Three Jailed for Life in Two Separate Espionage Cases Involving Iran’s IRGC

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The Head of the Terror Crimes Prosecution stated that the High Criminal Court, at its session held today, issued two judgments in two separate cases involving collaboration with a hostile foreign state. Three defendants were charged with collaborating with the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and those working on its behalf in order to assist it in carrying out hostile and terrorist acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain and harming its interests. The court sentenced all three defendants to life imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of the seized items.

The first case dates back to information received and confirmed by investigations conducted by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, which revealed that the first defendant, a wanted fugitive outside the Kingdom who was working on behalf of the terrorist IRGC, recruited the second defendant, who was in Bahrain, to provide information on vital locations in the Kingdom for the purpose of targeting them during the Iranian aggression.

The second case stems from information confirmed by investigations conducted by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, which revealed that the defendant had communicated with an online account operated by the terrorist IRGC and provided it with video clips of the Iranian terrorist attacks on vital facilities in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He also sent several locations and coordinates of vital sites within the country to be targeted by the enemy, thereby threatening the security and safety of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the lives of its citizens and residents.

The Public Prosecution immediately initiated investigations into both incidents upon receiving the two reports. It questioned the two defendants who were present in the Kingdom, heard witness testimony, and appointed technical experts to examine the seized electronic devices. The investigations concluded that the data and information provided by the defendants to the terrorist IRGC constituted a fundamental element in the hostile Iranian terrorist attacks that targeted a number of vital and important facilities and installations in the Kingdom of Bahrain, thereby placing the Kingdom’s security and stability at risk.

Accordingly, the Public Prosecution referred the defendants to the High Criminal Court. The two cases were heard separately over several hearings, during which all legally prescribed guarantees were observed, including the presence of the defendants’ lawyers and affording them the opportunity to present their defence, until the court delivered its judgments at today’s session.

In this context, the Public Prosecution affirmed that the crime of collaborating with foreign states hostile to the Kingdom of Bahrain is among the most serious offences affecting national security, as it enables such states to obtain information that may be exploited to carry out hostile acts targeting the Kingdom and its interests. The Public Prosecution also stressed that, within the powers granted to it by law, it will continue to firmly confront anyone who commits such criminal acts and take the necessary deterrent legal measures against them in order to safeguard the Kingdom’s security and stability.