MANAMA, Bahrain, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Medical professionals ordered jailed by a military court in Bahrain will be retried before a civilian court, Bahrain's attorney general announced.
Attorney General Ali Alboainain announced the Department of Public Prosecution studied the judgment against "certain medical personnel" issued by a military court and determined their cases should be retried before a civilian court.
"The retrial will be conducted before the highest civil court in Bahrain," he was quoted by the official Bahrain News Agency as saying. "The Department of Public Prosecutions seeks to establish the truth and to enforce the law, while protecting the rights of the accused."
Several Bahraini doctors and nurses were given prison sentences ranging from 5-15 years for spreading "stories and lies" and for trying to topple the regime during the country's failed uprising early this year.
All of those sentenced to prison had worked at the Salmaniya medical complex in Manama, which was raided by Bahraini security forces in March as part of the regime's crackdown against the Shiite majority.
European officials criticized the sentences by the military courts. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the "sentences appear disproportionate to the charges brought."
Bahrain's government, though a statement published by BNA, said its courts operate "with total transparency" and in line with "its constitution and the international covenants it signed."
