Bahraini Doctors & Nurses Charged with Trying to Topple the King's Monarchy

Bahraini Doctors & Nurses Charged with Trying to Topple the King's Monarchy
PETITION:  AVAAZ
23 doctors and 24 nurses who treated pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain have been charged with "attempting to topple the king's monarchy" -- treason, in effect. Al Jazeera reports that they were formally charged today in a special military court, behind closed doors.
The 47 medical professionals were arrested in March when Bahrain declared martial law and undertook a harsh crackdown against protesters, who had been inspired to take to the streets after the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Martial law was lifted last week but the government has told opposition activists that there will be "'consequences' in case of any further challenges to the government."
With the lifting of the state of emergency, a Formula One Prix race that was cancelled due to the unrest in March has been rescheduled for October. While some say that holding the race will help the country's economy and signals a return to normalcy, human rights activists counter that holding the race shows how little respect for human rights Formula One and its sponsors have. A petition asking Red Bull and other corporate sponsors of the Formula One race to boycott the event can be found on the advocacy website Avaaz. (listed previously)