Saturday, April 21, 2018

BAHRAIN: Urge Moratorium on Death Sentences - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, April 19, 2018.

On 28 March, the Public Prosecutor issued a statement in which he said that his office had received a memorandum from the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) relating to its investigations into the complaints brought by Mohamed Ramadhan Issa Ali Hussain and Hussain Ali Moosa Hussain Mohamed. The SIU recommended that the cases be sent for review, despite the fact that their death sentences had been previously upheld by the Cassation Court.
 The cases have been referred to the Minister of Justice to consider the SIU’s recommendation. According to the SIU, the unit uncovered medical reports issued by doctors of the Ministry of Interior relating to the alleged torture of both men that had not been made available to the court before it issued its verdict.
On 16 November 2015, the Court of Cassation had confirmed the death sentences of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Ali Moosa and their cases were passed to the King who has the authority to ratify the sentences, commute them or grant a pardon. The two men are held in Jaw prison in south Manama, Bahrain’s capital. They were sentenced to death on 29 December 2014 for the killing of a policeman, who died in a bomb explosion in al-Deir, a village northeast of Manama, on 14 February 2014. Ten people, who were sentenced with them, to between six years and life in prison, also had their sentences upheld.

During the trial, Hussain ‘Ali Moosa’s forced “confession” was used as the main piece of evidence against him. His “confession” was also used to incriminate Mohamed Ramadhan.