Kenya court jails Iran pair for life on terror charges
NAIROBI: A Kenyan court sentenced two Iranians to life in prison on Monday for terrorrelated charges, including possessing explosives allegedly to be used in bomb attacks.
“I shudder to imagine the amount of damage that could have been seen,” judge Kiarie Waweru Kiarie told the court in the capital Nairobi.
Ahmed Mohammed, 50, and Sayed Mansour, 51, who were arrested last June, were found guilty of possessing 15kilos of the powerful explosive RDX, found by police hidden in a hole in a golf course.
The court said they had suspected links to a network planning bombings in Nairobi and the eastern port of Mombasa, the country’s second largest city.
“I have considered their individual pleas,” Kiarie said, but added: “The cry of victims of previous terrorist attacks is louder.”
They were sentenced to life on charge of committing an act intended to cause grievous harm, as well as 10 years for possession of explosives and 15 years for intention to commit serious crime, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Both defendants, dressed in suits and open neck shirts, showed little emotion as the sentence was read out, although when they were led out to the cells one angrily tried to kick a photographer.
Defence lawyer David Kirimi described the life terms as “outrageous” and said they would launch an appeal.
“The sentencing is wrong, misconceived and outrageous, and an injustice to our clients,” Kirimi told AFP.
Earlier, Kirimi had asked the court to grant the two Iranians a non- custodial sentence. — AFP