Three-year jail for Bahraini teen arsonist

A 19-year-old Bahraini arsonist has been jailed for three years. The defendant was earlier held guilty of burning tyres in the area of Sar during a riot on March 1 last year.

The teenage defendant was arrested at the scene following a foot pursuit after a police officer noticed him carrying tyres. “There were 10 tyres set on fire at the scene when we arrived in the area. But we saw a masked person with tyres in his hands. I chased him and he fell down. Then I arrested him,” a police officer told prosecutors.

But the defendant denied his participation in the riot. “I was involuntarily taken by the police officers to the scene, where they ordered me to put out the burning tyres. Then they put a mask on my face and took me to police station,” he told prosecutors.

However, there was a video in his phone’s memory showing the same tyres while they were on fire.