Court jails three over terror offences, revokes citizenship

Two suspects, accused of joining a terrorist group, have been sentenced to 10 years each in jail by the fourth High Criminal Court yesterday. They were also fined BD 600 and BD 500 respectively, Acting Head of the Terror Crime Prosecution, Chief Prosecutor Hamad Shaheen said. The court also handed down a seven-year jail term to another defendant (the second), as well as revoked the citizenship of all of them.  

The suspects were found guilty of joining a terrorist group, training on the use of weapons and explosives, possessing weapons and ammunition for terrorist purposes, in addition to possessing pornographic materials. Court files say the first suspect contacted the terrorist elements in Bahrain and abroad and travelled to Iraq in 2017, where he received military training on making and using explosives and firearms by the Sariyya al-Muqawama al-Sha’bia (Popular Resistance Brigades)-affiliated second suspect.  

The latter recruited the first to that terrorist group in order to prepare him to carry out terrorist acts in Bahrain.  The first defendant was also trained on making and using explosives by the third suspect outside Bahrain.  The first suspect was also found guilty of transporting materials for making explosives from Bani Jamra to Hamad Town, as well as monitoring and following the movement of an Interior Ministry’s officer to target him.  

The Public Prosecution relied on technical and verbal evidence, including the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and the confession of the suspects.  The accused were referred to the High Criminal Court which heard the case and provided them with all legal guarantees and issued its afore-mentioned verdict.  The suspects have the right to challenge the ruling before the Court of Appeal and, then at the Court of Cassation as guaranteed by the Bahraini Constitution.