Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's First High Criminal Court, presided by Judge Mohammed Bin Ali Al Khalifa, with its members judges, Dia Huraidi and Saber Jomaa, and its secretariat Naji Abdullah, have postponed the trial of the defendant (25 years old) who was caught in possession of 6 weapons and ammunition as well as fireworks until May 6 in order to open the pleadings. The defendant claimed that he obtained these arms because of his fear of a war with Iran.

The defendant confessed that he decided to obtain weapons after the 2011 events that took place in Bahrain (the uprising), so he started searching for online websites and blogs that offer arms for sale until he met someone from the gulf who sells weapons. He called him and made a deal with him to buy a weapon at the price of 180 dinars. He indeed traveled to the gulf state (Saudi Arabia), bought the weapon and brought it back with him to the island kingdom.

He continued to look for more dealers and so he met another person from that same country and bought another weapon from him with ammunition as well. In the third time, he made a deal with someone from the same country as well through a website to buy a firearm that costs about 180 dinars and four ammunition cans, each can containing 25 bullets. After a while, he met another person from that very state, met with him outside the country and bought ammunition for 50 dinars.

He confessed that the next time he returned to the country after purchasing weapons, he was arrested and detained for 3 days. He was released on bail afterwards and stopped purchasing weapons for a few months. He; however, resumed his activities and began purchasing weapons on a weekly basis, until he was apprehended at his residence. Police forces found hidden weapons on the rooftop. They discovered six weapons and up to 3,000 live and empty bullets.

Thus, the general prosecution charged the defendant of first: the purchase and possession of rifles, pistols, Kalashnikov machine guns, unlicensed by the Ministry of Interior; second: the purchase and possession of ammunition used in these firearms, unlicensed by the Ministry of Interior; third: the purchase and possession of fireworks (mixture of explosive chlorate), unlicensed by the Ministry of Interior; fourth: the purchase and possession of a cleaver and another tool, unlicensed by the Ministry of Interior.

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