Bahrain jails Shias over ‘Iran-backed’ assassination plans

Guardian, 4 Nov 2013 – A Bahraini court has sentenced four Shia Muslims to life and six others to 15 years in jail on charges of setting up a militant cell linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard aimed at assassinating public figures in the Gulf Arab kingdom.
In February, Bahrain, a western ally which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, accused Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard of setting up the “terror” cell, which it said planned to attack its airport and government buildings.
Bahrain has accused Shia-led Iran of fuelling unrest in the country since a 2011 uprising by majority Shias demanding reforms and a greater say in running the kingdom ruled by the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty.
Tehran denies the accusation.
The state news agency BNA said in a report late on Sunday that the court had acquitted 14 others of the charges. Two of those sentenced to life were tried in absentia, the agency said.
Authorities say the cell is part of the “Imam Army”, a group that includes Bahrainis from inside and outside the country as well as foreigners. Its planned targets included the interior ministry and Bahrain’s international airport.
The group attended training camps run by the Revolutionary Guard inside Iran and others operated by Iraq’s Hezbollah group in Baghdad and the holy city of Kerbala, BNA reported.
The 2011 revolt was quelled with help from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf states, but protests and clashes have persisted in the country. Talks between the government and opposition have failed to end the political crisis.