Life for terrorists for kidnapping, torturing victims

Manama, Nov. 29 (BNA): The High Criminal Court sentenced two defendants to life and eight others to 15 years in jail. Two more were given 10 years in prison, the head of the anti-terror crimes prosecution Advocate General Ahmed Al Hammadi said. The defendants were charged with forming the so-called the Commission for the Secret Services of the Revolution in Bahrain to detain people suspected of cooperating with the official security agencies and coerce them through torture into confessions. The group wanted to scare and terrorise Bahraini citizens and expatriates to prevent them from communicating with the security agencies. They kidnapped four people on different dates, detained and tortured them. They photographed them and posted their pictures on social media. Evidence gathered about their terrorist actions included testimonies from witnesses, technical evidence and the defendants' confessions. The trial was held in the presence of their lawyers who presented their pleadings. Under Bahrain's legal laws, the defendants can appeal the court verdicts at the Court of Appeals and subsequently at the Court of Cassation.