Bahrain has sentenced three people to life in prison for conspiring with and spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the state continues a sweeping crackdown following Iranian attacks.
Bahrain, which houses a major US military base, was hit hard by Iran during the Middle East war, as Tehran launched waves of missile and drone strikes on Gulf states, in response to US and Israeli air raids on the Islamic republic in February.
A Bahraini court on Tuesday sentenced 24 people in separate cases tied to espionage for the IRGC, support for Iranian attacks against the kingdom and acts of violence and sabotage, the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported.
Bahrain’s High Criminal Court handed life sentences to three defendants, while others received prison terms of up to 10 years, according to the country's Terror Crimes Prosecution. The court also imposed fines, ordered the confiscation of seized materials and ruled that three convicted foreigners be permanently deported after serving their sentences.
In the first case, prosecutors said a woman was convicted of communicating and co-operating with the IRGC through a social media account used to publish photos and co-ordinates of sensitive sites and vital facilities inside Bahrain.
Authorities said the posts included content deemed harmful to the country’s military, political and economic standing. The woman was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors also accused her of publishing videos and images of sites that had previously come under attack in order to glorify and encourage such actions.
In a second case, prosecutors said investigations found that Iranian intelligence services and the IRGC had financed and directed leaders of militant groups based in Iran to monitor critical sites inside Bahrain in preparation for attacks aimed at undermining security and stability, according to BNA.
Authorities said that the first defendant, who is said to have fled to Iran, recruited a second defendant inside Bahrain to carry out militant operations, transfer funds intended to support militant elements and gather information on strategic sites for transmission to the IRGC and intelligence agencies.
The court sentenced both men to life in prison and fined them 10,000 Bahraini dinars ($26,500) each, the news agency said.
In nine other cases linked to expressions of support for Iranian attacks on Bahrain, the obtaining and dissemination of restricted information and the photographing of prohibited sites, the court sentenced 10 defendants to prison terms of up to 10 years. Some were fined 2,000 dinars, while authorities also ordered the confiscation of seized items and the deportation of three convicts after they complete their sentences.
The head of the Terror Crimes Prosecution said Bahrain’s cyber crime unit had identified social media accounts that published images, videos and comments supporting the Iranian attacks, as well as restricted information prohibited from circulation.
Bahrain said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 194 Iranian missiles and 523 drones during the regional war, before a ceasefire between Iran and the US and Israel came into effect on April 8.
Last month, five people were sentenced to life in Bahrain for plotting “terrorist and hostile acts” with Iran.
On Saturday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said that the country’s security services had dismantled an organisation accused of links to the IRGC and arrested 41 of its suspected members.
