Handball players from Bahrain jailed for 15 years
 

04-10-11 03:02 PM

http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/BCHR/...ll_players.png
Left to right: Mohamed Mirza, Ali Mirza, Ali Jawad

26 Sep 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Two members of Bahrain's national handball team were jailed for 15 years Monday after being charged with taking part in anti-government protests.

The father of Mohammed and Ali Mirza said his sons were found guilty of being part of a group of anti-government demonstrators that burned down a farm owned by a member of the ruling family.

Mirza Salman Abdulla told The Associated Press his sons did not take part in the demonstrations by Bahrain's Shiite majority against the Sunni dynasty.

"The sentence was not expected. My sons didn't do anything," Abdulla said. "This is all nonsense and not true. Until the crisis happened, they were outside Bahrain and they are not involved in politics."

"My two sons always loved their country and sports," he added. "That is what they did all their lives."

A military court closed to the public also found the brothers guilty of possessing weapons and stealing money.

Ali Jawad, a beach handball player, was given 15 years by the military court for burning down the same farm.

The Mirza brothers, who played at the handball world championship in January, were among 150 Shiite athletes, coaches and referees detained as part of a crackdown on protesters. Many of them took part in marches organized by athletes in support of the demonstrations.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Bahrain's Shiite majority took to the streets Feb. 14 to demand that the country's more than 200-year-old Sunni dynasty loosen its control on top government and security posts. After days of mostly peaceful protests, the regime cracked down on the protesters, resulting in the death of more than 30 people and the detention of thousands.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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