Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's First High Criminal Court presided over by judge Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa and memberships of judges Dia'a Al-Huraidi and Jamal Awad and Abdullah Mohammad Hassan as a secretariat set June 15, 2017 as a date to issue its verdict in the case of the 23-year-old Bahraini charged with joining the terrorist ISIS organization, having possession of arms, disseminating false news and acting as a link between ISIS affiliates inside.

The court also set 10 days to present the plea.

Lawyer Abdullah Hashem questioned the 2 attesting witness; one of them carried out the investigations and the other one arrested the suspect.  

The lawyer asked for time for pleading and to provide the court with names of defence witnesses if found.

The Public Prosecution stated that the defendant since 2013 has joined a branch of a terrorist organization and took part in its acts, including calls for violating the constitution and law, violating people's personal freedoms and public rights, harming national unity, and using terrorism to achieve these aims. The prosecution further accused him of acting as a contact link between members of the group inside Bahrain and militants affiliated to the group outside the country, using social media sites as means for communication.

The prosecution also said that the defendant acquired without a license a firearm for the purpose of using it in actions that disturb public security and order. It added that the defendant deliberately disseminating false news and rumors about the state's internal situation, with regards to conditions of detainees and issued judicial sentences, for the purpose of undermining the ruling system's prestige and reputation.

The case documents revealed that the defendant has two brothers who are also affiliated to ISIS; one was sentenced to 15 years in prison and stripped of his Bahraini nationality. The documents also showed that he is the cousin of the group's most prominent religious preacher, Turki Al-Binali, whose nationality was revoked in the list of 72 Bahrainis stripped of their citizenships.

The first witness stated that the defendant was a Takfiri element, supporter and member of ISIS, adding that he provided the group with any requested information, including names and information about interior ministry officers, in order to target them in terrorist operations.

The defendant confessed to the charges raised against him and admitted that he had been a member of terrorist group for three years and attempted to travel and fight in the ranks of the organization but failed to do so due to a travel ban imposed on him.

Arabic Version