Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's First High Criminal Court presided over by Judge Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa and memberships of judges Dia'a Huraidi and Jamal Awad and Abdullah Hassan as secretariat adjourned the case of 23-year-old youth accused of joining ISIS, acquiring arms and publishing false news until February 22, to summon the attesting witnesses.

The court ordered the continued detention of the suspect who denied the charges brought against him.

Documents revealed that the suspect has two brothers who are also in the same organization; one of the suspect's brothers is sentenced to 15 years in prison and revoked of his citizenship. Besides, the suspect's cousin is one of the most prominent preachers in ISIS; his citizenship was revoked along with 71 others.

The prosecution accused the suspect that in 2013, he took part in actions related to the organization aiming at suspending constitutional laws, preventing the state's institutions from performing their jobs, assaulting personal freedoms and public freedoms and harming national unity. The suspect, along with other unknowns, joined the terrorist ISIS organization and used social media to publish information related to the group. The suspect is also accused of acquiring unlicensed weapon aiming at using it to disrupt public peace as well as disseminating false news about Bahrain's internal affairs.

The first witness, a line officer in the ministry of interior, said that the suspect is one of the Takfiri members who supports ISIS and he is the link between the members affiliated to ISIS inside Bahrain and those fighting abroad. The witness further stated that the suspect used to provide names and information about ministry of interior's officers to be targeted. He was arrested on August 20, 2015.

The suspect's house was searched. The authorities found in his house military equipment, weapon as well as a shirt with the photo of Ousama bin Laden on it. The suspect confessed the charges brought against him and that he decided to join the terrorist organization 3 years ago. He added that he sought to travel and fight in the ranks of the organization, however, his attempt failed because he was banned from traveling.

Arabic Version