Bahrain spares doctors from harsh sentences

JUDICIAL authorities in Bahrain have quashed the convictions and long prison terms given to 20 medical workers because they had treated protestors during civil unrest in the Persian Gulf country, the New York Times reports.

The medical workers were released from custody, and retrials were ordered in a civil court – they had previously been tried in a special security court.

The jailing of the doctors by Bahrain's Sunni monarchy had been condemned internationally, including from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

Some doctors and nurses were sentenced for as long as 15 years because they had attended to demonstrators who were wounded by security forces during protestors –  most of which were members of the Shiite majority, NYT reports.

NYT reports that the country's Attorney-General, Ali Al-Boainain, released a statement saying the judgment last Thursday and had ''determined the cases should be retried before the ordinary court''.

''No doctors or other medical personnel may be punished by reason of the fulfilment of their humanitarian duties or their political views.

''Pending the outcome of the retrials, the accused shall not be detained,'' Dr Boainain said, in the statement, NYT reports.

Lawyers for the Bahraini medical workers said they were not given a fair trial, particularly as they were tried in a military court even though they are civilans, Al Jazeera reports.