Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini High Criminal Court sentenced four defendants to 5 years in prison over planting a hoax bomb on the main street in Sehla near the Open Arab University.

The Public Prosecution accused the first three defendants of planting, along with other unknown suspects, a hoax bomb, for a terrorist purpose, as well as acquiring Molotov cocktails, aiming at endangering people's lives, and public and private properties. The prosecution; however, accused the fourth suspect of taking part in the incident by agreeing with the suspects and helping them commit the crime.

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against the defendants, since they doubt the independence of the judiciary, whose members are assigned by royal decrees, and since it issues sentences based on confessions extracted under duress and evidence presented by secret investigations and anonymous witnesses.

Arabic Version