Seventeen terror suspects sentenced for arson

Manama, Feb. 19 (BNA): Terror Crime Prosecution Chief Advocate General Chancellor Dr. Ahmed Al Hammadi said the Fourth High Criminal Court ruled today in the case of seventeen suspects accused of arson, possessing bomb-making materials for a terror purpose, possessing a weapon and ammunition without a licence, rioting, possessing Molotov cocktails, theft and sabotage. The court sentenced them all to ten years in jail and ordered the revocation of their Bahraini citizenship. It also handed one suspect seven years in prison and fined him BD 500. The same suspect, alongside another one, were sentenced to three years in prison and fined BD 500 each. The court also ruled all the suspects pay jointly BD 3790 in compensation for the damage caused to a civil patrol. The first suspect was also fined BD 100 and sentenced to two years in jail. The court also ordered confiscation of the seized items. During a security surveillance in a civil patrol in Eker, policemen were taken aback and forced to leave the patrol when rioters besieged them, damaged, stole and set ablaze their vehicle. Investigation led to the identification of the suspects and the arrest of some of them. One of the suspects reported on a warehouse in a cemetery in Eker which was used to store materials and equipment used in terrorist acts. He also reported on a fire weapon. The Public Prosecution relied in its investigation on verbal and technical evidences, including the prosecution witnesses, the suspects' confession and the Criminal Investigation Directorate's reports. The suspects were referred to the Fourth High Criminal Court which heard the case in the presence of the suspects' lawyers and issued its afore-mentioned verdict after providing the suspects with all legal guarantees.