115 terrorists jailed

Manama : The fourth High Criminal Court yesterday sentenced 115 members of the Zulfiqar Brigades, a terror group, to various terms in jail, ranging from three years to life, and stripped them of citizenship.

Fifty-three members of the terror group were sentenced to life-term in jail, three to 15 years, one to 10 years, 15 to seven years, 37 to five years and  six to three years, Chief Prosecutor and Acting Chief of the Terror Crimes Prosecution Hamad Shaheen said. The court acquitted 23 suspects in the case.

The accused were found guilty of forming and running a 138-member terror group, contrary to the provisions of the law in the country, carrying out blasts, possessing explosives, indulging in weapons and explosives training and attempted murder of policemen. They were also found guilty of placing bogus explosives in public areas, exchanging  sensitive information with a foreign country to carry out hostile acts against the Kingdom, holding illegal gatherings, rioting, possessing flammable materials and damaging property.

The Public Prosecution interrogated 86 suspects in the presence of their defence lawyers. All the accused, except six,  confessed to the crimes. The Public Prosecution also conducted inspections of various sites where they stored weapons and explosives, collected evidence from the accused who described the way they committed the crimes, which was in consistency with their confessions and the results of the technical examination.

The evidence of their crimes was collected based on witness statements, confessions of the suspects, technical evidence, and forensic reports. The 86 accused were referred to the Fourth High Criminal Court which ordered the arrest of the remaining suspects.

The proceeding was held in an open court in the presence of their lawyers, who were enabled to present their arguments and full legal rights.