Dubai: Bahrain`s King Hamad has decreed stiffer penalties for "terror acts" in the country rocked by a Shi`ite-led uprising since 2011, the official BNA news agency said on Thursday.
Under a new law, suspects convicted for bomb attacks will be sentenced to life imprisonment or to death in cases of casualties, BNA said. The minimum penalty for an attempted bombing is 10 years behind bars.
The crimes previously carried unspecified jail terms.
Suspects found guilty of "raising money for a terrorist organisation" will be handed jail terms ranging 10 years to life.
Incitement to carry out a "criminal act for terrorist aims" carries an unspecified term in prison, BNA reported, rather than the previous maximum sentence of five years.
Authorities will also have powers to revoke the citizenship of anyone found guilty of committing or inciting an act of terrorism.
Tensions have been brewing in the Sunni-ruled but Shi`ite-majority Gulf kingdom ahead of a major opposition demonstration called for mid-August.
Authorities have already decided to ban the protest and threatened to severely punish those who take part.
On Monday, King Hamad ordered the government to implement a parliamentary call for tough measures against what the authorities term an upsurge in "terrorism" linked to the Shi`ite-led protests.
At a special session requested by the King during a parliamentary recess, mostly loyalist MPs also recommended "a ban on gatherings and rallies" in the capital Manama.
They called for emergency law to be declared in the Gulf state if the need arose.
The Shi`ite-led opposition has condemned the language used in the parliamentary debate as a "declaration of war on the people, as well as open threats and insults to beliefs".
But opposition groups insisted in a statement that the people`s actions remain "peaceful," denouncing "propaganda to promote a security solution... which violates international conventions".
AFP
