BAHRAIN DROPS

MANAMA, Bahrain — The Bahraini public prosecutor will pursue criminal cases against only five of 20 medics charged over their roles in last year’s mass protests, the Information Affairs Authority said.

The agency said the evidence shows that five of the medics were involved with the takeover of the Salmaniya Medical Complex and related crimes during the demonstrations, according to an e-mailed statement late Saturday.

The remaining cases will be transferred to the medical disciplinary board as they involve breaching patient confidentiality by allowing cameras into the hospital, leading protests on the premises and discrimination against patients based on their sect.

“Of the criminal cases involving medical professionals, only five have been accused of serious criminal charges,” the Information Affairs Authority said.

The 20 medics received sentences ranging from five to 15 years from a military tribunal on Sept. 29 for occupying Salmaniya Medical Complex, possessing weapons and for seeking to overthrow the government. On Oct. 5, Bahrain’s attorney general said the medics would be retried in civilian courts.

Bahraini authorities detained hundreds of people, most of them Shiite Muslims, in a crackdown on protesters who held rallies in February and March of last year to demand representative government and more rights from the country’s Sunni rulers. At least 35 people were killed during the protests and ensuing clashes. Tensions in the island nation have simmered in Shiite areas throughout the past year and have spread to the capital, Manama.

Bahrain’s Shiites represent two-thirds of the population, according to the U.S. State Department, and have long demanded rights equal to those of Sunnis.

Protests flared after the funeral of 22-year-old Fadhel Mirza, who died Saturday after being hit in the head with a tear-gas canister when security forces raided his village, Diraz, on March 1, Al-wefaq, the largest Shiite group, said in an e-mailed statement.

The police, in a statement reported by state-run Bahrain News Agency on Saturday, said the medical report indicated an injury “caused by the impact of a solid body to the right side behind the deceased’s ear.”