Fugitive flees with forged passport; imam and businessman implicated

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A fugitive managed to escape Bahrain with the help of a mosque imam, a businessman, and two others, using forged official signatures and stamps attributed to the Nationality, Passports, and Residence Affairs (NPRA).

The elaborate scheme enabled the fugitive to cross the King Fahd Causeway illegally into an Arab country.

The General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Evidence uncovered the escape after the fugitive settled abroad. While overseas, he sought the group's assistance to renew his passport. The defendants fabricated stamps and signatures to extend the passport’s validity, allowing him to remain outside Bahrain undetected.

During questioning by the Public Prosecution, the fugitive confessed to his role, admitting that he knowingly provided his passport for forgery. A forensic expert confirmed that the seals on the document were expertly faked, mimicking the official stamps used by the General Directorate.

The prosecution has charged the first four defendants with forging official seals and signatures and using them to falsify the fugitive's passport. The fugitive faces charges of conspiracy and aiding the crime.

The First High Criminal Court has scheduled the next hearing in the case for 30 December.