The verdict sentenced one doctor with five years in prison, another doctor with one year in prison, and the other seven with jail sentences for durations that vary from a month to a year.
“The charges against the group were limited to occupying the Salmaniya Medical Complex using force, detaining a number of abducted people in the complex, and turning the complex into a location for protesting. By the actions mentioned, the doctors were violating the law, their duties, the code of honor of medical services, as well as jeopardizing the security and unity of the Bahraini people,” State Minister for Information Sameera Rajab, quoted saying by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
It is to be noted that the doctors did not face charges concerning practicing their profession as it is of the institutional functions. The court has dropped all charges related to practicing their freedom of opinion and speech.
The verdict issued by the court of cassation, the highest degree in the Bahraini Judiciary, is considered to be final, and closes the case. The verdict also confirms the validity of the proceedings and the availability of all the legal guarantees for all defendants, without breach to their rights prescribed by the law.
The report of The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry “BICI” (paragraph 834) confirmed that the medical staff (subject of the verdict) sought to enforce its control over parts of the Salmaniya Medical Complex “and that some members of the medical staff had political connections with the opposition and were working according to a political agenda, moreover, some of them were seen leading demonstrations and chants against the regime inside and outside the complex. The medical staff claimed two contradicting roles, one as political activists and the other as workers in the medical field, while they were supposed to fulfill their professional, ethical and legal duties and responsibilities.