Life term of blast suspect reduced

A person accused of detonating a bomb in Dumistan had his life sentence commuted to 15 years on appeal.

The accused, along with another suspect, plotted to bomb police officers in Dumistan. His co-accused is still at large and was held guilty in absentia. They were both convicted of attempted murder, possessing explosives and damaging a private property.

According to court files, the duo planted an improvised explosive near a charity organisation’s building. The pair remotely detonated it upon the arrival of policemen, who were assigned to remove anti-government posters and graffiti.

The blast, which occurred on December 12, 2013, caused severe injuries to two police officers.

“I called my friend (the second accused) after we agreed to target policemen. He said we would first plant a bomb and then write political slogans on the wall to attract officers to the area,” the first accused told prosecutors earlier.

“He then handed me the bomb, which we placed in an under construction building in Dumistan. My friend dug into the ground, placed the bomb and covered it with sand,” he added.

He said they detonated the bomb when the officers arrived, and quickly fled the scene.

The injured policemen were taken to BDF Hospital where one of them underwent an operation on his right leg.

The High Criminal Court earlier found both the accused guilty based on prosecution witnesses, and their confessions before the Public Prosecution.

It’s worth to note that a police officer was killed in December last year in an explosion in Dumistan. The bomb went off as he and his colleagues were confronting miscreants, securing roads and trying to maintain order.

He was the sixth police officer to be killed in Bahrain last year.