BBC Arabic reported that a Bahraini military court sentenced one protestor to death for killing a policeman during an anti-regime protest in March. The court also issued harsh prison sentences to 20 medical professionals working at al-Salmaniya Hospital in Manama during the protest movement. Thirteen medics were sentenced to 15 years in prison. According to the Bahrain News Agency, the medics are being charged with "forcefully occupying Salmaniya Medical Centre…possessing unlicensed arms and knives, incitement to overthrow the regime, seizing medical equipment, detaining policemen, and spreading false news." Several written testimonies of the sentenced doctors indicate that they were physically and psychologically abused, tortured, beaten, sexually harassed, and humiliated while in custody.  

On June 14, after Bahrain started the trial of 48 medics, journalist Robert Fisk dispatched an eyewitness account from the hospital to The Independent. He wrote that he saw doctors desperately trying to save the lives of injured protestors shot by Bahraini forces, describing the charges as "a pack of lies."

One of the sentenced doctors, Dr. Fatma Haji, told the BBC that the medics' only crime "was that we helped innocent, helpless people who were just protesting and got injured." In a video to her three-year-old son, she maintained her innocence and expressed hope that when he is old enough to understand, he will be proud of her.

Amnesty International condemned the Bahraini regime for its harsh sentences against the health practitioners. Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme described the charges against the medics as "ludicrous." The Dublin-based human rights organization Front Line also condemned the sentencing after a "deeply flawed and unfair trial." It declared that medical care has been "criminalized" in Bahrain.

In July, Human Rights Watch issued a 54-page report documenting the government's abuses against citizens since February, and called on the Bahraini regime to immediately end its systematic policy of arresting and abusing medical personnel and patients.

(Photo: Doctors form a human chain at Salmaniya Hospital fearing an attack by riot police in Manama, on March 15/ Reuters)

Bahrain: Saudi-backed Bahraini troops attacked anti-government protestors in the island city of Sitra, killing a 14-year-old boy. Witnesses say the victim was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired from close range. Reports say the city's hospital refused to admit the critically injured teenager and that he died shortly afterwards. It is believed that hospital authorities refused to treat the wounded teenager for fear of being arrested by security forces.

Libya: Clashes broke out between Muammar Gaddafi's battalions and Transitional National Council forces in the Um al-Qanadil region and its surrounding areas, close to Sirte. Chairman of the Council Mustafa Abdul Jalil gave Gaddafi's loyalists in Sirte until this coming Saturday to surrender before using military force. The revolutionaries are approaching Sirte from both the east and west but are refraining from launching attacks in the hopes of a negotiated surrender of the city. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself still remain unknown.

Syria: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 473 people were killed in Syria during the month of Ramadan, including 360 civilians and 113 soldiers and members of the Internal Security Forces. Twenty-five minors and 14 women are among those killed, but the death toll does not include victims killed during the military operations in the city of Hama. Amnesty International confirmed that 88 Syrians, including ten children, died in detention centers and police stations between April and August.

Bahrain: Amnesty International said two Bahraini women activists who have been imprisoned and allegedly tortured for their involvement in protests began a hunger strike to demand their release. Roula al-Saffar, head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, and Jalila al-Salman, vice president of the Bahrain Teachers' Association, have been held for several months, according to the rights group.

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, announced that his family had reached an agreement with what he described as the Islamist opposition to get rid of the secular opposition demanding his father's resignation. Saif al-Islam said he negotiated with Ali al-Sallabi, an Islamist leader in eastern Libya. Al-Sallabi confirmed that talks were held with Gaddafi's son, but did not confirm reaching an agreement.

Syria: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe described the decree issued by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad authorizing political parties in Syria as an act of "provocation" that only comes amid the violence against civilians. In Hama, all water, electricity, and communication services have been cut off as what is being referred to as a massacre continues in the city. Residents say that yesterday, over 40 people were killed or wounded yesterday.

Saudi Arabia: Amnesty International has strongly condemned a new Saudi Arabian anti-terror law that criminalizes legitimate political oppositions. The organization said in a statement that the draft law considers it a crime to question the integrity of the king or the crown prince and carries a minimum prison sentence of ten years. The draft law also allows for detaining a suspect for one year without a trial and holding suspects for four months in solitary confinement. The rights organization describes the law as posing a dangerous threat to freedom of speech in the name of preventing terrorism.

Yemen: Anti-regime protestors gathered in the capital Sana'a and various other provinces to reaffirm their rejection of Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime. They named today the "Friday of Rejection of Collective Punishment." Meanwhile, supporters of the ruling party rallied in support of Saleh at Sana'a's al-Sabeen Square on what they called the "Friday of Sit-in to Thank God."

Syria: Cities throughout the country witnessed popular protests today, like every Friday since March. Activists on social networking websites called for demonstrations on the "Friday of the Grandsons of Khaled Ibn el-Waleed." The opposition estimated that 1.2 million protestors participated in today's demonstration. Protests were witnessed in the cities of Damascus, Homs, Hama, Daraa in the south, Idlib in the north and Deir az-Zour in the east near the border with Iraq. According to preliminary estimates by human rights activists, five people were killed today.

Libya: Libyan revolutionaries have launched an assault on a key gateway to the capital Tripoli as fighting intensifies between the opposition and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. In their slow approach toward the capital, the revolutionaries attacked the regime’s positions in the Gualish area, 50 kilometers from Tripoli. Last week the opposition also took over a large ammunition depot belonging Gaddafi’s forces in western Libya.

Syria: Amnesty International has accused Syrian government forces of committing crimes against humanity during a crackdown on a pro-democracy protest in the town of Talkalakh near the Lebanese border. Amnesty International’s report makes allegations of murder, torture, and arbitrary detention.  The organization says that it gathered the testimonies of thousands of Syrians who fled the town to Lebanon. The government denies the allegations.

Bahrain: Human Rights Watch has accused the Bahraini government of carrying out a punitive and vindictive campaign of violent repression against its own citizens since March. The organization says that the campaign targets Shiites who account for 80% of the population, and that dozens of protestors have been killed and tortured. The organization demanded that the Bahraini government end the abuses.