Bahrain sentences 12 people to 10 years in prison over support for Iranian attacks

Bahrain's High Criminal Court on Monday sentenced 12 people to 10 years in prison in separate cases for showing support for Iranian attacks on the Gulf country.

The individuals "committed crimes of supporting, encouraging, and endorsing the heinous Iranian terrorist attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain, obtaining and broadcasting prohibited vital data, photographing prohibited locations, as well as broadcasting false news and rumors via social media, during the brutal Iranian aggression" on Bahrain, the court said in a statement carried by the state news agency BNA.

An investigation identified the individuals accused of those actions, prompting the Public Prosecution to open a case against them, the agency said.

Prosecutors questioned the suspects, heard witness statements, and commissioned forensic examinations of seized electronic devices, "the results of which confirmed that the accused had committed the acts attributed to them," it added.

Regional tensions have escalated in late February after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing more than 3,000 people. In response, Iran retaliated with strikes on Gulf countries, including Bahrain, and Israel, as well as restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement with Iran had been finalized to halt war on all fronts, including Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end a US naval blockade on Iranian ports.