Bahrain sentences seven for oil pipeline explosion

Bahraini courts said those found guilty were co-ordinating with Iran over the attacks

Emergency and rescue workers are seen blocking the road leading to a fire in at oil pipeline in Buri village south of Manama, Bahrain, November 10, 2017. Picture taken November 10, 2017.  REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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Bahrain sentenced seven citizens found guilty of terrorism against the state after an attack on an oil pipeline in November last year.

Six of the seven have had their citizenship revoked, while five have been handed life sentences. The other two were sentenced to 10 and five years in jail.

They were convicted of establishing a terrorist group, using explosives in a terrorist blast, and receiving financing and training in the use of weapons from terrorist groups.

Two were convicted in their absence and remain at large. The High Criminal Court this week said they were responsible for recruiting and training the other five.

Chief prosecutor Hamad Shaheen said two of the convicts received training on the “use and making of weapons and explosives in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard camps for the purpose of committing terrorist crimes in Bahrain”.

The move comes amid a crackdown on opposition groups in the country and before parliamentary elections, which the main opposition group has boycotted, on November 24.

Read more: Bahrain to hold elections on November 24

Last year, Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed said Iran was responsible for the oil pipeline explosion.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rahsid bin Abdullah said that the explosion happened “either through direct calls or guidance from Iran”.

Saudi Arabia suspended pumping oil to Bahrain after the attacks in the Buri area of Bahrain but resumed operations shortly after.

The blast caused damage to the pipeline worth about 65,000 Bahraini dinars (Dh633,405) and to nearby houses.

Recently, courts in the country prosecuted 169 defendants suspected of being part of a militant group the courts called “Bahraini Hezbollah”.

Last year, Bahrain handed down life sentences to 10 men on charges of plotting attacks against the state; three of whom were sentenced in their absence after fleeing to Iran.