Bahrain Mirror: A Bahraini High Appeals Court upheld a five-year prison sentence issued against 3 appellants over charges of burning electrical box in Hamad Town, assembling and acquiring inflammable materials.

The Public Prosecution claimed that the defendants intentionally set fire on May 15, 2013 to a lightening box owned by the Electricity and Water Authority threatening people's lives and public property. The prosecution further alleged that the suspects acquired inflammable materials "Molotov" for the purpose of threatening people's lives.

The authorities claim that they received a notice from Hamad Town stating that a lightening box was set to fire in Sheikh Hamad Street and that the fire was extinguished. The physical evidence report revealed that the suspects used gasoline and Molotov to burn the box. Thus, investigations were carried on to identify the suspects and two of them were arrested.    

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against political detainees, 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