AIRPORT RIOTERS SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016
TAGS: PGOV ASEC PHUM KJUS BA POL REFORM
SUBJECT: AIRPORT RIOTERS SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON

REF: A. MANAMA 0080

B. MANAMA 0049

C. MANAMA 0013

D. 05 MANAMA 1916

E. 05 MANAMA 1910

Classified By: Classified by Ambassadior William T.Monroe. Reasons: 1.
4 (b)(d)


1. (U) Lower Criminal Court judge Ibrahim Al Zayed delivered
a guilty verdict February 7 for 12 participants in a December
25 riot at the arrivals hall of Bahrain International Airport
following the temporary detention of Shia cleric Shaikh
Mohammed Al Sanad upon his return to Bahrain from Iran. The
defendants were convicted for "taking part in an illegal
gathering" but were cleared of charges of assaulting police
officers and damaging public property. They were sentenced
to two years in prison. Nine of the 12 defendants are in
custody; three others have failed to respond to warrants for
their arrest. One defendant was found not guilty and
released. Seven other men are scheduled to appear in court
February 15 on the same charges.


2. (U) Attorneys for the accused were stunned with the
verdict. Word had leaked that the only charge to hold was
that of an illegal gathering and the defendants had expected
to be released with time served or a maximum sentence of six
months. Some 70 people had gathered outside the court prior
to the verdict to demand the release of the men. Following
the verdict, leading Shia opposition society Al Wifaq
President Shaikh Ali Salman urged those assembled to be calm
and not resort to violence. The brother of one of those
convicted told the press that his brother and the others were
targeted because of their involvement in activities of the
Committee for the Unemployed, the group that has organized
many protests since the end of November that have descended
into violence.


3. (C) Shia MP Mohammed Al Shaikh, who has served as an
intermediary for previous confrontations between police and
the Committee for the Unemployed, told Pol/Econ Chief
February 7 that people were surprised and angry about the
sentence. They had expected a guilty verdict with a light
sentence. Al Shaikh said that King Hamad needed to step in
quickly to release the convicts with a sentence of time
served. The verdict came on the eve of the two most
important days of the Shia religious occasion of Ashura and,
while there were no demonstrations, EmbOffs observed a
gathering of about 500 men in the old town of Manama on the
margins of the Ashura processions listening to a speaker
denouncing the government for the convictions. Al Shaikh
believes demonstrations will start in support of the men
immediately following Ashura. An Embassy source said that a
preacher in Hamad Town had railed against the verdict in his
sermon the evening of February 7, and the speakers at
February 10 Friday prayers are certain to focus on the case.


4. (C) Comment: The airport riot case has created
considerable turmoil thus far, including several clashes
between supporters of the accused and security forces. Two
aspects of the case are striking: (1) the unusual speed with
which the investigation, trial, and conviction occurred, only
six weeks after the event; and (2) the length of the
sentence. A quick order by the King to release the men could
help defuse additional tensions while reinforcing the legal
process that resulted in the convictions. A precedent
exists: the King ordered the release of activist Abdul Hadi
Al Khawaja the same day of his conviction on charges of
public incitement and spreading rumors that could disrupt
national security in late 2004.
MONROE