Military court that Passed Death Sentences to Try Medical Professionals on Similar Charges

Bahraini authorities have referred 47 medics to a military court after accusing them of abusing their posts to take part in anti-regime protests that were crushed in March.

The defendants include 24 doctors and 23 nurses, the kingdom’s Information Affairs Authority (IAA) said in a statement late Tuesday, adding that the military prosecution has already leveled several charges against them.

Authorities set up a military court after King Hamad declared a state of national safety, a lower level of emergency, a day before security forces crushed a Shiite-dominated month-long protest demanding democratic reforms.

The medics have all worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama, which was stormed by security forces after they drove protesters on March 16 out of the nearby Pearl Square – the focal point of protests inspired by uprisings that have swept the Arab world.

At the time, Bahraini state media accused medics who sympathized with the protesters of occupying the SMC and turning it into a protest ground. …more