Security forces arrested early Tuesday two Bahrainis previously held on suspicion of links to the Al Qaeda terror network, their lawyer told AFP. The reasons for the arrests of Bassam al-Ali and Sheikh Mohammad Faleh were âunclearâ, said laywer Abdullah Hashim.
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Both men are believed to follow the extreme Sunni Salafi movement. Hashim said he received a call during the arrest operation. âI advised them to ask the police for the arrest and search warrant, but the call was cut off,â he said. âI donât think there is a reason to arrest them and I donât think they have any activities which call for an arrest.â Authorities could not be immediately contacted for comment.
Bassam, 48, was one of five arrested in February 2003 for allegedly running a terror cell in the Gulf state but later released in June for lack of evidence. Bahraini officials had announced the discovery of weapons and ammunition intended for use against Bahraini interests amid inquiries into suspected links to Al Qaeda. Jamal Hilal Mohammad al-Blushi, a national guard lieutenant, was jailed by a military court for three years, fined 1,300 US dollars and dismissed for keeping arms and weapons at home. Faleh was arrested in Saudi Arabia in July last year and released in April. MP Mohammad Khaled told AFP, Faleh had been held after receiving a telephone call from one of 26 men named on a list of most wanted militants in the kingdom. |