Bahrain arrests eight men trying to escape to Iran by boat

Bahrain’s coast guard has arrested eight people who were trying to escape to Iran by boat, state news agency BNA reported on late on Saturday.

Bahrain’s official agency said two other men it described as “fugitives” had organized the escape from Iran.

The eight men had already been convicted - in absentia - and sentenced to between 10 to 15 years in prison, BNA said.

"The coast guard vessels spotted a boat off the coast of northern Bahrain. The boat was chased and then interdicted when those onboard refused to stop," a spokesperson from the media unit of Bahrain's Interior Ministry told Al Arabiya English.

"The arrestees’ ID cards, money, mobile phones, personal belongings, a GPS and a large quantity of petrol were confiscated. Further legal proceedings were taken," the spokesperson added.

Six prisoners reported to have escaped from a Bahraini prison on Friday were not among the detainees, as the list of names for both groups of men published by BNA did not match.

A total of 17 people convicted on many charges had escaped Bahrain’s Dry Dock Detention Center on Friday, but 11 were recaptured.

(With Reuters)