12 terror suspects handed life sentences for bombings

Manama, Nov 15 (BNA): Advocate General Ahmed Al-Hammadi today announced that the High Criminal Court handed down life sentences to 12 suspects on trial for carrying out terrorist activities in the Kingdom and revoked their citizenship. The 12 suspects faced terror-related charges of attempted murder, acquiring and using high-grade explosives against policemen and civilians, arson, illegal assembly and rioting. Evidence presented by the Public Prosecution during the trial revealed that investigations had directly linked the defendants to six bombings carried out between 2013 and 2014 in and around Daih village in the Northern Governorate, which targeted policemen. Al-Hammadi said that the Public Prosecution had filed formal charges against the suspects based on evidence gathered during investigations, including fingerprints which directly matched five of the suspects to explosives and bomb-making materials found in a house in Saar, as well as the suspects’ confessions and witnesses' statements. The Advocate General also noted that the Court had sentenced two other suspects on trial for similar terror-related charges to one year in jail each, with orders that both be deported after serving their terms. Al-Hammadi confirmed that all the defendants were provided ample time to meet with their legal defence teams to prepare their case, and stood trial in the High Criminal Court in the presence of their lawyers. He noted that the suspects had the full and legal right to challenge the rulings through the Court of Appeals.