Terrorists target Bahrain telecom networks

Manama : Two members of a terror cell that targeted telecommunications networks across the country have had their conviction and the order to remove their Bahraini citizenship upheld. 

The duo were tried on terror-related charges, for which the first defendant, aged 50, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while his 22-year-old co-defendant received 10 years in prison. 

The latter received earlier 15 years in jail, but his prison term was reduced following his appeal. Three defendants were put on trial in connection with this case, but their third co-defendant is still at large, though he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.  Two of the defendants are brothers, and the remaining 40-year-old co-defendant is their uncle, who was serving in Batelco.  The Bahrainis are accused of being part of a group, identified as the “Bahraini Harbingers of Change” (Tala’eh Al Taghyeer Al Bahrani). They torched power stations belonging to telecommunication companies in the period between 2011 and 2013. They also allegedly attempted to detonate a home-made bomb near phone lines in Sanabis, according to court documents. 

Heading the group was the 40-year-old Bahraini, who was also its founder. He allegedly provided his accomplices with the locations of the telecommunication cables across the country. “We received information about a terrorist group that targeted telecommunications cables across the country,” a police detective said in his statement to prosecutors earlier. 

“They torched some telecommunications towers and placed a bomb on Batelco land lines in Sanabis, which was defused by the police when he received a tip-off.  “We then arrested the suspects after carrying out investigations with the help of secret sources.”

The ‘uncle’ earlier said that they bombed five spots belonging to Batelco after being sacked from the company in 2011, causing damage worth in total BD17,500. “I was serving in the company until 2011, and I was dismissed. Therefore I decided to carry out retaliatory attacks against the company’s assets,” the 40-year-old said in his statement. “I communicated with my nephews, who agreed to join my cause. I paid them BD20 and BD10 after each operation.”  

“I provide them with pictures of the targeted locations of Batelco’s cables as well as the information about each location before I instruct them to torch them,” he added.

It’s said that the trio was communicating with each other through BlackBerry’s BBM, according to court files.