Bahrain's High Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced three defendants to life imprisonment for collaborating with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and engaging in hostile acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The court also sentenced 10 other defendants to prison terms of up to five years on charges of committing acts of violence and sabotage during the heinous Iranian attacks on the country.
Regarding the three defendants sentenced to life imprisonment, the head of Bahrain's Terrorism Crimes Prosecution stated that the High Criminal Court, during its session on Tuesday, issued rulings in two separate cases involving collaboration with a hostile foreign state. The three defendants were charged with collaborating with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and those acting on its behalf in order to assist it in carrying out its hostile and terrorist acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain and harming its interests. The court sentenced all three to life imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of the seized items.
The prosecutor said the first case stemmed from information, later confirmed by investigations conducted by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, indicating that the first defendant, a fugitive wanted by the security authorities and currently outside the country, was working on behalf of Iran's IRGC and had recruited the second defendant, who was in Bahrain, to provide information on vital locations across the Kingdom for the purpose of targeting them during the brutal Iranian aggression.
He added that the second case arose from information, also confirmed by investigations conducted by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, indicating that the defendant had communicated with an online account operated by the terrorist Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), providing it with video footage of the heinous Iranian terrorist attacks on vital facilities in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He also sent a number of locations and coordinates of vital sites inside the country to be targeted by the enemy, thereby threatening the security and safety of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the lives of its citizens and residents.
The Public Prosecution immediately launched investigations into both cases upon receiving the reports. It questioned the two defendants inside the country, heard testimony from witnesses, and appointed technical experts to examine the seized electronic devices.
The investigation concluded that the data and information provided by the defendants to Iran's IRGC "constituted a fundamental pillar in the heinous hostile Iranian terrorist attacks" that targeted a number of vital and important facilities and infrastructure across the Kingdom of Bahrain, placing the country's security and stability at risk.
He added: "Accordingly, the Public Prosecution ordered that the defendants be referred to the High Criminal Court. The two cases were heard separately over several sessions, during which all prescribed legal guarantees were observed, including the presence of the defendants' lawyers and their full opportunity to present their defense, before the court issued its ruling during Tuesday's session."
In this context, the Public Prosecution affirmed that the crime of collaborating with foreign states hostile to the Kingdom of Bahrain is among the gravest offenses against national security because it enables such states to obtain information that can be exploited to carry out hostile acts targeting the Kingdom and its interests. The Public Prosecution also stressed that, within the authority granted to it by law, it will continue to firmly confront anyone who commits such criminal acts and take the necessary deterrent legal measures against them in order to safeguard the country's security and stability.
Prison Sentences for 10 Defendants
The head of the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution also stated that the High Criminal Court, during its session on Tuesday, issued rulings in two separate cases involving 10 defendants who committed acts of violence and sabotage during the heinous Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain last March.
The court sentenced them to prison terms of up to five years and ordered the confiscation of the seized items.
The two cases stemmed from reports submitted to the Public Prosecution by the competent security authority at the Ministry of Interior stating that the defendants had been apprehended in the act at the scene of the two incidents after participating in acts of violence and sabotage that coincided with the heinous Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain, after which they were referred to the Public Prosecution.
