A Kenyan judge reduced the life sentences given to two Iranians convicted of planning bomb attacks to 15 years on Wednesday, the men’s lawyer said, a case that raised concerns about possible Iranian plans to strike targets in the east African nation.
The two were arrested in June 2012 and convicted a year later of planning attacks and possessing 15 kg of military-grade RDX explosives.
But the sentence was reduced on appeal.
“My clients Ahmad Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi are happy with the reduction of the life sentence,” Karaithe Wandugi, their lawyer, told Reuters by telephone.
“Judge Luka Kimaru ordered the two Iranian men to serve 15 years jail sentence.” Kenya has suffered several deadly attacks from al Qaida-linked Somalia militants, but investigators later said it appeared that the men were not connected to those groups.
Instead, they may have had links to the Quds Force, the elite extra-territorial special forces arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, investigators said.
Last year, Kenyan authorities arrested two Kenyans with links to Iran on suspicion of plotting attacks on hotels frequented by Western diplomats and tourists.
Kenya is a regional hub for tourism and diplomacy. Deadly terror attacks there have targeted both Kenyans and foreigners, including the bombing of the U.S. embassy, missiles that were fired at an Israeli airliner and deadly attacks by gunmen on a shopping mall and a university.
