MORE than 200 Ma'ameer villagers staged a protest yesterday demanding the release of nine men arrested in connection with the murder of a man as he drove through the village 20 months ago.
Shaikh Mohammed Riaz, 58, was killed when his pickup truck was ambushed in a Molotov cocktail attack in Ma'ameer.
The protesters, who included families, relatives, friends and supporters, held banners and chanted slogans to show solidarity with the suspects.
Balloons with photos of the detainees attached were also released at the protest.
It was the fifth protest to be held at the village, revealed one of the organisers.
"This is the fifth time we are protesting at the village demanding the release of the detainees," said Ma'ameer Detainees Families Committee co-ordinator Ali Hussain.
He said the balloons were a symbol to show the detainees were peaceful.
"They were not troublemakers and the release of the balloons symbolises that."
Mr Hussain has four relatives among the suspects - one brother and three cousins.
"I just want to see them come back home and see their families," he said.
"We all miss them terribly, it's heart-breaking."
The GDN reported on October 8 that a warrant was issued for the arrest of a 10th suspect in connection with the case.
Seven men are already standing trial for murder in the High Criminal Court.
However, two additional Bahraini defendants appeared in the dock for the first time early last month and the court issued an arrest warrant for a 10th.
The suspects, aged 17 to 25, are also accused of rioting and arson, in addition to possessing and making Molotov cocktails.
Judges adjourned the trial until November 17 after listening to a lengthy list of requests from defence lawyers, in order to fulfil some of their demands.
These included summoning witnesses, the medical examiner to answer questions about the victim's postmortem, a doctor who treated the victim before he died at Salmaniya Medical Complex, a CID forensic examiner who was sent to the scene of the attack and a forensic lab engineer.
Judges also agreed to refer one defendant to a psychiatrist for a mental assessment.
Meanwhile, the two men who took to the stand for the first time were released from custody since they had surrendered themselves to police.
Judges also ordered copies of all reports connected with the case to be furnished to the defence team upon completion.
However, judges turned down lawyers' requests to subpoena the directors of detention facilities in Isa Town and Sitra.
They also refused to summon the director general of the company where the victim worked and a mechanic, to explain the circumstances of the accident, along with a request to release all the suspects while their trial continues.
