Four suspects aged 22 to 28 years old have been arrested for their involvement in the January 1st armed attack on Bahrain’s Jaw prison, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa revealed yesterday
One policeman was killed and ten inmates were freed during the jailbreak. Initial investigations showed the attack was easily carried out due to negligence by prison authorities, were also suspended and referred for prosecution to the ministry’s courts, reported Gulf Daily News.
The suspects are believed to have used drones to take footage of the facility and surrounding areas to help the prisoners escape through an open gate that allowed a cleaning company to enter the premises, Sheikh Al Khalifa said.
A nationwide manhunt remains underway for the fugitives who had been jailed for life or more for alleged terrorism offences.
In the past few years, there have been a total of 15 jailbreak attempts in Jaw prison. Thousands of mainly Shi’ite Muslim Bahrainis are in jail on charges ranging from participating in anti-government protests to armed attacks on security forces in the Western-allied Gulf kingdom, where the US Fifth Fleet is based.
Bahrain was rocked in 2011 by Arab Spring-style mass protests staged mainly by the Shi’ite community demanding political and economic reforms, including a bigger share in running the country.
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