Manama: Bahrain's public prosecutor has requested the death penalty for 10 people for allegedly killing a Pakistani national during riots in a village. The court said that it would resume the trial on May 23.
Shaikh Mohammad Riadh, a Pakistani driver, was driving through Ma'ameer, a village south east of Manama, on March 8, 2009 when petrol bombs were hurled at his pick up. According to health sources, the 58-year-old driver suffered third degree burns on his upper body and died days later from respiratory complications.
Police reports said the 10 Bahrainis had planned to ambush police patrol cars at the entrance to the village, but eventually threw the fire bombs at Riadh's vehicle.
Attempts spearheaded by Al Wefaq, the largest parliamentary bloc, to reach an out-of-court settlement with the victim's family have failed and Bahraini society became deeply divided over the issue.
Several people claiming that the arrests and the trial were politically-motivated have been calling for the release of the detainees. However, other Bahrainis, including lawmakers representing Al Asala, the second largest parliamentary bloc, have been pushing for a strict application of the law.
Riadh had worked in Saudi Arabia before moving to Bahrain.
He was the second Pakistani national to die from violent attacks by protesters near villages. Majid Asghar Ali, a policeman was killed in April 2008 when a group of young men hurled Molotov Cocktails at a police Jeep, near Karazakan, a village south west of Manama. His trial waded into controversy after the lawyers of the alleged killers strongly questioned the direct cause of the death.
A first verdict said the men arrested in connection with his death were innocent and allowed them to go home. However, the prosecution appealed and a second trial sentenced the 17 defendants to three years in prison.
