Bahrain Mirror: The Fifth Criminal High Court of Appeals reduced the sentence of a defendant from life imprisonment to 15 years in prison, who is accused of the organization and management of a terrorist group, contrary to the provisions of the law, as well as joining the group and having possession of explosives and tools used in the manufacture of explosives and firearms, while upholding the rest of the verdict.

The appellant is one of ten defendants sentenced by the Court of First Instance to life imprisonment and stripped of their nationalities. The Court also sentenced one of them (the appellant) to one month in jail, fining him 100 dinars and ordered the confiscation of the seizures.

The authorities accuse the defendants and others of joining a "terrorist group" and training on the use of weapons and explosives in Iran and Iraq for the purpose of carrying out operations inside Bahrain.

Human rights groups have challenged the charges attributed to the defendants as a result of doubts about the independence of the Bahraini judiciary, whose members are appointed by royal decrees, and also since it issues rulings based on confessions extracted under torture, and evidence provided by secret investigations and anonymous witnesses.

Arabic Version