Manama : The Head of the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution announced that the High Criminal Court heard the case against a number of defendants charged with joining a terrorist organisation.
The organisation was established with the objective of suspending the provisions of the Constitution and the laws, preventing state institutions and authorities from carrying out their duties, harming national unity, and altering the Kingdom’s constitutional system by promoting the ideology of Wilayat al Faqih, advocating complete allegiance to the Supreme Leader of Iran and subordination to its political authority.
According to the prosecution, the organisation allegedly sought to achieve those objectives by seeking to control places of worship, maatams and Husseiniyas (community centres) and exploit them to disseminate that ideology, inciting opposition to the Kingdom’s established system of governance and calling for its overthrow, promoting ideas hostile to the state, inciting terrorist acts, riots and sabotage, supporting practices aimed at destabilising the Kingdom, and collecting and allocating funds to support the organisation’s activities.
The Public Prosecution charged 18 defendants in the case, including 15 in custody and three fugitives. It stated that investigations were conducted in accordance with legal procedures, with the arrested defendants questioned in the presence of legal counsel for some of them and afforded all legal rights and guarantees. The defendants were permitted to contact their families and inform them of their situation, and were provided with healthcare while in detention in accordance with the law governing the treatment of defendants and detainees.
The prosecution also ensured the defendants’ right to legal representation upon referring the case to court by appointing defence lawyers, who appeared alongside lawyers retained by the defendants. The High Criminal Court heard the case while ensuring all guarantees of a fair and impartial trial, and the hearing was attended by a representative of the National Institution for Human Rights.
The court heard the defendants and their lawyers, who presented their requests, and adjourned the case until July 20, 2026, to allow the defence to review the case file and visit the defendants in detention.
The Head of the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution said that Bahrain’s legal framework guarantees defendants’ rights throughout arrest, investigation, and trial proceedings. He noted that the law requires defendants to be treated in a manner that preserves their dignity upon arrest, informed of the reasons for their arrest, allowed to contact their families, and granted access to legal counsel. He added that the Public Prosecution conducts criminal proceedings impartially and objectively, with no interest in securing the conviction of any person without legal basis or relying on evidence obtained through unlawful procedures that contravene the law and the principles of justice.
He further noted that court proceedings are conducted in full accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the courts ensuring all guarantees afforded to defendants, foremost among them the right to defend themselves, present their defence, and be represented by legal counsel. He added that judicial rulings are based on the court’s conviction after establishing the legality of the proceedings, and that the law also guarantees defendants the right to appeal judgments and decisions.
