Bahraini court acquits 2 police officers of torturing Shia medics
Iran Press TV
Tue Jul 2, 2013 2:44PM GMT
A Bahraini court has cleared two police officers of torturing six Shia doctors arrested during anti-regime protests in 2011.
A judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the court acquitted the pair including a woman, who had been accused of having “used force, torture, and threats” against the physicians in March 2011, AFP reported.
Following the acquittal of the officers known as Bin Howayel and Noora al-Khalifa, a doctor who was arrested and tortured by the pair, Fatema Haji, issued a statement saying “That's a clear green light for all the torturers to keep on doing what they are doing… Torture is a tool still being used.”
The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations in the Persian Gulf country.
The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests with the help of Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states.
Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.
A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.
The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.
MAM/PR
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