UN urges Bahrain to free detained activists

UN urges Bahrain to free detained activists
UN human rights chief calls for political prisoners be released and for independent probe into allegations of torture.
Last Modified: 05 May 2011 18:23

The United Nations human rights chief has called for Bahrain to free activists it has seized since crushing anti-government protests and for an independent probe into allegations of torture. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s remarks on Thursday were the sharpest international criticism yet of the crackdown in Bahrain where the Sunni-led government has arrested hundreds from its Shia Muslim majority since the protests began.

“All political detainees must be immediately released and all detainees must have prompt access to legal counsel,” Pillay said in a statement. “My office has also received reports of severe torture against human rights defenders who are currently in
detention… There must be independent investigations of these cases of death in detention and allegations of torture.”

At least four people have died in detention, and rights groups have criticised death sentences handed out last week to four men accused of killing policemen in March during protests that began with calls for more political liberties in the kingdom. The defendants in that case were accused of running down two policemen with a car in March. Also on Thursday, one man was sentenced to at least five years in jail and another was acquitted. State media earlier said they were accused of trying to kill security personnel by running them over.

At least 13 protesters and four police died in the unrest. Bahrain has said about 400 of those detained will face prosecution, some in a military court that last week handed down the first death sentence to a Bahraini citizen since the mid-1990s, also a period of sectarian-tinged political turmoil. …more