Manama, January 27: Two Bahraini men accused of planning attacks in Bahrain and neighbouring countries, including US navy ships, were sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday.
The men — a 21-year-old customs officer and an employed, 22, — were arrested on April 26 based on information obtained by the NSA that one of them had contacts with a terrorist cell, believed to be of Al Qaida.
They were arrested as they were allegedly awaiting instructions from their foreign mentors to launch their attack. The plot included an assault on US military ships and personnel at the Salman Port.
A raid on one of the suspects’ house yielded two machine guns, a pistol, bullets, knives and swords, the court heard earlier. According to court papers, the weapons and ammunition were smuggled in from Jordan.
However, their lawyers had contested the claims, saying that they had no links with any international terror groups.
The lawyers attributed the existence of the seized weapons to the keenness of the two men to defend Bahrain against a possible attack by Iran.
“He confessed during interrogation that the weapons were purchased for one purpose and that was to protect his country from Iranian threat,” Abdullah Hashem, a lawyer for one of the suspects, told the court earlier. “The weapons were not going to be used for an attack on US navy ships, as the men were determined to set up an armed resistance…”
——Agencies