October 11-13
Some of 50 people jailed in Bahrain Sunday were convicted of spying for Iran and had planned “vandalism and rioting” with the backing of the Islamic Republic, the Bahraini government said Monday.
The 50 were sentenced to between five and 15 years in jail for links to February 14, an opposition movement seen by the authorities as a terrorist group working to overthrow the government, activists said.
The Arab kingdom has been in political turmoil since protests erupted in 2011 led by majority Shiites demanding full powers for parliament and an end to the Sunni monarchy’s political domination.
Bahrain has repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of fuelling the unrest, an accusation Tehran has denied.
In a statement, the government said some of the 50 had been convicted of spying for foreign states and their agents, or seeking to do so, without specifying how many defendants this involved.
“It has been proved that they have spied for the Islamic Republic of Iran, and have been in touch with senior leadership and members of the Revolutionary Guards [Pasdaran] and supplied them with information related to the internal situation in the kingdom,” the statement said.
“They have received directions from them related to training and preparation for carrying out acts of vandalism and rioting,” it said, adding that evidence included video recordings of military training.
The statement was issued to Reuters in response to a request for comment on Sunday’s proceedings. The convictions were first reported by opposition activists, who said several human rights campaigners were among the defendants.
There was no immediate reaction from the Iranian government.