Fifty-seven men have been handed jail sentences ranging from 10 to 25 years after being convicted of being part of an Iranian-backed terrorist cell that orchestrated a bombing campaign in Bahrain.
They were found guilty of arms smuggling and plotting a string of attacks on security personnel and landmark structures, including the Saudi Embassy and King Fahad Causeway, by Bahrain’s High Criminal Court yesterday.
The court heard that members of the cell received militia training in Iraq and Iran – and that funding was channelled through registered opposition group Al Wefaq National Islamic Society and the outlawed Al Wafa movement.
Four of the 61 defendants were acquitted due to lack of evidence by judges, who revoked the Bahraini citizenships of all of those found guilty.
Among five defendants to receive 25-year jail sentences was Habeeb Abdullah Ali, also know as Habeeb Al Jamri, who is still at large and was identified as the founder of the group – with links to an extremist movement behind a 1981 coup attempt.
Eighteen defendants found guilty are still at large and have been on the run since police first launched a series of raids targeting the group in May 2013.
Weapons recovered by police included bombs, bomb-making materials, guns and ammunition that were smuggled into Bahrain by boat from Iran.
Thirteen explosive devices were found at one stable alone during the anti-terrorist operation.
“After the State of National Safety ended in the middle of 2011, the first suspect (Habeeb Abdullah Ali) – a former member of the Islamic Action Society (Amal) and Al Resalah Islamic Society – escaped to Iraq to avoid arrest,” stated the 100-page court verdict.
“He joined the Al Shirazi extremists Mohammed Taqi Al Madrasi and Hadi Al Madrasi, known as Abu Mahdi who heads the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain – which attempted a coup in Bahrain in 1981.
“They tried to establish terrorist groups by recruiting Bahraini youth and using their connections with the Sadr movement in Iraq and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
“They then sent Bahraini youth to receive militia training in Iran and Iraq to carry out terrorists attacks in Bahrain and to overthrow the government.
“The mastermind (Habeeb Abdullah Ali) incited the rest of the defendants to target key establishments and policemen and kill them.
“He also helped fund the terrorist group through Al Wefaq National Islamic Society and Al Wafa – and helped fugitives escape the country to Iran.”
The group has been credited with a bombing in Bani Jamra in mid-2012 that injured three policemen and two similar attacks in April 2013.
“One of the key members of the terrorist group was arrested in May 2013 and the illicit group announced a war against policemen – increasing their terrorist acts,” stated the court.
“In June 2013, they lured policemen into an ambush in Budaiya where they detonated another bomb, which did not cause any injuries.
“A blast near Budaiya Health Centre injured three policemen, followed again by another in December.”
The group is said to have stepped up its campaign of violence in the run-up to Bahrain’s National Day in 2013 with plans to target key establishments with up to 25 bombs.
Prosecutors said the Saudi Embassy, King Fahad Causeway and other key establishments and police were due to be targeted.
“On December 17 (2013), they were ordered to cause an explosion after rigging a booby-trapped vehicle with explosives and parking it outside the Saudi Embassy,” said the court.
“They were also supposed to cause a blast using the same method on the King Fahad Causeway.”
In addition to life sentences for five defendants, judges sentenced 22 others to 15 years behind bars and handed 10-year sentences to another 30 defendants.
Among those jailed for 25 years was Redha Al Ghasra, who was already serving jail sentences totalling 130 years after being convicted of chargers ranging from attempted murder to terrorism, possessing and detonating explosives and possessing unlicensed weapons.
Two of his brothers were also convicted, with one receiving a 10-year sentence and the other jailed for 15 years.
One of the defendants sentenced to 10 years was handed an additional three-year term for resisting arrest.
All those convicted were also fined BD500 each, while seven were fined an additional BD10,000, for damaging police property.
However, defence lawyers said they would appeal against the convictions at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court.
Prosecutors previously revealed police seized a huge weapons cache consisting of hand grenades, homemade bombs, AK47 rifles, homemade shotguns, six pistols and ammunition during raids.
Some of the weapons were found in a building under construction near a nursery.
noorz@gdn.com.bh
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