Two terror suspects sentenced to 10 years each

Manama, Apr. 24 (BNA): Deputy Prosecutor of the Anti-terror Crime Prosecution, Mohamed Al Noaimi, said the High Criminal Court today convicted and sentenced two terror suspects each to ten years in jail and stripping their citizenship on proven charges of undergoing training on the use of weapons and explosives to implement terrorist plots in accomplice with and assisted by other terrorists. The two defendants were acquitted from the charges of joining a terrorist organization in breach of the law . The case dates back to when the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) discovered that the first suspect had undergone military training outside the Kingdom of Bahrain to carry out terrorist operations inside the Kingdom of Bahrain. He was recruited by the second suspect who was a fugitive abroad and joined the so-called "14th of February" terrorist group. The second suspect tasked the first suspect to travel to Iraq where he had received military training, including on the use of weapons and explosives to carry out terrorist attacks in July 2016. The Prosecution relied on proven charges from eyewitness testimonies, suspect confessions and technical reports. The two defendants were referred to the High Criminal Court. The court deliberated the case in the presence of their attorneys who were allowed to present their defence arguments. They were accorded all the legal sureties, hence the court handed down its above sentence. The two defendants have the right to appeal the sentence at the Court of Appeal within the prescribed duration whenever there are legal justifications to object. The Bahraini legal system allows defendants to appeal before the Court of Appeal and also at the Court of Cassation and these are legal sureties ensured to all suspects.