Bahrain charges 39 over anti-police attack

Bahrain have referred 39 people to court after they were accused of allegedly carrying out a twin bomb attack in April that wounded four policemen in a Shiite village, said BNA news agency. "The public prosecution has finished its extensive investigations in the twin bomb attack in the village of Diraz that wounded four members of the security forces, two of them seriously," BNA quoted deputy attorney general Ibrahim al-Kawari as saying. The case has been referred to the criminal court and the trial of 39 defendants involved in the case will begin on October 11, said BNA, adding that 18 of them remain at large. The 39 are accused of "carrying out terrorist crimes... aimed at undermining security" as well as "endangering the lives of people and public and private property." They have "plotted to kill several policemen" and "set off two bombs to cause terror" among people, said BNA. They are also charged with "obtaining petrol bombs to endanger the lives of policemen." In April, BNA cited a senior police official as saying that a bomb attack carried out by "terrorists" wounded four Bahraini policemen in Diraz. On May 27, a Bahraini court jailed six Shiites for 15 years for plotting attacks in the Gulf kingdom, including an attempt to blow up the causeway with Saudi Arabia. Sporadic protests have intensified since a March 2011 crackdown ended month-long protests in central Manama demanding democratic reforms. According to the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), 80 people have died in Bahrain since the start of the violence on February 14 last year. Bahrain's interior ministry says more than 700 people, including some police officers, have been wounded by the protests since the beginning of the year.