Bahrain Puts 11-year-old Boy on Trial

Photo Credit: Hasan Jamali/AP

On Wednesday, 11-year-old  Ali Hasan will be prosecuted by the Bahraini government for helping protesters set up a road block during demonstrations last month. Though many have been arrested in the 15 month protest movement, Hasan’s case marks a new precedent in the legal crackdown against dissidents. Hasan claims he was forced to confess to participating in anti-government demonstrations. The young boy spent a month in jail with three other children before being released on bail last week. Meanwhile, prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab‘s trial was adjourned until Thursday. Rajab, who is accused of taking part in an illegal gathering, remains in police custody as he is on trial in four additional cases.

Additionally, convicted Bahraini medics released a statement regarding the “unjust verdicts” issued against them by the Court of Appeals last week. In the document the medics “insist[ed] on their innocence” and called on the international community to stand with them. Brian Dooley reflects on “Bahrain’s sham trials” and asks the government five pointed questions about its position on human rights given the “disconnect between its actions and its words.”

Finally, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) published the second edition of a post Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report. The new publication, which documents the human rights violations in Bahrain since March, claims that “no meaningful improvements [have been] made to the human rights situation in Bahrain,” and “on many levels the situation has become more serious.”