Manama: Bahrain’s court of appeals on Sunday adjourned until June 2 the trial of two policemen who had challenged a 10-year jail verdict by a lower court.
The two security servicemen were handed the prison sentence in March after the High Criminal Court court ruled they were guilty in the death of a demonstrator in 2011.
The two policemen and three others were acquitted by the same court in the case over the death of another demonstrator.
The five policemen had been referred to the prosecution following an investigation by the interior ministry into the deaths of Ali Saqer and Zakariya Al Asheeri.
According to the report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Investigation (BICI), an international panel that looked into the events that occurred in Bahrain in February and March 2011 and their consequences, Saqer was pronounced dead on April 9, 2011. His death certificate stated that the cause of death was hypovolemic shock resulting from several traumas.
The report added that the interior ministry on May 25, 2011, “referred charges against five personnel to the military court”.
“Two of the accused are charged with manslaughter, while the other three are charged with failing to report a crime. All five are charged with engaging in action contrary to military dignity,” the report released in November 2011 said.
The BICI concluded that Saqer’s death was attributable to mistreatment while in custody.
Al Asheeri was pronounced dead on April 9, 2011. The investigation into his death resulted in the prosecution of five policemen, the BICI said.
The interior ministry has since the publication of the BICI report pledged to prosecute all personnel found guilty of abusing their authority.
