On Monday, the Saudi Interior Ministry claimed that two Bahraini citizens, Sadiq Thamer and Jaafar Sultan, were executed by Saudi Arabia for their alleged involvement in a terrorist cell.
According to the ministry's statement, the cell was led by a wanted security guard from Bahrain and had affiliations with terrorist organizations aiming to disrupt the security of both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The ministry accused the two young men of smuggling materials and capsules used for explosives into Saudi Arabia, burying these materials in sandy areas, and handing them over to the cell leader.
Additionally, they were accused of providing shelter to wanted individuals from Bahrain.
The death sentence for Jaafar Sultan and Sadiq Thamer had been ratified by the Saudi Arabia Court of Appeal in January 2022.
The arrests of Sultan and Thamer occurred on May 8, 2015, at the King Fahd Causeway, after which the Saudi authorities charged them with plotting to blow up the bridge connecting Bahrain.
The two men denied the charges, claiming they were politically motivated.
Human rights organizations have documented that they were subjected to torture by Saudi security forces in order to extract confessions during their arrest.
Following Riyadh's decision, protests took place in Dar Kulaib, a Bahraini village, denouncing the "unjust execution" of its residents by Saudi Arabia. The approval of the Saudi King is necessary for carrying out death sentences, which are then confirmed by the Supreme Court.
In a report published in January, the European Saudi Human Rights organization ESOHR stated that Saudi Arabia executed more people in 2022 than in the previous two years combined, including a mass execution of 81 individuals in a single day last March. This was described as the largest mass execution in Saudi Arabia's history.
ESOHR criticized the Kingdom for the significant increase in death penalty sentences between 2020 and 2022, which saw a rise of 444%. The organization accused Saudi Arabia of disregarding international recommendations and criticism while displaying arbitrariness in issuing sentences.
A group of Bahraini scholars referred to Sadiq Thamer and Jaafar Sultan, executed by Saudi Arabia, as "two martyrs of the nation." They expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the people of Bahrain, particularly the families of the martyrs. In a joint statement, the scholars conveyed their profound sadness and pain upon receiving the news of the execution, emphasizing that Bahrain mourns this tragic event deeply.