Manama: Bahrain's military prosecution is seeking the death penalty against seven defendants accused of killing two policemen while on duty last month.
In the final pleadings before the national safety court on Sunday, the military prosecution presented evidence, including confessions that the seven men killed Kashif Ahmad Manzoor and Mohammad Farooq Abdul Samad, the military prosecutor said in a statement carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Ali Abdullah Hassan Al Singees, Qasim Hassan Matar Ahmad, Saeed Abdul Jalil Saeed, Eisa Abdullah Kadhem Ali, Abdul Aziz Abdul Ridha Ebrahim Hussain, Sayyed Sadiq Ali Mahdi and Hussain Jaafar Abdul Karim are guilty of perpetrating a premeditated crime for terrorist purposes, the military prosecutor said, adding that he was seeking the capital punishment against all seven.
Defence
However, lawyers for the defendants refuted the prosecutor's arguments and requested the court to acquit the seven men, BNA said. The court said that it would issue its verdict on April 28.
In a separate case, the court adjourned the trial of Abdullah Mohammad Habib on charges of engaging in action to kill several policemen to Thursday for the final pleadings.
In the second case of engaging in action to kill policemen, the court accepted a request by the lawyer of Sulaiman Yahya Hamza to adjourn the trial to tomorrow to listen to testimony by witnesses. The court also adjourned the case of Hamad Yousuf Kadhem to Thursday for final pleadings.
Human rights activists and relatives of the defendants were present during the court sessions.
The safety court was set up under the state of national safety, emergency laws, declared by King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa in March to put an end to weeks of unrest that brought Bahrain to a standstill.
