SALON

Monday, Apr 30, 2012 1:45 PM UTC

Bahrain orders retrial for hunger striker, others

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Bahrain orders retrial for hunger striker, othersA Bahraini man looks at an image of jailed hunger striker Abdulhadi al-Khawaja painted on a map of Bahrain on a wall in Barbar, Bahrain, west of the capital of Manama, on Monday, April 30, 2012. A defense lawyer says a Bahrain appeals court has ordered the reexamination of the case of al-Khawaja and more than a dozen others. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)(Credit: AP)

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A Bahrain court Monday ordered retrials for a prominent hunger striker and 20 others convicted by a military-led tribunal in crackdowns against a 14-month-old uprising in the Gulf kingdom.

The decision, which shifts the cases to Bahrain’s highest appeals court, was seen as a victory for supporters of rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and other opposition figures sentenced last year under martial law-style rules imposed by Bahrain’s rulers.

But there appeared no immediate possibility for the release of the group, which includes some of the top figures in protests by Bahrain’s majority Shiites seeking to break the near monopoly on power held by the Western-backed Sunni dynasty.

At least 50 people have been killed in unrest since February 2011 in the strategic kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Al-Khawaja’s nearly three-month hunger strike has become the latest rallying point for the demonstrations.

The official Bahrain News Agency described the appeals process for al-Khawaja as practically the same as a new trial.

“The court reconsiders the proceedings from the beginning and listens to the witnesses and the prosecution and defense arguments,” it said.

Defense attorney Hassan Radhi said the appeals court will decide whether to grant bail while the review is under way. No date has been set to begin the appeal proceedings, he said.

It also was not immediately clear whether al-Khawaja would continue his hunger strike, which began Feb. 8 and which, according to his family, brought him close to death.

His wife visited him Sunday and claimed he was force fed with tubes and IVs against his will. Bahraini officials said al-Khawaja agreed to all procedures.

Al-Khawaja and seven other top opposition figures were sentenced last year to life in prison by a military-led court, which was later disbanded. Six others were sentenced to lesser jail terms as part of the group accused of anti-state crimes, and seven activists were convicted in absentia.

For months, the jailed activists have fought the sentences, claiming violations of legal rights in the now-defunct military court and torture behind bars. None of the defendants appeared in court for Monday’s session.

Earlier this month, Bahrain rejected a request by Denmark to take custody of al-Khawaja, who is also a Danish citizen.

In Copenhagen, Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal, called the court decision “positive as a starting point” but noted, “the case is not resolved yet.”

“At the same time, we reiterate the need for a fast humanitarian solution,” he said. “We hope that the Bahraini authorities, based on today’s ruling, will fulfill this demand.”

He also urged Bahrain to grant the Danish ambassador immediate access to al-Khawaja.

A similar retrial process is under way in a civilian court for 20 medical professionals convicted by the military-led tribunal of anti-state crimes and sentenced to five to 15 years in prison. The next hearing in their case is scheduled for May 10.

___

Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.

More Reem Khalifa.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments are not enabled for this story.

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations