Bahrain Court Sentences One to Death and 22 to Life Imprisonment

The Bahraini criminal court sentenced one person to death for membership in a 'terrorist' group and for killing a police officer and a civilian, while 22 others received life sentences and revocation of their Bahraini citizenship. The convicted were charged with forming a terrorist group, joining it, killing a police officer and a civilian, possessing weapons and explosives for terrorist purposes, and inciting riots. According to the state news agency Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Ahmad Hamadi, head of the Terror Crimes Prosecutor's Office, stated: 'The court sentenced the first defendant to death, and the other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment.' He added: 'Based on the court's ruling, the citizenship of all the convicted individuals will be revoked, and the second, third, and fourth defendants were fined 200,000 Bahraini dinars (approximately $530,000).' The report did not mention the names of the defendants. According to this report, the case dates back to December 1, 2014, when police forces received reports of a strange object placed near the special police station in the Dammistan area. The report adds that after police arrived at the scene, the object, which was a bomb, exploded, resulting in the death of one police officer. A second explosion occurred on the same day near the Zain al-Abidin Mosque in the Karzakan area, injuring an elderly Bahraini citizen and an Asian national. The elderly man died from his injuries in the hospital. The report continues: 'Bahrain's intelligence agency concluded in its investigations that the perpetrators of the two incidents are part of a group. It was also determined that these individuals had formed a terrorist group specializing in bomb-making aimed at targeting police forces and damaging their vehicles.' The mentioned rulings were issued one day after the fourth branch of the criminal court sentenced 29 individuals to five to twenty-five years in prison for their involvement in a bomb explosion that killed a police officer last year. Based on this ruling, the Bahraini citizenship of two of the convicted individuals will also be revoked. According to the head of the Terror Crimes Prosecutor's Office in Bahrain, this case relates to an explosion that occurred last December, which killed one police officer, injured several others, and damaged their patrol vehicles. Bahrain has experienced unrest since 2011. Following the onset of revolutions in some Arab countries known as the 'Arab Spring,' the Shiite majority in Bahrain protested for reforms and a greater role in governance. They accuse the Bahraini government, managed by a Sunni minority, of religious discrimination against them. However, the Bahraini government denies any discrimination against Shiites and accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of inciting protests in the country. Despite suppressing street protests, various areas in Bahrain, including Shiite-majority villages, have witnessed violence and clashes between security forces and protesters. Police forces have also been targeted multiple times by attacks using homemade bombs or gunfire, resulting in casualties among them. In these clashes, dozens of opponents have also lost their lives.