Bahrain Halts Military Trials for Protesters

The Associated Press reports:

Bahrain on Thursday stopped bringing anti-government protesters to trial at a special tribunal with military prosecutors, a lawyer said, ending a practice criticized as unfair by rights activists and the Gulf kingdom's Western allies.

The tribunal was set up in March when Bahrain's Sunni rulers imposed martial law to help quash protests by Shiites demanding political freedoms and greater rights. The trials of dozens of opposition figures, human rights activists and Shiite professionals continued even after the emergency laws were lifted earlier this month.