Bahraini court hands prison sentences to 29 over 2014 blast

A court in Bahrain has sentenced 29 people to jail terms ranging from five years to life imprisonment over their alleged involvement in a bomb attack against Al Khalifa regime forces in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

Chief of Bahrain’s Terror Crime Prosecution Advocate General Ahmed al-Hammadi said the country’s High Criminal Court ruled on Tuesday that the defendants had detonated an explosive device intended to target regime forces on December 19, 2014.

The blast injured security personnel and damaged patrol vehicles.

According to the prosecutor in the case, the citizenship of two of the convicts were revoked and the other 27 were also ordered to pay 2,782.130 Bahraini dinars (USD 7,389.46).

Earlier this month, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court sentenced five people to life imprisonment over alleged involvement in a bombing against regime forces on al-Janabiya Highway in the coastal town of al-Budaiya, located just 10 kilometers (six miles) southwest of the capital, Manama, on June 4 last year.

This comes as the Bahraini judiciary has come under fire by many human rights groups for handing down long-term sentences to anti-regime protesters and activists in the country.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have repeatedly censured the Bahraini regime over the “rampant” human rights abuses against opposition activists and anti-government protesters.

In its report, titled “Behind the Rhetoric: Human rights abuses in Bahrain continue unabated” which was released earlier this year, the UK-based rights organization criticized Manama for resorting to torture, arbitrary detentions, and the excessive use of force against peaceful government critics, including some as young as 17.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in the streets of the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful rallies.