Manama – A Bahraini court issued on Wednesday prison and life sentences against 22 convicts involved in forming a terrorist cell, which killed two policemen and injured six in Sitra Island by a bomb detonated remotely.
The cell included former MP and member of the now-banned al-Wefaq opposition group as he was found guilty of using Iranian funds to finance the terrorist cell.
Bahrain’s court sentenced two to death, who are among 24 Bahraini suspects.
The High Criminal Court also sentenced five other people to life in jail and 15 more to prison terms ranging from six months to 10 years while two more were cleared, the prosecutor said in a statement.
Terror Crime Prosecution Chief Attorney General Ahmed al-Hamadi said in a statement that the suspects were convicted of killing the two police personnel in a bus blast in Sitra, one of the disturbed areas in Bahrain.
The court also revoked the citizenship of eight members of the group and ordered seven others to pay 6,640 dinar ($17,616) to cover damages caused by the blast.
They all were sentenced over allegations including involvement in “terror-related” activities and the alleged killing of police officers and the attempted murder of others.
The details of the incident go back to July 28, 2015 when the public prosecution received a notice from the Police Directorate of the capital’s Governorate saying that an explosion had occurred in Sitra and led to the death of two policemen and the injury of six others.
The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation was able to arrest the perpetrators of the attack, who had previously formed a terrorist cell at the directions of other accused persons residing in Iran.
The cell sought carrying out terrorist attacks and targeting police patrols. A number of defendants assigned Hassan Isa, one of the leaders of al-Wefaq group to fund the terrorist cell to be able to carry out the operations.