Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's Supreme Court of Appeals reconfirmed sentencing 7 suspects to 10 and 15 years in prison over blowing up two gas cylinders in a vehicle in the village of Sehla.

A Bahraini Court of First Instance had sentenced the first 3 suspects to 15 years in prison, and the rest to 10. It also fined all the defendants 100 BD. The case papers indicate that the fifth suspect is a policeman.

The Public Prosecution accused the first 3 suspects of detonating explosives to horrify innocent people. It claimed that they put two gas cylinders in a vehicle, drove it to the village of Sehla and left it in a site where other vehicles were parked. When they knew the policemen arrived, the first suspect called a phone number whose sim card is connected to detonator on the cylinders, thus causing one of the cylenders to explode.

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against the suspects 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 Issue