• Home

Former Bahrain MP arrested for 'financial terror'

Manama - He was held on August 18 after returning from a trip to collect funds in Iran.

Bahrain has detained a former member of parliament on charges of financing militants, state news agency BNA said late on Sunday.
The agency did not name the man but quoted the director of criminal investigations as saying he was held on August 18 after returning from a trip to collect funds in Iran.
Leading opposition group Al Wefaq said it had not heard from one of its senior members, Sheikh Hassan Issa, since he was detained on August 18, though it did not confirm he was the man mentioned in the report.
Bahrain says the opposition has a sectarian agenda and is backed by Iran.
The director of criminal investigation said the detainee had collected donations from various sources, including participants in rallies, to give to suspects being sought by the authorities as well as "a terrorist group" knowing about its activities.
The charges he was facing amounted to "financial terrorism", the director was quoted as saying. "He said the name of the arrestee was mentioned in a number of terrorist cases, including the Sitra terrorist blast on July 28 that killed two policemen," BNA said.
Issa was elected in the 2010 parliamentary poll but resigned a year later during the protests.
Al Wefaq leader Sheikh Salman was sentenced in June to four years in jail after he was convicted of inciting unrest.

• Bahrain