Bahrain’s main opposition bloc has slammed the recent death sentences handed down to three people on allegations of killing policemen, stating that the rulings are part of heavy-handed measures that jeopardize opportunities for political stability in the kingdom.
The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said in a statement that the latest verdicts have raised the number of people given the death penalty over the past four years to seven.
Al-Wefaq also termed the rulings void as they were issued based on the defendants’ confessions under torture, and through hearings lacking the principles of a fair trial.
On Thursday, dozens of anti-regime demonstrators took to the streets in the villages of Daih and Musalla, both located west of the capital, Manama, to denounce the recent death rulings and demand the release of all prisoners of conscience, including al-Wefaq’s secretary general, Sheikh Ali Salman.
Earlier in the day, the supreme criminal court of Bahrain sentenced three people to death and seven others to life in prison after convicting them of killing three policemen in Daih last year.
The court also revoked the citizenship of eight defendants, thus increasing the number of those stripped of citizenship to 123.
On March 3, 2014, three police officers, one from the United Arab Emirates, were killed in a bomb attack in the village.
However, no group claimed responsibility for the explosion, which occurred as Bahraini troops attacked the mourners of an anti-regime activist, who had died in prison a few days ago.
The popular uprising in Bahrain began in February 2011. Since then, thousands of protesters have been waging regular mass rallies in the Persian Gulf country.
The protesters are demanding the downfall of the Al Khalifa family and the establishment of a democratically-elected government.
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