Bahraini Militants Fighting Abroad Given Deadline to Return

Local Editor

Bahrain set a two-week ultimatum Thursday for the return of extremist militants fighting abroad, saying they will be charged under the Gulf kingdom's anti-terror laws if they do not.

An interior ministry statement said Bahrainis "currently in conflict zones... on the pretext of "jihad"" must "return to the country within two weeks".

Those who do not come back "will be pursued under the law pertaining to the protection of society from terrorist acts", it said.

Among the penalties that could be imposed would be loss of nationality.
At the end of February, the ministry warned that the law currently providing up to five years in prison for its citizens fighting abroad, including in Syria, would be toughened.

It said it would pursue those Bahrainis fighting abroad, encouraging others to do so or belonging to "extremist religious groups or those considered to be terrorist organizations".

Bahrain, headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, follows in the footsteps of neighboring Saudi Arabia, which said last month that its nationals faced up to 20 years in jail for fighting abroad or belonging to "terrorist groups."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team