Fugitive caught with forged travel document sentenced to a year behind bars

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A fugitivere turning through airport passport control was caught out after the computer system showed he had never left the country, exposing a forged passport and leading to jail terms for him and an accomplice.

The High Criminal Court sentenced the man to a year behind bars. His co-accused, who helped him doctor the passport with fake renewal stamps, received five.

The passport had all the outward signs of being genuine, except for the details. Its expiry date had long passed.

The extension stamps inside it appeared to be from the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence, but something was off.

The stamps were no longer in circulation, and worse, they were supposedly issued while the man was abroad.

Discrepancy

The officer on duty at Bahrain International Airport noticed the discrepancy when the man walked up to the immigration booth.

A check of the system showed he was still marked as being inside Bahrain.

That alone was enough to sound the alarm. The man was pulled aside. Further checks showed he was wanted.

Admission

Questioned by police, he admitted to fleeing the country years earlier by boat. He had slipped out through Bahrain’s waters and later settled abroad Court documents reveal he had gone into hiding in a string of abandoned homes and a local religious institution to avoid being caught. He had already faced legal trouble before.

From overseas, he got in touch with the second man, who agreed to tamper with the passport.

Impression

Fake stamps were added to give the impression it had been extended and remained valid.

The second defendant, questioned by prosecutors, said he too had left the country illegally back in 2016, also wanted by the authorities.

He admitted receiving the passport at his office and stamping it more than once to help the other man keep up appearances.

Pair

Prosecutors charged the pair with forging stamps and signatures said to belong to the General Directorate.

The fake stamps were applied to a real passport with the aim of passing it off as a valid travel document.

The man used the passport at the airport knowing it had been doctored. Both now find themselves behind bars.