Bahraini abductors' jail term reduced

Manama : Three Bahraini defendants convicted in connection with an abduction case have had their initial 10 years imprisonment slashed to three years each instead. The first and second defendant reportedly abducted a man while he was in a bus station. 

They offered him a ride in their car to his desired destination, according to court files. But, they allegedly took him to a stable in Barhama, where the third defendant was awaiting them. 

“They held me captive in a room, and they showed me a picture of a man, accusing me of embezzling his money in a fake money investment scheme,” the victim told prosecutors in his statement. 

He alleged that the first and second defendant tied him before beating him up with electrical cables as well as pipes. “They were screaming at me to tell them where I had hid the money. I told them it was stored in a box in a room so they stopped their assault,” he added.

“One day later, they took me to my home in the early hours of the morning, and a fourth man was accompanying them. He (the fourth man) was carrying a thing that looked like a machine gun, and later the first and second men left the car and entered my home,” he explained.

They stole perfumes as well as other belongings and took the man back to the stable after no money was found. 

“They told me that they would give me a grace period to bring them the money, which they alleged that I owed to the man. They told me to tell my parents that I was in police custody and they beat me up while I was in detention,” he added. 

The defendants were charged on grounds of robbery, kidnapping and physical assault. The fourth man, however, is still unknown and hasn’t been charged in connection with the case.