Al Wefaq condemns consecutive issuance of unfair and vindictive sentences against activists and prisoners

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Al Wefaq National Islamic Society condemned the consecutive issuance of unfair and vindictive sentences against activists and prisoners of conscience to punish them for demanding democratic transition. Al Wefaq stressed that such sentences expand the period of the crisis and exclude a genuine political solution.These sentences have and will never be a reason for the Bahraini people to give in on their demand for democratic transition, Al Wefaq added, the repressive and vindictive politics has achieved nothing along the history of the pro-democracy struggle in Bahrain.Courts in Bahrain have handed 39 citizens, including 2 children, a football player and 5 athletes sentences that totaled up to 255 years. While 7 others were given 5 year sentences and one was given a year.Theses sentences have been issued one day after other courts had issued sentences between 3 and 15 years to 95 Bahrainis, including a woman and two children, and that added up to 808 years in total with 6 different cases of political background.Bahrain courts were criticized by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who stated that sentences handed to conscience prisoners carry signs of “political persecution”. While Amnesty International had said the courts’ sentences are a “travesty of justice”.Human Rights Watch had issued a report following the conviction of 21 prominent political activists and 20 others who work in the medical field. The report was titled; “No justice in Bahrain; unfair trials in military and civilian courts”.The sentence come in conjunction with acquittals of those accused of murdering the martyrs in the peaceful demonstration on 14th February 2011.However, detainees constantly complain of being subjected to torture, assault and coerced confession during arrests and interrogation.Bahrain was recently criticized by 47 states at the UN Human Rights Council in a joint statement in which they said, “the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern to us”./129