BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

24th/25th September 2014

Bahrain sentences
nine protestors to life
in prison
Nine Bahraini protestors
have been jailed for life and
stripped of their nationality
for allegedly smuggling
arms to be used in terrorist
acts, the prosecutor
general of the country with
the second highest prison
population rate per 100,000
amongst Arab states in the
West Asian and North
African region announced
on Monday.
A Manama court also found
all nine guilty of having
contacted an agent of an
unnamed foreign country
to carry out acts hostile to
Bahrain, he said in a
statement.
The case dates back to
February 2013 when
authorities in the country
announced they had
allegedly dismantled a
terrorist cell with links to
Iran.
This is the latest in a series
of convictions that the
Bahraini regime has
imposed against protesters,
including prominent rights
activists.
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Bahrain court
revokes citizenship
of nine over arms
smuggling -agency
A Bahraini court on Monday
revoked the citizenship of
nine people convicted of
trying to smuggle weapons
into the country and it
sentenced them to life in
prison, the Gulf Arab
kingdom's ofcial news
agency said.
King Hamad, in a move that
alarmed human rights
groups, last year toughened
penalties in anti-terrorism
laws ahead of planned anti-
government protests by
approving proposals that
included stripping people
convicted of "dangerous
terror crimes" of their
citizenship.
Sunni Muslim-ruled
Bahrain, strategically
important to the West
because it hosts the U.S.
Fifth Fleet as a bulwark
against Iran across the
Gulf, has been dogged by
unrest since 2011 mainly by
members of the majority
Shi'ite community
demanding more
democracy. Demonstrations
have increasingly given way
to violence in recent months
in which militants have set
off home-made bombs that
killed or wounded several
policemen.
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Bahrain sentences
nine protesters to life
in prison
A court in Bahrain has
sentenced nine anti-regime
activists to life in prison and
revoked their citizenship.
All nine convicts were
implicated in the case of
allegedly smuggling
weapons and explosives by
sea.
This is the latest in a series
of convictions that the Al
Khalifa regime has imposed
against protesters, including
prominent rights activists.
Dozens of Bahrainis
including politicians,
academics and civilians
both at home and abroad
have been also deprived of
their citizenship.
Read More
Nine Bahraini Shias
stripped of
nationality
A Bahraini court has
sentenced nine people to
life and revoked their
citizenship for smuggling
arms to be used in "terrorist
acts," the Gulf kingdom's
prosecutor general has
said.
The Bahrain News Agency
(BNA) said on Monday that
the Fourth Grand Criminal
Court had found the
men, who are all Bahraini-
born Shias, guilty of
smuggling weapons,
including explosives, into
the country in a case that
dates back to December
2013.
The court in Manama also
found them guilty of having
contacted an agent of an
unnamed foreign country
"to carry out acts hostile to
Bahrain," the prosecutor
general said in a statement.
Read More
Manama strips 9
people of Bahraini
citizenship under
anti-terrorism law
A Bahraini court has
revoked the citizenship of
nine men as it sentenced
them to life in prison on
charges of being part of a
terrorist cell that smuggled
weapons and explosives via
the sea into the country.
The High Criminal Court on
Monday said that it based
its ruling on the 2006 anti-
terror legislation amended
in 2003 after it found the
defendants guilty of
weapon-smuggling,
planning terrorist attacks on
vital and security
installations and spreading
chaos in the country.
Read More
Bahrain election
protest: Opposition
group 'occupies'
capital's downtown
Pouring oil on roads,
opposition activists in
Bahrain have attempted to
occupy central areas of the
capital Manama, media
reported. In response police
closed access to some
central streets of the city
while an upcoming rally was
also banned.
The opposition is protesting
plans by the Bahraini
authorities to change voting
rules in the run up to
elections on the 22
November, which they say
will rob some of the
electorate of their vote, RIA
Novostireported from
Manama.
RIA's correspondent said
the Monday night action,
which also involved burning
tires, was led byFebruary
14 opposition group.
Read More
Protests erupt in
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
after killing of man
dubbed 'terrorist' -
An eastern province of
Saudi Arabia has erupted in
protest on Tuesday night
after the funeral of Bassem
al-Qadihi, who activists say
was killed during a peaceful
protest, but who Saudi
authorities allege was
involved in "terrorist
crimes."
Hundreds of mourners
thronged the streets of the
restive majority-Shiite
province of Qatif in a mass
funeral procession for
Qadihi, amid reports of a
erce gun-battle between
Saudi security forces and
people protesting Qadihi's
killing.
The Saudi Interior Ministry
announced on 26
September that Qadihi has
been arrested, having been
wanted on allegations that
he launched armed attacks
on civilians and security
personnel and incited
young people to violence.
Read More
Korea Diary: Did
Bahrain threat lead to
gold reinstatement?
Bahraini runner Ruth Jebet
at rst lost her gold medal
when disqualied after
winning the womens 3,000-
metre steeplechase at the
weekend, before winning it
back on appeal.
Jebet was on the way to a
record-breaking effort of
9min 31.36sec when she
lost her balance and
stepped out on to the ineld
on Saturday.
The medals ceremony was
midway through, with the
third and second place
nishers accepting their
medals, when it was
announced that Jebet had
been disqualied.
Read More