32 face trial in Bahrain for police centre attack

Thirty-two people are to face trial in Bahrain for allegedly attacking a police centre in the Shiite village of Sitra, state news agency BNA reported on Sunday. "The public prosecution has finished its investigations into the terrorist attack on Sitra's police centre in which Molotov cocktails were used to set it on fire," BNA quoted undersecretary attorney general Mohammed al-Dosari as saying. The prosecution has "referred 32 suspects" to the criminal court, he said, adding that 15 of the suspects remain at large and arrest warrants have been issued against them. The first hearing is to take place on October 18. The group are accused of "setting public property on fire, carrying petrol bombs... (and) knives," BNA reported. Dosari told BNA that more than 100 "outlaws and rioters" attacked Sitra's police centre using "petrol bombs, iron bars and stones, in an attempt to set the station on fire and endanger the lives of the policemen there." The suspects have admitted taking part in the attack during interrogation, according to BNA. It did not specify the date of the incident but the news agency reported on August 26 that around 150 people attacked a police station in Sitra with petrol bombs, lightly wounding a police officer. On May 27, a Bahraini court jailed six Shiites for 15 years for plotting attacks in the Sunni-ruled 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), a total of 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the start of the violence on February 14, 2011. The interior ministry says more than 700 people, including a number of police officers, have been wounded in protests this year.