Three executed in Bahrain for killing policemen

Bahrain has executed three prisoners convicted on “proven charges” of killing three policemen in 2014, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Sunday.

The defendants were found guilty of killing first-lieutenant Tareq Mohammed Al Shehi and policemen Mohammed Raslan and Ammar Abdu Ali Mohammed, BNA quoted chief of Terror Crime Prosecution, Ahmed Al Hammadi, as saying.

The execution was carried out after the Court of Cassation rejected the appeals of the defendants and upheld their death sentence.

The Public Prosecutor requested the implementation of the verdict, and the execution, implemented by a firing squad on Sunday morning, took place in the presence of a judge, Public Prosecution representatives, the prison commandant, a physician and a preacher as stipulated by the law.

The executions mark Bahrain’s first death sentences to be carried out since 2008.

The crime took place on March 3, 2014 when the defendants allegedly planted an explosive device, lured the policemen and detonated it, killing the three policemen and injuring 13 others.

Investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution proved that the suspects had formed their terrorist group within the “Saraya Al-Ashtar” (Al Ashtar Brigades) terror group, and succeeded in recruiting the other suspects, particularly those with experience in making and using explosives, the report said.

The defendants held several meetings and as part of their plan, they agreed to take advantage of a funeral on March 3, 2014 during which police forces would be stationed nearby to maintain order.

The suspects allegedly planted three improvised explosive device (IEDs) on the highway the evening before the crime. While one device exploded, killing the three policemen, the other two IEDs were not detonated as one was impacted by the first explosion and the policemen did not get close to the place where the other had been placed, the report claimed.

The High Criminal Court deliberated the case and sentenced three defendants to death and the remaining suspects to life in jail. Some of the defendants were stripped of their nationality.

The verdicts were later upheld by the Court of Appeals and reviewed again by Court of Cassation on January 9.