Manama: Bahrain’s Cassation Court on Monday upheld the death sentence against Maher Abbas Al Khabbaz after it found him guilty of the premeditated murder of a police officer with a maritime flare gun.
The court also sentenced six other defendants to life in prison, one defendant to six years and another defendant to five years and a BD500 fine in connection with the murder of officer Mohammad Asef Khan on February 14, 2013.
Al Khabbaz was initially sentenced to death for his role in the murder by a lower court in February 2014, and the verdict was re-affirmed by the Court of Appeals in May 2017.
According to case documents, the defendants decided to kill police officers, and the first defendant asked his brother, the ninth defendant who worked in a maritime company, to provide him with a flare gun, telling him that he intended to use it against the police.
On February 14, 2013, the defendants stirred trouble in Khamees, a village on the outskirts of the capital Manama, to lure and trap anti-riot officers.
When the officers arrived, they hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at them and the first defendant targeted Khan with the flare gun, killing him.
The first eight defendants were referred to the High Criminal Court on charges of conspiring to violently attack people, attempted murder, and possessing incendiary devices.
The first defendant was accused of possessing weapons and explosives and using violence and force against public employees while the ninth defendant was charged with possessing weapons and explosives.
