Wednesday, Dec 28, 2016

Manama: A Bahraini supporter of Daesh had provided the terror group with details about Ministry of Interior officers to help target them in terrorist attacks, a court in the capital, Manama, heard.

The 23-year-old told investigators that he joined Daesh in 2013 and that he had planned to fight alongside its members in conflict zones.

However, his attempts failed after he was barred from leaving the country and he joined a clandestine offshoot of the group in Bahrain, where he was tasked with ensuring the liaison with members of the main group abroad and disseminating reports and statements through the use of social media.

He was eventually arrested in August 2015, Bahraini daily Al Ayam reported on Wednesday.

Charges levelled against him included issuing calls to stall the provisions of the Constitution and the laws and to prevent the state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their responsibilities.

He was also charged with assaults on personal freedoms and public rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws, and harming national unity.

He was also charged with possessing components of a firearm that he intended to use against security forces and public order.

Investigators said that the defendant used social media to disseminate fabricated reports, statements and allegations about the domestic situation in Bahrain and the way the authorities dealt with arrested terrorists. His aim was to undermine the status and reputation of the kingdom.

The court heard that the defendant was openly hostile to the state and to the security forces and that they found military equipment during a raid on his house that included a machine gun, ammunition, a military uniform, military shoes and a black track suit with the picture of Osama Bin Laden.

His next trial session will be on January 24.

The defendant has a brother who had been sentenced to 15 years in jail and had his citizenship revoked for joining a terror group.

He also has a cousin whose nationality was revoked after he became one of the most influential ideologists of the terror group.

By Habib Toumi Bureau Chief

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