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AN alleged teenage terrorist who planted bombs at a shopping mall was under the age of 18 when he committed the crime, a court heard.
The Bahraini, now 19, is standing trial at the High Criminal Court along with seven other men accused of being part of Saraya Al Ashtar (Al Ashtar Brigades).
Three of the alleged masterminds behind the incident, who are at large in Iran, are being tried in absentia.
The Bahraini defendants, whose ages range from 19 to 40, allegedly travelled to Iran where they had militia training in camps belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2019.
The defendants planned to carry out several attacks on key establishments, including planting a bomb near a university in Salmabad in October last year. The authorities defused the homemade explosive device.
In addition, the defendants are accused of placing two devices inside a clothes shop at a shopping mall in September last year. Authorities immediately confiscated the suspicious devices and arrested several of the defendants in connection with the incident.
The teenager’s lawyer, Ali Ayad, has asked judges to send the case to the new High Restorative Court for Children, claiming that his client was only 17 at the time of the alleged offence.
“I brought two female social workers with me today to the court because my client was less that 18 years old when the incident happened,” he told a leading judge. “Therefore, I request the case to be sent to the High Restorative Court for Children. According to the law, he should be tried at that specialised court.”
A leading judge said that he would investigate and review the evidence. He has adjourned the case until Thursday.
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