Bahrain: Ayat al-Gormezi faces tribunal for poetry reading

Ayat al-Gormezi, the 20 year old woman arrested for reading a poem at a pro-democracy rally in Pearl Square, Bahrain, is due to face a military tribunal later today. Just days after she read the poem which ended “Down with Hamad”, police raided her family home. The poet and student has claimed that she was forced to hand herself in when police held her four brothers at gunpoint. Al-Gormezi has spent time in a military hospital since being taken into police custody where she has received treatment for torture wounds. This is the latest in a growing number of violent acts towards female protesters in Bahrain.

Bahrain: Human rights activist missing

Human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, was summoned to a military court just hours before Bahrain was due to lift its emergency law. He is now missing. Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). Bahrain’s state of emergency was lifted today, introduced almost three months ago, the emergency law coincided with the arrival of over 1, 000 Saudi troops who were called to crush largely peaceful Shiite protests.

Bahrain: Four protestors sentenced to death

Yesterday (27 April) a Bahraini military court has sentenced four protestors to death and a further three to life in prison. The seven people were convicted of killing two policemen during protests in the country last month. While the foreign press was barred from entering the courtroom, selected journalists from the state-run media were allowed to attend. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights condemned the verdict and called on the authorities to reverse their decision.

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