Bahrain Mirror- Exclusive: While Bahrainis were still exchanging New Year's greetings in 2017, the Bahraini regime surprised them with the toughest news; Abbas Al-Samie (26 years), Sami Mushaima (40 years) and Ali Al-Singace (21 years) will be the first to be executed in Bahrain within 6 years after the uprising. The authorities have not executed any political death sentences since they executed martyr Isa Kambar in March 1996.

A cassation court upheld a death penalty sentence against 3 on January 9 over a case related to killing an Emirati officer and 2 policemen, who took part in clamping down a protest in Al-Daih. The verdict was final and was waiting for the king's ratification. There is no legal period set to ratify the decision, however, the king was in a hurry.

The British Reprieve organization condemned the death penalty sentences before they were executed and said "the 3 suspects were tortured into providing false confessions" that were used against them in the court.

Less than 7 weeks after the cassation court upheld the sentence, in particular, on January 14, the phones of families of the 3 detainees rang. They were informed about an unscheduled visit to their sons. The detainees themselves were surprised from this visit. There, all of them knew that it was the last goodbye. The families returned home insulted from the degrading search they underwent, and feeling the burn of what is yet to come.

Thousands of Bahrainis could not sleep a wink. At 10 pm that night, the Salafist MP Khalid Al-Maloud announced that "it is done", and then the head of the Prime Minister's office declared that the execution has been carried out. Malicious tweets from pro-government accounts were launched after that. Thereafter it was announced that Al-Hoora cemetery was cordoned off and the manager of the cemetery was summoned. The night passed very slowly with some confirming and others denying the incident. January 15 came with the Bahrainis awake. They had nothing to do except Dua'a and prayers.

At exactly 9:50 am the next morning on January 15, 2017, the head of the Terrorist Crimes Prosecution Ahmad Al-Hammadi announced that the execution was carried out since the sentence was "final and conclusive". Bahrainis clamored, social media outlets became funeral obsequies and people headed to the houses of the martyrs.

Photos of a massive security convoy parading from the south of the country to the capital were circulated. The convoy included what seemed to be a military ambulance. The vehicles parked at the Mahooz cemetery. The families of the executed detainees received phone calls: Come to Al-Mahooz cemetery. The corpses of the martyrs were handed there to bury them one after the other. The first martyr was Sami Mushaima, Ali Al-Singace then Abbas Al-Samie. Four gunshots were fired at their hearts.

Mushaima's mother screamed in the cemetery: "Four of my sons are behind bars and one of them has become a martyr. Listen to me, I am ready to sacrifice even more!"

The burial process finished at the early hour of night. Several areas witnessed outrageous protests that were met with brutality.

On January 17, the families were given the execution clothes that contained pieces of their scattered flesh and drenched in the blood of the martyrs.

On January 20, the families of the martyrs issued a statement holding Bahrain's king Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa fully responsible for the execution of their sons. The families stressed on the innocence of their sons accused of killing three foreign police officers, adding that the family of Emirati officer, Tariq Al-Shihi, who was killed in clashes with protesters in March 2014, is aware that the 3 executed young men are innocent. However, it insisted on implementing the death sentence.

The families explained in their statement the violations they witnessed like being denied their right in identifying the place and time of the burial procession. They were also prevented from holding a funeral procession for them. Besides, people were prevented from entering the cemetery to take part in the commemoration events and gathering. The martyrs brothers (detained) were denied their right in bidding farewell to their brothers, let alone the psychological harm caused by the regime forces who gloated over the families' grief when they came to visit their sons.

Since the execution was carried out, security forces surrounded Al-Mahooz cemetery and prevented citizens from entering the cemetery and visiting the martyrs' graves. They also prevented the families from visiting their sons' graves for weeks. Meanwhile, angry protests continued to be staged almost every day in most of the villages.

On January 24, Reprieve published a petition on the Internet entitled "Stop Execution", saying "we have to do everything we can to save the man who may be next Mohammed Ramadan after the authorities executed on Sunday (January 15) three men - the first executions in the country for six years."

Arabic Version