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Bahrain courts hear 38 terror cases

Manama, January 21, 2014

Thirty-eight terrorism trials were heard by Bahrain's courts last year.

They were referred to the criminal courts by the Public Prosecution and were connected to explosions; murder and attempted murder of policemen and civilians; targeting of MPs' homes; establishment of terrorist cells; attacks on car showrooms and police stations; and possession of unlicensed weapons, ammunition and explosives.

Charges were brought against individuals allegedly behind bombings in Bani Jamra, Eker, Duraz, Muharraq, Adliya, Manama and Riffa, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

"The courts have ruled in 20 of those cases, while 18 are still ongoing at first degree courts. They include Manama and Riffa bombings and murder of policemen," attorney-general Dr Ali bin Fadhel Al Buainain told journalists yesterday.

He gave a breakdown of the criminal cases handled last year during a press conference at the Public Prosecution, in the Diplomatic Area.

Dr Al Buainain revealed there had been a significant year-on-year drop in the number of drug-related trials.

The number of drug cases that went before a court more than halved from 2,088 in 2012 to just 926 last year.

Meanwhile, cases relating to traffic misdemeanours were down by around a third from 34,403 in 2012 to 23,492 last year.

However, other misdemeanours increased from 23,616 to 36,850 over the same period.

Serious crime cases also increased from 1,111 in 2012 to 1,463 last year, although theft trials were down slightly from 5,575 to 5,125.

Juvenile cases also increased from 223 to 237 year on year.

Other cases referred to the courts last year included six related to corruption: one of which was connected to contaminated meat shipments, another surrounding violations at a farms project and one involving alleged embezzlement at the General Organisation of Social Insurance.

There were also five cases of human trafficking last year, with a verdict being returned in one of them.

Dr Al Buainain said last year had been a busy one for the Public Prosecution, although details of its Special Investigation Unit - which was set up based on a Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry recommendation to probe allegations of police torture, killings and other abuses - were not discussed.

However, he did say that measures had been taken to improve the work of the Public Prosecution.

"We carried out workshops to train members of the Public Prosecution and a special office was created where lawyers can present requests," he said. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | Terror | Trial | Courts |

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