Bahrain Mirror: The high appeals court commuted a 10-year jail term against 3 appellants over attacking Khamis police station to 5 years only.

Bahrain's Fourth High Criminal sentenced four Bahrainis, between the ages of 20 and 25 years, to 10 years in prison over charges of assembly and assault against Al-Khamis Police Station and ordered them to jointly pay a sum of 300 Bahraini dinars worth of damages caused to the station.

The authorities claimed that they received a notice from Al-Khamis police station reporting that about 30 people staged a protest in Tashan, alleging that "they hurled Molotov cocktails at policemen attempting murder and at damaging of public property. The attack led to damages in the outer fence of the station, a military patrol vehicle and one of the policemen's private car."

The Ministry of Interior said that its investigations and confidential sources led it to identifying 3 suspects.

The Public Prosecution accused the first three suspects of deliberately setting fire on June 29, 2016 to public property and thus endangering the people's lives and properties for a terrorist aim and sabotaging Ministry of Interior property. The prosecution also accused the defendants of participating in a gathering of more than five persons, aiming at disrupting public security for terrorist aim and having possession of Molotov cocktails.

The prosecution accused the fourth suspect; however, of participating and helping the suspects and unknown others to commit the aforementioned crimes and providing them with the required equipment.

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