Alwaght- The west-backed Bahraini regime has referred a group of civilian protesters to a military court, state media said Sunday, months after a constitutional amendment expanded the court's jurisdiction amid ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent.
Bahrain’s state-run news agency reported on Sunday that Head of the Military Judiciary, Brigadier Youssef Rashid Fleifel, had charged members of a civilian "terrorist cell," and referred them to the High Military Court to set a date for their trial.
On May 9, Bahrain’s public prosecution referred the case of Fadhel Sayed Abbas Hasan Radhi, a victim of enforced disappearance, to the military court. It was the first referral of a civilian to trial before a military court since 2011.
"This is a shameful move by the authorities designed to strike fear in the heart of the population. It is also a serious blow for justice in Bahrain. Military trials in Bahrain are flagrantly unfair. And trying civilians before military courts is contrary to international standards,” Samah Hadid, Director of Campaigns at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office, said at the time.
She added, “The decision to transfer Fadhel Sayed Abbas Hasan Radhi to the military court must immediately be quashed. He must be given immediate access to proper legal representation, informed of the charges against him, and tried in a civilian court, according to international fair trial standards.”
Protest rallies in Bahrain have continued on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising started in the kingdom in 2011. The protesters are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power.
Many have been killed and hundreds of others injured while thousands are languishing in prisons where they are tortured in a harsh crackdown, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The tiny Persian Gulf archipelago is home to a majority Shiite Muslim population and has been ruled and suppressed for more than two centuries by the A Khalifa dynasty.
Bahrain is also home to the US Fifth Fleet and a British military base that is still under construction.
