12 terrorists to lose Bahraini citizenship

Manama : The Supreme Appeals Court yesterday upheld the decision to remove the Bahraini citizenship of 12 defendants convicted of forming a terrorist group. 

All the defendants were earlier sentenced to life imprisonments, but the court reduced five of their sentences. Two of them received 15 years in prison each, while the remaining three were given 10 years each. 

Two other men, including an Indian and a Bangladeshi, are implicated in the same case for abetting the 12 defendants. They lost appeals on their one-year sentences. The duo is suspected of being used by their co-defendants to carry out radical activities across the Kingdom. 

The cell is responsible of six bombings occurred between 2013 and 2014 in Qurayyah and Janabiya. The accused men were caught in possession of explosives and materials used to manufacture arms and grenades. 

They allegedly lured security officers by setting tyres ablaze, under which they hid bombs set to explode via wireless devices. Several policemen were injured in the attacks, which also caused damages to patrol vehicles and a car owned by a civilian. 

The Indian and the Bangladeshi are said to have helped in obtaining SIM cards that were used to detonate the bombs.