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Gulf Daily News
Friday, 30th January 2015
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Life sentences of terror suspects adjusted on appeal
TWO Bahrainis sentenced to life
in prison for being part of an Iranian-backed terror cell have had their
sentences adjusted on appeal.
The men were found guilty of
smuggling weapons and explosives
into Bahrain by the High Criminal
Court last September and subsequent-
By NOOR ZAHRA
ly had their citizenships revoked under
anti-terror legislation.
They were part of a group of nine
men who were found guilty last year
of conspiring with Iran and its Revolutionary Guard to carry out attacks
in Bahrain.
An appeal filed by the five members of the group who are in custody
was largely rejected by the Supreme
Criminal Appeals Court yesterday,
which upheld three of the men’s sentences, but ordered that the additional three years added to 41-year-old
Hussein Ahmed Taher Abdulwahab
and 37-year-old Alsayed Ali Shubbar
Sharaf Shubbar’s sentences for resisting arrest be removed.
Mr Abdulwahab and Mr Shubbar
will still serve life sentences, which
equates to 25 years imprisonment
under Bahrain law, and all five defen-
dants have also lost appeals against the
stripping away of their nationalities.
The group’s terror plot was originally exposed in December 2013 when
police intercepted a speedboat at sea
carrying weapons, ammunition and
explosives destined for Bahrain.
Members of the group include Hussein Mahdi Mohammed Ebrahim, 38, a Bapco employee also
convicted of stealing potassium
nitrate from the refinery to
make explosives, Aqeel Abdulrasool Mohammed Ahmed, 35,
and Ali Sabah Abdulmohsen
Mohammed, 37.
Among those convicted in
absentia was one of the cell’s
two leaders, Jassim Ahmed
Ahmed, 37, who is thought to
be in Iran.
The other leader, Ali Mahfoudh Al Musawi, 36, is believed to have died in Iran earlier this year.
Both were accused of funding the cell and providing
weapons and explosives to use
against Bahrain’s police and
key installations – awaiting orders for a “zero hour” to carry
out widespread attacks.
Students develop
security system
enter the vault then the motion detector
would automatically send a message
immediately.”
Mr Basiouni said he now hoped to
raise funds to improve the system and
possibly have it installed in a bank in
the near future.
“This is just the beginning and hopefully we can improve it and see it implemented,” he said.
“Everyone at the exhibition liked it,
as well as my relatives, which has encouraged me to work harder.”
By SHAHLAA AHMED
A VOICE-ACTIVATED security
system that automatically alerts
the police when would-be bank
robbers attack, has been developed
by two Bahrain University (UoB)
students.
The system, devised by Bahrainis
Mohammed Basiouni, 22, and Kamal
Mohammed, 23, uses a voice recognition chip to recognise any pre-programmed “threatening” words said
inside a bank branch.
If one such word is recognised by
the system, then the bank’s vault is put
under automatic lockdown and a text
message is sent to the police warning
them of a possible robbery attempt.
Mr Basiouni told the GDN he had
the idea for the system while watching 2007 American comedy heist film
Ocean’s Thirteen.
“I thought of developing a bank security system as there was a scene in
the movie that showed thieves entering a locker without being detected,”
he said.
“So I started to look up everything
I could about security systems on the
Internet and ordered some components
online.
“We faced some problems while
Robberies
n Mr Mohammed, left, Mr Basiouni, right, and Mr Basiouni’s father during
the exhibition
programming the microprocessor and
we also had to change some parts and
replace them with cheaper and easier
alternatives.”
A prototype of the system was
put on display at the latest edition of
UoB’s Information Technology Senior
Projects Exhibition, where other features such as a motion detector were
also shown.
An override feature was also being
considered, Mr Basiouni said, so that
the vault could be opened if a person’s
life was in danger.
“In some cases people’s lives can
really be in danger and the vault has to
be opened to prevent any casualties,”
he said.
“Therefore we decided to programme the microprocessor to unlock
the door if needed, but at the same time
send a text message to the police.
“If the thieves broke into the bank
after working hours and were able to
At the end of last year, a spate of
bank robberies took place across Bahrain with thieves targeting both ATMs
and cashiers.
On November 10, more than
BD10,000 was stolen from an ATM
belonging to BMI Bank in Tubli.
Then less than a week later, on November 15, gunmen injured a Nepalese
security guard but fled empty-handed
after targeting Bahrain Financing
Company’s Salmabad branch.
The following day BD13,000 was
stolen at gunpoint from Al Ahli Bank
on the Budaiya Highway by armed
robbers who attacked in broad daylight.
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Quiz challenge
marks Indian
Republic Day
A QUIZ to mark India’s 66th
Republic Day will be held at
Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam
Diamond Jubilee Hall on February 8 from 8pm.
The event, organised by the
Kerala Catholic Association
(KCA), will be hosted by quiz
master and senior Indian administrative service officer P
M Mohammed Hanish with
former Indian president APJ
Abdul Kalam set to honour the
winners.
Registration forms for the
quiz are available at the KCA
office in Segaiya and teams
have until Sunday to register for the competition. Visit
www.kcabahrain.com or call
39947400 or 39681102 for
more information.
n A 1-km challenge race was held at St Christopher’s Junior School campus, organised by SPARTA Sports. Infant School head Ian
Fellows presented awards, medals and certificates. The next SPARTA sports camp will be held from February 15 to 17 for children
aged four to 13. Visit www.sparta-bh.com for more information. Above, children at the challenge hold up their certificates.
Weapons
Also sentenced in absentia
were Al Sayed Jaffer Shubbar Sharaf Shubbar, 33, Mohammed Jawad Sabah Abdulmohsen Ahmed, 41, and
Abdulmohsen Sabah Abdulmohsen Mohammed, 35, who
are all believed to be in Iraq.
Prosecutors said that authorities recovered explosive materials, two pistols, magazines,
ammunition and detonators at
two of the defendants’ homes
and two locations used as a
weapons depot.
In addition, 50 hand grenades
made in Iran were found on the
boat as well as Syrian bomb
detonators, Kalashnikovs, C4
explosives, claymores, a PK
machine gun, armour-piercing
and anti-aircraft weapons capable of targeting low-flying
aircraft, TNT and a raft of materials used in bomb-making.
The defendants confessed to
the charges and said that their
crimes were religiously motivated based on Sharia rulings,
as had been explained to them
by the leaders of the group.
Jumble sale to
raise funds for
RIA Centre
A JUMBLE sale to raise funds
will be held at the RIA Centre
for children with special educational needs in Adliya today.
Organisers are hoping to
raise enough money to buy an
interactive white board, which
encourages
communication
and participation among students.
“To date we have raised
BD900 from donations and
are hoping to raise a further
BD700,” said RIA Centre student director Christine Gordon.
“I want parents to feel that
the children here have the
same things as students in other schools.”
A variety of toys, shoes, furniture, baked goods and more
will be on offer at the sale,
from 10am to 2pm.
For
more
information
or to make a donation call
17716871.