A total of 31 men have each been sentenced to 15 years in jail for attacking police patrols with firebombs, injuring four officers whose burning vehicle smashed into a wall, a report said.

The Bahrainis were convicted of attempted murder, possessing Molotov cocktails, rioting and arson by the High Criminal Court yesterday (May 5), according to the report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

However, only 18 of the defendants are in custody and 13 others still at large were sentenced in absentia.

Prosecutors described how the defendants blocked roads and ambushed police who tried to remove the debris with firebombs in March last year.

"During the attack a police vehicle caught fire and it crashed into a wall as policemen tried to escape," they said. "But the defendants failed to kill the officers, who managed to receive medical treatment."

However, the police vehicle was partially gutted and two of the officers suffered 11 per cent burns to their arms, stomach and back.

Relatives of the defendants earlier came forward to provide alibis, but the court yesterday ruled there was enough evidence to convict them.

Thirteen of the defendants earlier confessed to the charges during questioning. – TradeArabia News Service