(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A Bahraini doctor, who was sentenced to jail for treating protesters during anti-regime demonstrations in the Persian Gulf state, has been released, his lawyers say.
The lawyers said that the medic, Mahmoud Asghar, was freed on Sunday for time served before his conviction.
The release came just five days after he was sentenced with five colleagues over last year's anti-government protests.
The six medics were jailed on Tuesday, a day after their convictions were upheld by Bahrain's Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court. They were among twenty doctors and nurses who worked in Manama during the uprising against the Al Khalifa regime.
The Bahraini authorities charged the medical workers with using hospitals for anti-government activities, possession of weapons, and theft of medical equipment -- claims they denied. The medical workers say the government is only punishing them for treating people who took part in demonstrations.
Since mid-February, anti-government protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.
On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.
According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown in Bahrain.
Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, and even disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.
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 campaign of suppression and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.
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The lawyers said that the medic, Mahmoud Asghar, was freed on Sunday for time served before his conviction.
The release came just five days after he was sentenced with five colleagues over last year's anti-government protests.
The six medics were jailed on Tuesday, a day after their convictions were upheld by Bahrain's Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court. They were among twenty doctors and nurses who worked in Manama during the uprising against the Al Khalifa regime.
The Bahraini authorities charged the medical workers with using hospitals for anti-government activities, possession of weapons, and theft of medical equipment -- claims they denied. The medical workers say the government is only punishing them for treating people who took part in demonstrations.
Since mid-February, anti-government protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.
On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.
According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown in Bahrain.
Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, and even disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.
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 campaign of suppression and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.
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