2009 Country Reports on Terrorism - Bahrain
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Publication Date | 5 August 2010 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism - Bahrain, 5 August 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c63b6575.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Government of Bahrain monitored suspected international terrorist facilitators in Bahrain and worked closely and cooperatively with international partners throughout the year. Bahraini law enforcement succeeded in jailing a man suspected of providing financial support of terrorism. The government also foiled an alleged attack plot that was in the early stages of planning.
Adel Saleh, a Bahraini citizen arrested in June 2008, was convicted February 4, 2009 on charges of maintaining links to al-Qa'ida (AQ) and financing terrorism. According to testimony offered during his trial, Saleh traveled to Iran three times to deliver approximately US$ 70,000 to AQ operatives. He received a one-year sentence with credit for time served since his arrest. Prosecutors appealed, seeking a longer sentence, but the appeal process ended when Saleh, along with 177 other prisoners and detainees, was pardoned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on April 11. Two other defendants in the same case who were tried in absentia were convicted on similar charges and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. They were not pardoned.
Security forces monitored the activities of two Bahraini citizens and arrested them on April 26. During the arrest, the authorities discovered automatic weapons, ammunition, a pistol, hunting knives, and a sword, along with evidence indicating the accused were in the early stages of planning an attack against U.S. naval interests. Prosecutors charged the men, one of whom was an employee of the Ministry of Interior Customs Directorate, with joining an international terrorist organization, plotting attacks in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf, and various weapons charges. Their trial began on June 30 and continued through the end of the year.
On December 16, Bahrain deployed a company of Special Security Forces to southern Afghanistan in support of Coalition operations in Helmand province.
Bahrain continued its cooperation with U.S. authorities on counterterrorist finance. Its Financial Information Unit (FIU) resides in the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The CBB, FIU, and local banks worked cooperatively on counterterrorist finance and anti-money laundering issues. The government worked with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to host a conference on the regulation of Islamic charities. Bahrain also hosted the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force secretariat, and has cooperated actively with the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism since formally endorsing the initiative in March 2008.
