anti-government protests in the country. It also upheld sentences of up to 15 years on 13 other activists.

Thirty-two others were handed 15 years behind bars earlier this week for taking part in anti-regime protests.

The harsh sentences handed to dissidents have drawn international criticism. The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that the trials failed to meet international standards of transparency as the accused had been allowed limited access to lawyers.

“For such harsh sentences to be handed down to civilians in a military court with serious due process irregularities raises severe concerns,” said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“We even hear of people calling their families a day before the hearing to appoint a lawyer,” said Colville.

The rights body also criticized Manama for refusing to investigate reports of torture and prohibited recorded proceedings.

The World Medical Association has also condemned as “totally unacceptable” the jail terms imposed by a military court, while the World Health Organization said medical personnel should never be punished for doing their duty and treating all patients.

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