Rioters convicted of attacking police patrol

The High Criminal Court has convicted 26 Bahraini defendants of attacking a police patrol with firebombs. Twenty-one of them received seven years in prison each, while two were given 10 years behind bars each. 

The remaining three men were sentenced to five years in jail each. The defendants were reportedly among the vandals, who rioted in Duraz on April 11, 2013. 

They attacked a police patrol with firebombs and stones, causing injuries to a police officer, while the car was set ablaze. The 26 defendants have been arrested after their involvement was confirmed by police investigations. 

A police officer, who was among the police team deployed to control the riot, said that the they were pelted by Molotov cocktails and iron rods, while a fire extinguisher was also used in the attack. 

“The perpetrators ran away to the village (Duraz), and we chased them. But one of them poured petrol on the patrol from the top of a building and pelted a firebomb on it,” the officer added. 

According to court files, the sixth defendant was arrested in company of a fugitive and an arm was seized from his house. 

He also guided police to a place where several arms had been stashed away.