Agence France-Presse reported Sunday that a Bahraini court sentenced 12 Shiites to 10-year jail terms each for attempting to kill policeman near the country's capital while a policeman was acquitted for attempting to murder a protestor.
Seventeen Shiites were on trial for murder of police officers, possession of petrol bombs, and participation in unauthorized demonstrations. While 12 of the defendants received the 10-year sentences, one received a three-year term and the remaining four were acquitted. The defendants were arrested in May 2012 after a policeman was attacked in Shiite village while on his patrol.
In a separate case Sunday, a policeman was acquitted for attempting to murder a protest due to insufficient proof, according to the article. The police officer was originally charged in April 2012 when Saleh Abbas, a Shiite, was shot dead during a protest in Shakura. Though he was acquitted for lack of evidence, the policeman did admit that he was the only member from the police patrol to open fire on the day of Abbas' killing during his cross-examination in court.
