(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Doctors splashed bags of blood over patients to exaggerate their wounds, it was claimed at the trial of 48 medics accused of plotting to overthrow the monarchy in Bahrain.
They were also said to have used Salmaniya hospital as a terrorist base, taking hostages, hoarding guns and commandeering ambulances to run weapons to Pearl Square, which was the hub of the protests against the ruling regime in the capital in February and March.
The trial has prompted an international outcry amid accusations that detainees have been tortured and forced to sign false confessions.
Bahrain has been accused of staging show trials to justify its violence against anti-government protesters, which left more than 30 people dead. About 500 people have been arrested since the regime moved to crush the unrest in March. Those charged are now on trial before a military court.
Seven prosecution witnesses appeared yesterday to describe a collapse of control at Salmaniya, which bore the brunt of casualties when government troops first attacked Pearl Square on February 17 in a pre-dawn raid that killed four people. The witnesses told that the court that with the foreign press swarming around the hospital, the doctors played to the cameras.
“One of the women [accused] handed out blood bags to soak the patients and make their wounds look worse,” a detective for the Interior Ministry told the court.
The only evidence of this came from confessions signed by the defendants, and the testimony of “confidential witnesses”.
The medics all claim that they have been tortured in custody and forced to sign papers while blindfolded. Human rights groups have received allegations that detainees have been beaten with rubber hoses and wooden boards studded with nails. One doctor described to The Times how he was made to stand hooded for hours in a cold room before being handed unseen documents to sign.
One of the senior surgeons on trial, Ali al-Ekri, said in court last week that all the “confessions” were obtained under torture. The detective witness rejected the claims. The accused had “read their confessions, signed and stamped them”, he told the court.
Relatives of the accused complained about the court process. Defence lawyers addressed their questions to the military judge who rephrased them before putting them to the witness. Several questions were rejected.
The male defendants appeared in better health than at their deposition last week, when many looked gaunt, with their heads shaven.
There were not enough chairs in the dock for all 11, and they rotated during the seven-hour session to give each a chance to sit. One of the accused, Dr Ghassan Dhaif, moved with difficulty and gingerly took a seat with a grimace of pain.
The trial has cut to the heart of the sectarian divide that has engulfed Bahrain since Shia-led protests broke out in February calling for democratic reform from the Sunni ruling family.
The doctors are also accused of refusing treatment to Sunni and Asian patients, which they deny. When the Government launched its final assault to crush the protests on March 16, Salmaniya was seized by the army and remains under military control. The trial was adjourned to June 30.
They were also said to have used Salmaniya hospital as a terrorist base, taking hostages, hoarding guns and commandeering ambulances to run weapons to Pearl Square, which was the hub of the protests against the ruling regime in the capital in February and March.
The trial has prompted an international outcry amid accusations that detainees have been tortured and forced to sign false confessions.
Bahrain has been accused of staging show trials to justify its violence against anti-government protesters, which left more than 30 people dead. About 500 people have been arrested since the regime moved to crush the unrest in March. Those charged are now on trial before a military court.
Seven prosecution witnesses appeared yesterday to describe a collapse of control at Salmaniya, which bore the brunt of casualties when government troops first attacked Pearl Square on February 17 in a pre-dawn raid that killed four people. The witnesses told that the court that with the foreign press swarming around the hospital, the doctors played to the cameras.
“One of the women [accused] handed out blood bags to soak the patients and make their wounds look worse,” a detective for the Interior Ministry told the court.
The only evidence of this came from confessions signed by the defendants, and the testimony of “confidential witnesses”.
The medics all claim that they have been tortured in custody and forced to sign papers while blindfolded. Human rights groups have received allegations that detainees have been beaten with rubber hoses and wooden boards studded with nails. One doctor described to The Times how he was made to stand hooded for hours in a cold room before being handed unseen documents to sign.
One of the senior surgeons on trial, Ali al-Ekri, said in court last week that all the “confessions” were obtained under torture. The detective witness rejected the claims.
The accused had “read their confessions, signed and stamped them”, he told the court.
Relatives of the accused complained about the court process. Defence lawyers addressed their questions to the military judge who rephrased them before putting them to the witness. Several questions were rejected.
The male defendants appeared in better health than at their deposition last week, when many looked gaunt, with their heads shaven.
There were not enough chairs in the dock for all 11, and they rotated during the seven-hour session to give each a chance to sit. One of the accused, Dr Ghassan Dhaif, moved with difficulty and gingerly took a seat with a grimace of pain.
The trial has cut to the heart of the sectarian divide that has engulfed Bahrain since Shia-led protests broke out in February calling for democratic reform from the Sunni ruling family.
The doctors are also accused of refusing treatment to Sunni and Asian patients, which they deny. When the Government launched its final assault to crush the protests on March 16, Salmaniya was seized by the army and remains under military control. The trial was adjourned to June 30.
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