DUBAI: A Bahraini court acquitted yesterday two police officers, including a woman, on trial for torturing six Shia doctors during the 2011 uprising against the Sunni regime, a judicial source said.

The two officers had been accused in March 2011 of having “used force, torture, and threats” against the doctors who had been arrested over their roles during the uprising, the source added.

But the pair denied any wrongdoing. A representative of the prosecution, Nawaf Hamza, said he could appeal the court’s decision.

A number of policemen are being investigated or are on trial for allegedly torturing detainees after hundreds of Shias were rounded up when security forces crushed the protests in mid-March 2011.

Authorities say they are implementing the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry called for by the king that confirmed allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during the uprising.

UAE court upholds jail terms for Britons

DUBAI: A Dubai court yesterday upheld four-year jail terms for three Britons, convicted on drugs charges, who were allegedly tortured during their detention, a newspaper based in the emirate reported. 

In April, a lower court convicted the trio of possessing for consumption more than 1kg of synthetic cannabis known as Spice, jailing each one for four years.

“The Dubai Appeal Court rejected the Britons’ appeals and upheld the four-year jail term against each of them after they were convicted of possessing and taking drugs,” Gulf News reported on its website. The three men will be deported after serving their sentences, it added.

Monday’s verdict is still subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 28 days, Gulf News said.

Former anti-Qaeda fighters killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD: Gunmen dressed in military uniforms kidnapped eight former anti-Qaeda fighters from their homes north of Baghdad and killed them execution-style yesterday, officials said.

The murders come amid a series of attacks against the Sunni Arab tribal militia in recent days, and as Iraq grapples with a protracted political deadlock and months of protests by the Sunni community.

The attack on the eight former anti-Qaeda fighters took place in Mishahada, which lies just north of Baghdad, when armed men kidnapped them during a pre-dawn raids on their homes.

 Their corpses were later found in the town, having suffered gunshots to the head and chest, an interior ministry official and a medical source said. Agencies