Tributes paid to Paris victims

Gulf Daily News
Friday, 16th January 2015
Email: [email protected]
3
l Suspects accused of plotting major attacks
Terror 61 ‘trained
abroad’
By NOOR ZAHRA
SIXTY-ONE suspects
accused of being part
of a terror cell allegedly
received militia training
in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon,
a court heard.
The information was revealed by three policemen,
who were cross-examined
during yesterday’s trial at
the High Criminal Court.
The defendants have been
charged with arms smuggling and plotting a string of
attacks on security personnel and landmark buildings,
including the Saudi Embassy, during Bahrain’s National Day in 2013.
Among the defendants
are 24 school and university students, a writer, a
businessman, a chef and a
21-year-old Saudi – the only
non-Bahraini in the group.
More than 20 of the men
are still at large and only 15
appeared in court yesterday
where they earlier pleaded
not guilty, while the remaining 33 in custody refused to
attend the hearing.
The masterminds of the
cell allegedly recruited
n Materials similar to these used to make homemade bombs
were confiscated
Bahrainis and sent them abroad
for training, claimed one of
the prosecution witnesses
yesterday.
“I received information from
97 secret sources about a terrorist cell that is planning to carry
out multiple attacks in Bahrain,” the 31-year-old Bahraini
detective said in court.
“I investigated the matter and
found out that members of the
cell were travelling to Iran, Iraq
and Lebanon to receive weapons training.
“They then received orders
to carry out terror attacks in the
country in different locations
and on security personnel, landmark buildings and key areas.
“I observed the defendants’
movements and found that they
smuggled weapons into the
country on a boat.
“Authorities then uncovered
the weapons cache and confiscated bombs, ammunition
and materials used to make
explosives.”
Investigations
Defence lawyer Huda Al
Shaer questioned the detective’s testimony, saying, “If
these suspects were armed and
dangerous and part of a terrorist
cell that planned major attacks
in Bahrain, then why were they
not immediately arrested?”
However, the detective
n A similar weapons cache was found in the possession of the suspects
dismissed her argument and
highlighted that arrest warrants
could not be issued because the
investigation was in the early
stages during that time.
“We could not arrest them
right away because investigations were prolonged due to
the large number of suspects
involved in the case,” he
replied.
“We had to confirm the information and observe the suspects for some time and carry
out thorough investigations
into the matter.”
Proceedings came to a halt at
one point yesterday when the
suspects interrupted the judge
by shouting “we are not terrorists” causing a commotion,
which prompted the judge to
kick them out of the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the second witness, a policeman, described
how his team uncovered explosives and other weapons in a
warehouse in Bani Jamra.
“We received orders to
search deserted farms in Bani
Jamra for weapons,” said the
35-year-old Bahraini.
“I found two homemade
bombs and one of them was
very unique and dangerous. I
have never seen a bomb of its
kind before, which was hidden
under a tree.
“Experts then told us that the
bomb was very dangerous and
made us stand 500 metres away
as they confiscated it.”
Defence lawyers requested to bring the confiscated
Tributes paid to
Paris victims
SCORES of people have visited the French Embassy in
Manama to pay their respects
to the 17 victims of the Paris
terror attacks that took place
earlier this month.
A condolence book which was
opened at the embassy for three
days last week received more
than 100 signatures, an embassy
spokesman told the GDN.
Among those who signed the
book were Foreign Ministry
Under-Secretary Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla, Foreign Ministry International Affairs Under-Secretary Karim Al Shaker
and International Peace Institute Middle East and North Africa director Nejib Friji alongside ambassadors, members
of civil and political societies,
journalists and representatives
of various non-governmental
organisations.
France’s three days of ter-
Union leader
is acquitted
in fraud case
By NOOR ZAHRA
By RAJI UNNIKRISHNAN
ror started on January 7, when
brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi slaughtered 12 people in
the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had
courted controversy by publishing cartoons that mock the
Prophet Mohammed and Islam,
among other religions.
A French policewoman was
then gunned down the following day during a manhunt for
the brothers, while four hostages died on January 9 when a terrorist seized control of a Jewish
grocery store in what is believed to be a related incident.
The Kouachi brothers died
in a shootout with police on
January 9, after taking one person hostage in a printing firm
northeast of Paris. The gunman
who took over the Jewish market, Amedy Coulibaly, was also
weapons to court as evidence, but judges haven’t
responded on that.
Three other witnesses,
all policemen, were also
supposed to testify yesterday but failed to show up.
Judges ordered them to
appear at the next hearing
on February 15.
Prosecutors allege the
group received explosives
training, with five of them
allegedly travelling to Iraq
for specialist tuition.
One of the defendants,
an 18-year-old student, told
prosecutors that he was put
in charge of orchestrating attacks near the Saudi Embassy on National Day in 2013.
[email protected]
n Bouquets and notes of condolence left at the French Embassy in Manama
killed during an operation to
free the hostages.
French Embassy in Manama first secretary Jean Paul
Ghoneim told the GDN that
no act of terror would deter his
country’s spirit.
“It is too early to measure the
impact of these attacks on tourism in France,” he said.
“But all Bahraini tourists are
welcome in France and we look
forward to increasing the number of Bahraini citizens visiting
France and discovering this
land of culture and peace.”
Letters – Pages 6-7
Pope’s plea – Page 15
A UNION leader and two other
men accused of conning a woman
out of thousands of dinars have
been acquitted due to lack of
evidence.
Bahrain Free Labour Union
Federation international and
Arab relations head Ali Al Binali
and his two co-defendants were
initially cleared of fraud and
forgery by the Lower Criminal
Court in April 2013 after a Moroccan woman accused them
of making her pay more than
BD4,000 for a laptop and a mobile phone worth BD800.
However, this acquittal was
overturned after prosecutors appealed and the three men were
sentenced to 12 months in prison
in January last year by the High
Criminal Appeals Court.
But in May the Cassation
Court ordered a retrial in the
High Criminal Appeals Court,
which yesterday found the defendants not guilty due to lack of
evidence.

Download Report