MANAMA, 17 July 2004 — Six Bahrainis who were re-arrested on Wednesday have been remanded to police custody for 45 days. The men — Bassam Bokhowa, Bassam Al Ali, Shaikh Mohammed Saleh (who was placed under house arrest,) brothers Yasser Kamal and Omar Kamal and Mohieddeen Khan — were first detained on June 21 and released two days later.
The suspects were arrested earlier on suspicion they were planning to bomb government targets in Bahrain, but were let go due to lack of evidence.
The Bahraini government is also expected to lay charges against Mohieddeen’s brother, Ali Khan, who holds both British and Bahraini nationalities and is currently in the UK. The government here will want Ali either extradited or tried there.
The seven suspects are accused of planning to carry out “bombings on some government, business and tourist facilities to spread terror and harm the national economy and foreign investments,” the Ministry of Interior said quoting the National Security Agency.
According to the statement, security officers seized computers and chemical substances from the suspects’ homes.
The detainees’ lawyers and family members said that the arrests were more politically motivated than security related.
The US issued warnings of possible terrorist attacks against Western targets on July 1 and had expressed concern that the men arrested last month were freed so quickly.
