Three inmates convicted on proven charges of killing first-lieutenant Tareq Mohammed Al Shehi and policemen Mohammed Raslan and Ammar Abdu Ali Mohammed were executed Sunday morning, Chief of Terror Crime Prosecution, Advocate General Ahmed Al Hammadi said. The execution was carried out after the Court of Cassation rejected the appeals of the defendants, upheld their death sentence, the legally prescribed measures were taken and the Public Prosecutor requested the implementation of the verdict, Al Hammadi was quoted as saying by the Bahrain News Agency. The execution, by a firing squad, 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 crime took place on March 3, 2014, when the defendants planted an explosive device, attracted the attention of the policemen and detonated it, killing the three policemen and injuring 13 others. The 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. They plotted to carry out terrorist attacks against security forces and to target security and vital installations in the kingdom. They managed to make explosive devices and prepared them for this purpose. The defendants held several meetings and devised a plan to achieve the goals of their group. As part of their terrorist plan, they agreed to take advantage of a funeral on March 3, 2014, during which police forces would be stationed nearby to maintain order. They planned to place improvised explosive device (IEDs) equipped with remote detonation devices in different locations in the site and to lure policemen to the places of the explosives and detonate them and inflict the maximum number of deaths among the forces. To implement their terrorist plot, the suspects planted three IEDs on the highway the evening before the crime. According to the plan, members were tasked with detonating the devices, others with monitoring the area and one with recording the explosions. On March 3, 2014, they carried out their plot, starting with staging riots to distract the policemen. A terror group member (sentenced to death) took up his place atop a building and detonated the explosive device. The explosion resulted in the death of three victims (First Lieutenant Tareq Al-Shehi, and policemen Mohammed Raslan and Ammar Abdu Ali Mohammed), and the injury of 13 others. 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. Six suspects were charged with joining the terror group. They along with the second suspect carried out terrorist activities, killed and attempted to kill policemen, damaged public properties, and possessed, stored, handled and used explosive substances. Their aim was to carry out acts of terror, fund their terror group and finance its activities. 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 defendants challenged the verdict and their lawyers presented memoranda explaining the reason for challenging the court rulings. The verdicts were later upheld by the Court of Appeals. The Public Prosecution referred the case to the Court of Cassation in accordance with Article 40 of the Court of Cassation Law promulgated by Decree 8/1989, which stipulates that death sentences are automatically referred to the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation deliberated the case and the defendants' appeals on Oct. 17, 2016, canceled the sentence and referred it back to the Court of Appeal to consider it anew, based on the fact that the verdict issued by the Court of Appeals on upholding the death penalty was not taken unanimously by the judges, as stipulated by Article 260 of the Penal Code. In implementation of the decision of the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeals deliberated the case a second time on 4 December 2016, and unanimously upheld the sentence by the first court. On Jan. 9, 2017, the appeals by the defendants were again reviewed by the Court of Cassation in compliance with the provisions of the law. The Court upheld the initial ruling, and therefore the death penalty sentence handed down to the three main defendants became final.
