Bahrain: Child protesters given 10 years in prison

Jehad Sadeq ‘Aziz Salman and Ebrahim Ahmed Radi al-Moqdad, two 16-year-old Bahraini boys, have had their 10-year prison sentences upheld by the High Criminal Court of Appeal.

The two children had been convicted under articles of the Bahrain Penal Code and the 2006 anti-terrorist law with “intending to murder policemen”, “burning tyres on a main road”, “using force against two policemen, “burning a police car”, “illegal gathering” in order “to commit crimes and undermine public security”,  and “possession of Molotov cocktails”.   The sentence was upheld by  the High Criminal Court of Appeal in Manama  on 29 September 2013.

The children were initially sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on 4 April. However, according to one of the children’s lawyers their conviction was based on “confessions" that they allege they were forced to sign, without the presence of a lawyer or a family member, and which they recanted during the trial.

The children are being held in overcrowded conditions at Jaw Prison for adults, around 30km south of the capital Manama, where they are housed in Bloc 3 along with men aged 20 and over.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

* Expressing concern that Jehad Sadeq Aziz Salman and Ebrahim Ahmed Radi al-Moqdad were tried as adults despite being under the age of 18;

* Urging the Bahraini authorities to quash the children’s convictions and order a retrial, in a court abiding by international standards of juvenile justice and reminding them that even under these standards children may only be imprisoned as a last resort;

* Urging the authorities to protect the children and other prisoners from torture and other ill-treatment, ensuring that their allegations of torture are independently investigated and that statements obtained through the use of torture or other ill-treatment are not accepted in any proceedings.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 11 NOVEMBER 2013 TO:  (Time difference = GMT + 3 hrs / BST + 2 hrs)

King
Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa

Office of His Majesty the King
P.O. Box 555
Rifa’a Palace, al-Manama, Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1766 4587 (keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of Interior
Shaikh Rashid bin ‘Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ministry of Interior
P.O. Box 13, al-Manama, Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1723 2661
Twitter: @moi_Bahrain
Salutation: Your Excellency
 

And copies to:
Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs
Shaikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs
P. O. Box 450, al-Manama, Bahrain
Fax: 00973 1753 1284
Email: minister@justice.gov.bh
Twitter: @Khaled_Bin_Ali
 

PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEAL TO

Her Excellency Miss Alice Thomas Yusuf Samaan, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 30 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X 8QB.

Fax: 020 7201 9183.

Email: information@bahrainembassy.co.uk.

Website: http://www.bahrainembassy.co.uk