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Bahrain: 6 jailed for receiving military training in Iran, Iraq

February 20, 2019 at 8:30 am

Image of Bahraini police [Sara Hassan/ Flickr]

The Bahrain Supreme Criminal Court yesterday sentenced six people to varying prison terms and stripped five of them of their nationality after finding them guilty of receiving military training in Iran and Iraq in order to commit crimes in the country.

The official Bahrain News Agency said the court has sentenced three defendants to life imprisonment, two to five years in jail and one defendant to a seven-year jail term, without further details.

The verdicts are preliminary and can be appealed.

According to the agency, the Department of Criminal Investigation in Bahrain has received information indicating that “a group of terrorists have travelled to Iran and Iraq between 2017 and 2018 to receive military training to commit terrorist crimes in Bahrain”.

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The defendants were accused of “receiving military training in Iran and Iraq, coordinating with terrorist elements to commit terrorist acts through electronic programs in Bahrain.”

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised Manama over the high number of death sentences and long jail terms issued against opponents over the past year.

They say the death sentence and length jail terms are being used to quash opposition.