Bahraini convicted of 'terrorism' extradited from Serbia

A Bahraini man convicted of "terrorism-related offences" has been extradited from Serbia following an Interpol Red Notice issued at Manama's request, the interior ministry said Tuesday.

According to the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), Ahmed Jaffar Mohammed Ali was extradited Monday under the international arrest request dating back to 2015, despite a European Court of Human Rights ruling he not be sent home pending further investigation.

BIRD cited the Strasbourg-based court as saying Ali should not be extradited before February 25 to give it time to examine "possible risks of torture and/or ill-treatment that the applicant would face if extradited to Bahrain".

Bahrain's interior ministry said the 49-year-old was extradited "after coordination and communication with a friendly country".

He has been handed three life sentences in absentia and an additional 10 years in prison for "terrorism-related offences between 2012 and 2015, including murder, and manufacturing and possessing explosives", it said.

The ministry said Ali had previously been a "fugitive" in Iran.

In 2011, during the Arab Spring, a mainly Shia protest movement took to the streets of Bahrain to demand an elected government, briefly threatening the Sunni monarchy's grip on power before a deadly Saudi-backed crackdown.

Bahrain rejects accusations of human rights violations and denies any discrimination against its Shiite citizens.

Bahrain has claimed Shia heavyweight Iran trained and backed the demonstrators in an effort to topple the Manama government, an accusation Tehran denies.

"This scandalous extradition by the Serbian government that condemns someone to torture and life imprisonment is utterly devastating," said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of BIRD.

"Ahmed, the victim of sham trials, has already suffered torture at the hands of Bahraini officials and now fears violent interrogation and abuse," he added.