Outrage as health workers jailed
Friday September 30th, 2011
Up to 20 doctors and nurses have been sent to prison in the Gulf state of Bahrain for alleged involvement in spring protests.
The sentences dismayed human rights groups amid fears the medical staff were largely caught up with trying to treat people injured in protests.
During the protests, which were based on a roundabout, security forces pin-pointed the nearby Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, as an alleged centre of protest - and surrounded it.
The hospital was where injured protesters were being taken.
Yesterday the doctors and nurses were sentenced to prison terms of between five and 15 years during a seven minute court session held in their absence.
One of the convicted, rheumatologist, Fatma Haji, said before the trial: "I know that I am definitely, one hundred per cent innocent. Our crime - I'm talking about all the medics - was that we helped innocent, helpless people who were just protesting and got injured."
The Bahraini security court has sentenced several protesters to death for alleged involvement in killing policemen.
The hospital staff were accused of "seizing" medical equipment and possessing unlicensed weapons together with charges of "provoking sectarian hazard."
Amnesty International says the health workers have an opportunity to appeal against the verdict.
Its Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Philip Luther said: “These are simply ludicrous charges against civilian professionals who were working to save lives amid very trying circumstances.
“It appears that the real reason for targeting these health workers was the fact that they denounced the government crackdown on protesters in interviews to international media.
“We’ve repeatedly said that the Bahraini authorities should never have used military courts to prosecute ordinary civilians, including doctors, teachers and human rights activists."
Bahraini information minister Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Mubarak claimed: "They should not have got themselves involved in choosing sides in a tragically dark period in Bahrain's history.
"There is hard evidence that political rallies were taking place in the grounds of the complex and those seeking treatment were only allowed in on sectarian lines."
Tags: Asia | General Health | Nursing & Midwifery
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