23 charged with forming terror network MANAMA – Bahrain has charged 23 people with forming a “terror network” aimed at toppling the regime, the official BNA news agency reported Saturday. The agency, citing the charge sheet, said the suspects allegedly held secret meetings in Bahrain and abroad in order “to change the political regime through illegal means.” Bahraini public prosecution official Abdulrahman Al-Sayed said in a statement that the men were the leaders of a “sophisticated terrorist network” suspected of “the planning and instigation of violence ... and seeking to overthrow the regime by force”. The Bahraini news agency identified 10 suspects describing them as “leaders of the terror network” and charging them of “undermining national security.” Chief suspect Abduljalil Al-Singace was charged with “running an illegitimate network,” as well as “leading sabotage cells... contacting foreign organizations and providing them with false and misleading information about the kingdom.” Seven other people face similar charges and include Mohammed Saeed as well as Sheikh Mohammed Al-Moqdad, Sheikh Saeed Al-Nuri, Abdulghani Ali Issa Khanjar, Jaffar Al-Hessabi, Abdulhadi Al-Mokhaider, and Abdulla Isa Abdulla. Moqdad and Al-Singace had been released from prison in April 2009 in a royal pardon for 178 people detained on security charges. Saeed is also charged with receiving “financial support from foreign parties to achieve his illegitimate goals.” Two of the 10 suspects charged by the authorities are Husain Mashaima and Saeed Al-Sheehabi. Both of them were not arrested as they live outside the country. The charge sheet also includes the names of 13 other accused of “joining the network... which aims to overthrow the government and change the political and social regime of the state... (by) illegal means.”
