BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Shoddy trials for opposition activists rounded up during Bahrain's crackdown on pro-democracy groups are part of state policy, a rights group said.
Authorities in Bahrain are said to be reviewing conclusions reached by an independent commission investigating last year's crackdown on anti-government protesters. Human Rights Watch alleges there were gross violations, including torture, of human rights during the crackdown.
"Grossly unfair military and civilian trials have been a core element in Bahrain's crackdown on pro-democracy protests," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement from Beirut.
The Sunni-led kingdom was criticized for its decision to call in support from members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa had told German news magazine Der Spiegel that Bahrain was headed in the right direction one year after the protests began, however.
Stork maintained the hundreds of convictions last year were unfair, however, and called on the government to drop charges on anyone convicted on "politically motivated charges."
