Bahrain: Court orders monitoring for 11-year-old

[July 05, 2012]  MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- A Bahraini court has ruled that an 11-year-old boy accused of taking part in anti-government protests can remain at home but must be monitored by authorities.

Bahraini authorities and the boy's lawyer, Shahzalan Khamis, say the court ruled Thursday that Ali Hasan must be monitored by a social worker for a year. Khamis says charges including participation in an illegal gathering were not dropped.

Ali Hasan's case has been closely watched because he was one of the youngest demonstrators taken into custody in connection with the island nation's ongoing unrest.

He was allowed to return home June 11 after spending a month behind bars, but the final verdict in his case wasn't reached until Thursday.

Bahrain has experienced near daily anti-government protests for more than 16 months.

[Associated Press]

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