Public Prosecution to appeal acquittal ruling

Manama, June 21: The High Criminal Court today acquitted Ali Salman Ali Ahmad, Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali Al Aswad in the case of intelligence with Qatar. Attorney General Osama Al Oufi said that the Public Prosecution submitted strong and varied evidence that included communication records between the defendants and Qatari officials that proved beyond any doubt the intelligence links between them with the purpose of inciting the violence and chaos that struck the kingdom in 2011. The conspirators also worked on undermining the national efforts exerted to control and eventually eliminate the acts of violence and chaos and consequently thwart the drive by the authorities to achieve stability and topple the regime. Testimonies by witnesses evidenced the acts of violence and the extent of conspiracy between the conspirators and Qatari officials as well as the intelligence provided by the defendants about the movements of security forces and the Peninsula Shield troops to tackle the incidents, killings and acts of sabotage targeting Bahrainis, residents and state property. The testimonies also supported the material evidence presented by the Public Prosecution that revealed the tasks assigned to the defendants by Qatari officials. The Attorney General said that the court in its decision to acquit the defendants failed in its assessment of the evidence and pronounced a ruling that does not match the accusations as revealed in the investigations and the trial sessions, particularly that the defendants and their lawyers could not refute the charges. He said that the Public Prosecution, based on the evidence in its possession, would appeal the verdict.