A Bahraini appeals court overturned Sunday a decision to strip the citizenship of 92 people jailed for plotting to form an Iran-linked group in the “Hezbollah of Bahrain” case.
They were among 138 sentenced to prison terms and the revocation of their citizenship after being convicted of trying to establish a Bahraini version of the Hezbollah party. Their prison terms were upheld.
In April's original court ruling, the prosecutor said 69 defendants were sentenced to life in jail, 39 to 10 years, 23 to seven years and the rest to between three and five years.
In April, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa reinstated the nationality of 551 citizens after they had been revoked by court rulings.
Concurring with the appeals court sentence, King Hamad introduced a new amendment on the law on revoking nationality, his second since 2011. The amendment added those convicted on terrorism charges to the list of individuals who could lose their nationality.
The article stipulated that it is allowed to strip the nationality from any Bahraini who is convicted in any of the crimes mentioned in articles 5, 9, 12, and 17 of law number 58 of the year 2006 on protecting society from terrorist acts.
The four articles demand a prison sentence against any suspect who intentionally targets any of the public means of transportation for a terrorist purpose, who exploits the management of an organization to call for committing a crime, who contacts a foreign-based terrorist organization and who incites others to commit a terrorist act.
