Life in jail for attempt to kill policemen

Manama, Dec 27 (BNA): Chief of Terror Crime Prosecution Advocate General Ahmed Al-Hammadi stated that the Fourth High Criminal Court today sentenced one defendant to life imprisonment on charges of attempted murder, possession of explosives and detonating them for terrorist purposes. It also sentenced a second defendant to three years in prison on the charge of not reporting a terror crime even though he knew about it before it took place. The case dates back to late January. Investigations revealed that the first defendant alongside other unidentified suspects monitored the movement of the policemen stationed in Al-Muqsha village and noticed that they used the public toilet of a petrol station. The first defendant planted an explosive device inside the petrol station toilet, and an accomplice detonated it when policemen entered the lavatory, resulting in serious injuries to two policemen who were transported to a hospital. The public prosecution inspected the scene and the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation conducted an intensive investigation that led to the arrest of the two defendants who were referred to the public prosecutor. The Public prosecution pressed the charges based on anecdotal evidence, the testimonies of witnesses and technical evidences, including reports of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Forensic Evidence, as well as footage taken from the security surveillance cameras. The two defendants were referred to the Fourth High Criminal Court where the case was heard in the presence of the defendants' lawyers who presented their statement of defence. The defendants were provided with all legal guarantees. The defendants have the right to appeal their convictions before the Court of Appeal in accordance with the deadlines prescribed by the law if there is a legal ground to support their appeal. Under the Bahraini judicial system, defendants have the right to challenge the verdict by the Court of Appeal at the Court of Cassation.