Cassation court revisits verdicts of 20 convicts in Diraz village illegal sit-in

TDT | Manama

The Court of Cassation revisited the verdicts issued against 20 accused of participating in an illegal sit-in in Diraz village, Northern Governorate, accepting their appeals. The supreme court of Appeal has turned down the appeals filed by them earlier. The appellants were among 146 defendants, who received varying jail terms of one to 10 years, and some of whom were also acquitted.

Police arrested 286 suspects, including several wanted terrorists, in connection with the incident. The interior ministry earlier said that those taking part in the illegal gathering resorted to pasting posters containing illegal phrases on the buildings and placed several roadblocks in the area.

The court slashed the jail terms in some of the cases, rejected some appeals, and ordered retrials in others. The accused were charged with prison break, assaulting policemen, attempted murder, joining terrorist group, possessing and planting bombs and explosive devices.