Manama, July 17 (BNA): Bahrain Television has revealed in a documented report the huge volume of lies, fabrications and false information in the so-called documentary “What is hidden is more immense” broadcast by Al Jazeera.
The report, full of detailed information and live testimonies, demonstrated the extent of the distortions in the so-called documentary that lacked the minimum standards of media professionalism, featured terrorist, inflammatory and seditious content, and attempted to construct an unrealistic conspiracy filled with lies and forgeries.
The report, aired during the early evening news on Bahrain TV, showed how the statements attributed to Mohammed Saleh Ali and Hisham Hilal Al Balushi were recorded in 2011 and were supported by a terrorist group that had been put on trial in 2014 for the illegal possession of weapons.
The group admitted that the recordings were full of lies and that that they had been prepared to be used as a pressure card.
In his testimony to Bahrain TV, Mohammed Saleh said that he had never had any contact with Al Jazeera or made any statement to them.
“The recordings we prepared were not meant for Al Jazeera in any case. I did not and I do not have contacts with Al Jazeera,” he said.
He stressed that the recordings were made in 2011 in Hamad Town at the home of Hisham and Jamal Al Balushi. He, Jamal, Hisham, Mohieddeen Khan and Bassam Al Ali were present. They all agreed to keep the recordings and use them as a pressure card against the security agencies in order to ensure they do not get arrested again.
“None of the reasons mentioned by Al Jazeera for the recordings is true. They were made in 2011, after we were put on trial in 2011. We did not want them to arrest us again, so we prepared them and included several allegations in order to win over the media. Al Jazeera used the recordings to serve its own purposes.”
Mohammed Saleh rejected the claims made by Al Jazeera that he had been tasked with carry out assassinations and bringing weapons from Saudi Arabia.
"The claim is totally baseless. The reason for mentioning such tasks is to give the claims more power and more weight. The names of the officers mentioned in the recordings are the fact that I had known them while I was being questioned.”
He added that the recordings were stored on compact disks and that he had his own copy. Two other people, Mohieddeen Khan and Bassam Al Ali.
“I was shocked that the recordings were broadcast by Al Jazeera. They were leaked in return for money.”
Jamal Al Balushi, the brother of Hisham, said that the videos of Hisham and Mohammed Saleh, shown by Al Jazeera were edited and montaged in order to serve the objectives of Al Jazeera and present Bahrain under a bad light.
He confirmed that the recordings were made at the family home and that he personally was present, alongside Mohieddeen and Bassam.
“They all agreed to make the recordings and to include several false allegations in order to give them weight that would help international human rights groups build pressure on Bahrain’s government and security agencies.
“I did ask my brother Hisham about the purpose of the recordings and about the claims about tasks assigned by the security agencies, including the assassination orders, and he said that they were allegations that could serve them at a later stage.”
Jamal said that his brother’s relations with the security agencies were good and that they often offered him assistance and advise.
“I personally was asked by the security agencies to advise my brother, and I explained to them that my mother, myself and the family often tried to advise him, but the Jihadist ideology was deep-rooted in his thinking,” Jamal said.
Bassam Al Ali confirmed that the recordings were made at Al Balushi home and that he attended them.
“I hereby testify that I was present when the recordings were made,” he told Bahrain TV.
“I did not like the whole issue at that time and I tried to have them delete the recordings and forget about such tools to put pressure on the government. They promised not to use the recordings in any case.”
The TV report also included recordings of contacts by Saudi officials with Mohieddeen Khan, a fugitive in Turkey, in order to arrange for a political asylum in Qatar.
Khan said that Qatari individuals contacted him from Qatar to offer him the possibility of political asylum and to make arrangements with the Qatari government for his move to Doha.
The offer included the possibility to go to the Qatari embassy in Ankara and to meet the uncle of Shaikh Tamim, the current Emir of Qatar.
The report stressed that the language of incitement and sedition adopted by Al Jazeera channel was based on the Qatari regime’s approach as well as support and financing of terrorism.
It emphasized that Bahrainis would not be impacted in any way by such approaches and methods and that they remain united under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.