Bahraini court sentences dozen to life in prison, revokes their citizenships
A court in Bahrain has sentenced twelve people to life imprisonment and revoked their citizenship over alleged involvement in plotting bomb attacks against Al Khalifa regime forces in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.
Bahrain's high criminal court, presided by Judge Sheikh Mohammed bin Ali Al Khalifa, ruled on Sunday that the defendants had formed what it termed as a “terrorist group that carried out a string of bombings against members of the security forces” in the northwestern al-Qaryah regions as well as Janabiyah village, Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.
The judge said the twelve Bahrainis along with two Asian men, whose nationalities were not immediately known, placed tires on the streets in the two mentioned areas and then set them ablaze to draw police forces to the scene. They then set off remote-controlled improvised explosive devices to strike the security personnel.
The allegations come despite the fact that no Bahraini police officer has sustained injuries in the bombings.
On November 5, Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor Ahmed al-Hammadi said five Bahrainis, most of them sentenced in absentia, were handed life sentence and also stripped of their citizenship.
Amnesty International and other rights groups have on occasions criticized the Bahraini regime over its “rampant” human rights abuses against opposition figures and pro-democracy demonstrators.
In its April report, entitled “Behind the rhetoric: Human rights abuses in Bahrain continue unabated,” the UK-based rights organization censured Manama for resorting to torture, arbitrary detentions, and the excessive use of force against peaceful government critics, including some as young as 17.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in the streets of the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful rallies
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