Punishment upheld for police car burners

TDT | Manama

The Court of Cassation recently upheld the punishment of two defendants who were previously convicted among others of burning a police vehicle in Nuwaidrat village in 2017. The case involved six other defendants and they were all sentenced to 10 years in jail by a first degree court.

The eight defendants appealed against the initial verdict and got the sentence reduced by the Supreme Court of Appeals to seven years. Two of them appealed once again against the verdict, but the Court of Cassation rejected their plea and upheld the seven-year sentence. The eight convicts were among a group of 50 individuals who joined an illegal gathering in Nuwaidrat on January 18, 2017.

Armed with Molotov cocktails, the individuals targeted Public Security forces that were stationed near the village and hurled the burning bottles at them. One of the appellants threw a Molotov cocktail bottle through a hole in the vehicle. The bottle exploded inside the vehicle, injuring three policemen and eventually burning the vehicle completely.

The attack caused permanent disability to one of the policemen, while the other two sustained multiple burns and injuries, which prevented them from performing their duties for more than 20 days. They were convicted of attacking and injuring on-duty policemen, participating in an illegal gathering of more than five individuals with the intent of disturbing public security and possessing Molotov cocktails.