Bahrain Sentences Iran's Spies

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court sentenced nine individuals to life imprisonment after convicting them of spying for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the intent of executing terrorist acts against the Kingdom and destabilising its national security. Two further defendants in the same proceedings received three-year sentences, and all seized items were confiscated.

The verdicts, delivered across two separate but interconnected cases, exposed a sophisticated espionage network directed by a fugitive operative allegedly running missions for the Revolutionary Guard from outside Bahrain.

In the first case, the fugitive recruited a local contact inside the Kingdom, tasking him with surveilling and photographing critical national installations and transmitting gathered intelligence back to the Guard. To sustain the operation financially, a third defendant — operating an exchange and cryptocurrency business from Iran — used Iranian and Bahraini bank accounts to funnel funds to network members. Two further defendants provided cover for surveillance activities while fully aware of the operation's nature.

A second case revealed the same fugitive operative had built a parallel network, recruiting additional individuals inside Bahrain to monitor vital facilities, identify further recruits, and lay the groundwork for a structured terrorist plan targeting the Kingdom's critical infrastructure.

Investigating officers confirmed the collected intelligence was directly used as a foundation for hostile activities against national installations.

Terror Support Earns Ten Years

In a separate set of cases heard the same day, three defendants were each sentenced to ten years in prison and fined 2,000 Bahraini dinars for endorsing terrorist attacks against Bahrain, possessing classified data, and filming locations where photography is prohibited — offences committed during a period of active hostile attacks against the Kingdom.

The cases stemmed from reports by the Cybercrime Directorate identifying social media accounts publishing praise for terrorist acts alongside sensitive restricted locations. Technical examination of seized electronic devices confirmed all charges.