Manama, Dec 21 (BNA): Advocate General Wael Bu-Allay stated that the Fourth Lower Criminal Court has sentenced three defendants to two years in jail.

Two of the defendants are Bahraini nationals and include the secretary general of a foreign organization, while the third is a member of parliament of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country who is known for his antagonism for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Bu-Allay added that the court sentenced them for raising and receiving funds without obtaining a permit in accordance with the law to raise funds for general purposes, and for participating, through incitement, agreement and assistance, in committing the offense.

Investigations revealed that the first defendant had received a phone call from the third defendant, the MP, while he was in Britain in early 2014, to arrange a meeting. However, the meeting did not take place.

After some time a woman contacted the first defendant from a GCC country to tell him that the MP had asked her to deliver him an amount of money to distribute to a number of convicts in criminal cases and their families in Bahrain. The defendant received BD6,000 in Sitra.

He also received money from abroad and raised funds for the purpose of distributing them to people convicted and sentenced on riot and sabotage charges. He delivered part of the money to the second defendant for the same purpose.

The defendant engaged in the fund raising action as part of his status as a secretary general of a European organization even though he did not have the permission required from an official entity that authorises him to exercise activities related to the work of the organization in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

MJ