Forty-five ‘Bahraini Hezbollah’ members lose final plea

TDT | Manama

The Court of Cassation yesterday rejected the final appeals submitted by 45 Bahraini men who are convicted, among others, in a major terrorism case. The appeal of another appellant involved in the same case was accepted and the court referred the matter to a first degree court for retrial.

The appellants are among a group of 169 defendants who were convicted last year after the Fourth High Criminal Court found them guilty of committing several acts of terrorism in a case that is commonly known as the “Bahraini Hezbollah” case. They received various verdicts, which included imprisonment for different periods of time and revocation of citizenship.

A total of 138 members of the group were stripped of their Bahraini citizenships, while other suspects received sentences that varied between three years of imprisonment to life in jail. The defendants were found guilty for the charges of establishing and joining a terrorist group, instigating a terrorist attack, attempted murder and training on the use of weapons and explosives.

The charges also included possessing, obtaining, manufacturing and using explosives and firearms without a permit, in addition to financing a terrorist group, transferring and receiving funds allocated to a terrorist group, and concealing weapons, ammunition and explosives.

As reported earlier on TDT, 96 of the defendants were sentenced to life in prison, 39 got 10 years, 23 of them were sentenced to seven years, one to five years, seven to three years and 30 defendants were acquitted.

Additionally, 96 of the defendants were ordered to pay fines of BD100,000 each, while others were fined with other amounts including BD500 for 12 of them and one defendant was fined BD231.8, as compensation for damages he caused to public and private properties.

Investigations showed that the group was formed after Iranian leaders issued orders to members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to merge several Bahrain-based terrorist groups under one coalition, declaring it as the “Bahraini Hezbollah”.

The groups that joined this organisation included three major terrorist groups—Saraya Al Ashtar (Al Ashtar Brigades), Saraya Al Mukhtar (The Chosen Brigades) and Saraya Al Muqawama Al Sha’abya (Popular Resistance Brigades). All of these groups have a history of committing deadly terrorist attacks in different parts of the Kingdom, resulting in the death of several policemen and civilians.