MANAMA // The death sentences against three men convicted of killing three policemen – including one officer from the UAE – in a bombing in Bahrain have been upheld by an appeal court.
Emirati First Lieutenant Tariq Al Shehi was killed in a bomb attack. The improvised device exploded as security forces dispersed Shiite protesters in the village of Daih, near Manama, in March 2014.
The killers had staged a riot and placed explosives on the road to lure in police before detonating the bombs by remote control.
Thirteen others were injured in the blast.
Investigations revealed that two of the men had formed a terrorist group called Al Ashtar Brigades and recruited others who were skilled in building explosive devices and instigating riots. They targeted police officers and crucial facilities in the kingdom.
Lt Al Shehi was serving in Bahrain as a part of a joint Arabian Gulf force deployed in 2011 to help restore order following demonstrations in the country.
He was the first foreign officer to be reported killed since Saudi-led troops and police were deployed to Bahrain to support its crackdown on the Arab Spring-inspired protests.
The 41-year-old father of four was buried in his native Ras Al Khaimah. A mosque in Bahrain has been renamed his honour, as has a street in his hometown of Shaam.
The appeals court also upheld life sentences for six other defendants convicted of the in the bloodiest attack on security forces since the start of a Shiite-led uprising in February 2011.
A seventh defendant sentenced to life in jail did not appeal because he remains at large, a judicial source said.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
