A MAN given the death penalty for masterminding a bombing that killed a policeman has one more chance to appeal his sentence.

The Supreme Criminal Appeals Court rejected the appeals of the Bahraini and four other men yesterday.

They were part of 12 men, all Bahrainis aged between 17 and 31, who were found guilty of making homemade bombs and carrying out surveillance on an armoured vehicle eight days before blowing it up in East Eker in July 2014.

Seven of the defendants were sentenced to life behind bars, while four others, all teenagers under 18, were handed a reduced sentence of 10 years due to their age.

All the 12 defendants also had their Bahraini citizenship revoked because they were tried under the Anti-Terrorism Law.

The GDN earlier reported that the 31-year-old driver had recruited the other 11 members.

The defendants used SIM cards belonging to Asian labourers to make calls to mobile phones to remotely detonate the explosive that killed policeman Mahmood Fareed, 24.

Four of the co-defendants helped the mastermind by keeping a watch on the officers before he and another defendant planted the bomb at the agreed location.

The mastermind then remotely detonated the homemade bomb by calling the mobile number as Mr Fareed stepped out of the vehicle.

The court found the defendants guilty of the charges based on prosecution evidence, medical examiner’s report and forensic experts’ report.

Testify

A policeman, who testified in court, said Mr Fareed was killed as he was on his way to perform evening prayers.

Another officer suffered minor injuries in the blast, which a group calling itself Saraya Al Ashtar (Al Ashtar Brigade) claimed responsibility for.

Mr Fareed’s cousin, Muhammad Usman, said the deceased had made plans to travel to Pakistan later the same month to get married.