UN rights office criticizes Bahrain sentences

(September 30, 2011) The United Nations human rights office has criticized the harsh sentences given this week to anti-government protesters and medical staff in Bahrain. Rupert Colville a spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR ) said the fact that the sentences were handed down by ``a military court with serious due process irregularities raises severe concerns.'' Colville told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the Bahrain government has a duty to ensure all detainees are charged with a recognizable criminal offense. Bahrain's special security court on Thursday sentenced a protester to death for killing a policeman. It also gave doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters during the country's uprising earlier this year lengthy prison sentences.