Asia

Home page

Asia

Bahrain prosecutes 27 Shia activists

29 October 2010 00:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. As many as 27 Shia opposition activists go to court in Bahrain, which continues to turn a deaf ear to the world bodies faulting the country’s rights records, APA reports quoting Press TV.

On Thursday, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court tried 25 of the accused in person for allegedly financing and practicing terrorism among other things, AFP reported. Two others were abroad and thus absent from the hearing.

The Shias pled not guilty and bewailed the "torture" and "abuse" and solitary confinement they were forced to suffer.

The Shia opposition refuses to recognize the 2002 constitution and had called for a boycott of the parliamentary elections, which were held on October 23.

The Shias comprise the majority of Bahrain’s population. They, however, have long complained about being discriminated against by the government when it comes to employment opportunities and the right to services.

The government is accused of coming down hard on the Shia opposition and human rights activists. It went on an arrest campaign against the protesting Shias in an apparent way to pave the way for widespread fraud in the polls.

Since August, it has arrested more than 250 Shias, including 23 of those who appeared before the tribunal.

The Amnesty International has underscored Manama’s crackdown on the Shia opposition figures and rights activists. The Human Rights Watch and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) -- a non-profit body with the stated aim to promote democratic standards in the region -- have also addressed the suppression campaign in the lead-up to the polls.