Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini high criminal court sentenced one defendant to  3 years in prison and 6 other to 10 over charges of assembling and setting fire to an armored police vehicle in Al-Ekr. The court also fined all the defendants 3709 BD and 820 Fils to be paid to the Ministry of Interior.

The Public Prosecution claimed that the defendants, on November 3, 2015, along with other unknown suspects set fire to the said vehicle, owned by Ministry of Interior, endangering people's lives and properties, took part in an assembly of more than 5 people, aiming at disrupting public peace and committing crime, and acquiring Molotov Cocktails, aiming at endangering people's lives and properties.

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