UN condemns Bahrain harsh sentences
The United Nations human rights office has condemned the harsh sentences issued by military courts in Bahrain for medical workers and dozens of protesters.
"For such harsh sentences to be handed down to civilians in a military court with serious due process irregularities raises severe concerns," Reuters quoted Rupert Colville, spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) as saying on Friday.
Earlier this week, Bahrain’s military-run National Safety Court sentenced 20 medical workers to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years.
Over 30 other people who participated in demonstrations against the government received sentences ranging from three years in prison to the death penalty.
The Bahraini authorities charged the medical workers with using hospitals for anti-government activities, possession of weapons, and theft of medical equipment.
However, the medical workers have denied the charges, saying that the government is only punishing them for treating people who took part in demonstrations.
Since mid-February, thousands of anti-government protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.
On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.
According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown.
Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Source: presstv.ir
