The First Lower National Safety Court on Wednesday heard six criminal cases, according to the Military Prosecutor.
In the first case, in which five people were accused of hiding in two suspects’ houses, the court adjourned it to next Wednesday, June 22 in order to have a lawyer appointed for one defendant.
The court also handed the defence team copies of the case documents and allowed lawyers to meet the suspects.
The court adjourned to the same date the case of Abbas Hassan Mal Allah, tried over attempted murder and taking part in illegal gatherings, in order to allow the defence to study the case documents and meet the suspect.
Another case, in which 19 people faced charges of attempting to occupy the Khamis Police Station, ransacking it and setting fire to it, as well as inciting the hatred of the ruling system, protesting illegally, using violence and holding and making Molotov cocktails, was also adjourned to June 21.
The court allowed the lawyers to have access to the case documents and meet the suspects. It will also appoint a lawyer for one defendant.
Ali Yussef Abdulwahab Al Taweel and Ali Atiya Mahdi Al Shamloul appeared at the court again today over involvement in the murder of Policeman Ahmed Ahmed Al Mrissi while on duty in Sitra.
During the hearing, the Military Prosecution delivered its final pleading in which it presented details and compelling evidence of the defendants’ direct involvement, as well as their confessions, describing the crime as a “pre-mediated” one committed by merciless, barbarous, evil and blood-thirsty criminals whose main goal was to undermine the kingdom’s security and stability.
The Military Prosecution demanded the court to inflict the most severe punishment on the suspects so as to promote the supremacy of the law, protect the kingdom’s deep-rooted genuine values and warn those who ever want to apply the law of the jungle.
The lawyers, however, pleaded that the suspects were not guilty, noting that the evidence provided was not compelling enough to indict them and that the real criminal was not tried.
The court will decide the suspects’ fate during the next hearing due to be held on July 5.
The case of the Bahrain Teachers Society’s Mahdi Isa Abdu Dhib and Jalila Mohammed Ridha Salman, accused of inciting crime and overthrow of the ruling system, holding anti-ruling system pamphlets, spreading false information and taking part in illegal protests, was also heard today.
The court allowed one witness, a detective, to deliver his testimony in which he gave details of the crime.
It also decided to summon defence witnesses during the next session which will convene next Wednesday, June 22.
During today’s session, 32 other people stood trial over charges of holding un-licensed weapon for the aim of stealing the money of some ruling family-owned farms in Karzakan and Damistan, joining an armed gang, setting fire to farms and buildings for the aim of damaging people and their property, theft of telephones, ransacking private farms, holding Molotov cocktails and participating in un-authorized assemblies.
The court allowed three witnesses –Asian workers- to deliver their testimonies in which they said that a group of people, armed with swords and wooden and iron sticks, destroyed the gates and fences of a number of farms, stole property, set fire to the farms and fled.
The defence team’s questions focused on whether the witnesses could recognize the faces of the attackers.
The court decided to allow one evidence witness and defence witnesses to deliver their testimonies during the next session of June 28, and accepted to have a number of suspects be examined by forensic experts.
Present were Salman Nasser from the Gulf European Center for Human Rights, Mohammed Al Sumaikh from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), as well as some relatives of the defendants and the victims.