The High Criminal Court issued its verdict today, Tuesday, in two separate cases involving espionage for foreign entities, the head of the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution said in a statement.
Six defendants — two Afghan nationals and four Bahraini citizens — were charged with spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organisation, with the aim of carrying out hostile acts against Bahrain and harming its national interests.
The court sentenced five defendants to life imprisonment, acquitted one, ordered the confiscation of seized items, and ruled that the two Afghan nationals be permanently deported after completing their prison terms.
According to the prosecution, in the first case, investigations by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science revealed that the IRGC had contacted one of the Afghan defendants and recruited him to carry out terrorist plots in Bahrain.
He was tasked with intelligence-gathering activities, including monitoring and photographing vital and sensitive facilities and collecting detailed information about them.
Investigators found that the defendant carried out surveillance of one such facility and transmitted information in return for financial payments from the IRGC.
The defendant later recruited a second Afghan national to assist in the intelligence operations. Both were arrested in possession of devices and tools used in carrying out the crimes.
&uuid=(email))