Prisoner abroad returns home after seven years

Manama : A Bahraini family’s Eid Al Adha joy has been doubled this year, as they were reunited with their son who returned home on Friday, after spending almost seven years in Thai prisons.

Mohammed Ibrahim had been imprisoned in Thailand since 2009 for his alleged involvement in human trafficking cases.

The 34-year-old returned on Friday night after he was granted Royal Pardon by the Thai government on September 2.

Ibrahim, who was received by over a hundred relatives and friends at the Bahrain International Airport, “It’s an indescribable feeling. I can’t believe I’m back home with my mother once again. While in prison, I thought this nightmare will not come to an end and that my life will end within the prison walls” told to DT News yesterday, 

“All my siblings are married and living separately. I was the only one to take care of my mother and take her to the hospital for treatment. She was my main concern when I was in jail,” he added.

As reported earlier, Ibrahim was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Thai court. He was initially arrested following a complaint filed by a Thai woman, a former Bahraini resident, who accused him of bringing her to Bahrain on a working visa and then forcing her into prostitution.

Ibrahim’s brother Khalifa told DT News earlier that “Ibrahim was on a trip to Thailand to purchase some auto spare parts when he was arrested,” adding that his brother has been “ambushed by the accuser to earn some money off him.”

Ibrahim attempted to commit suicide in prison because of the case.

While speaking to DT News yesterday, Ibrahim shared some of the most difficult moments he had gone through behind the bars in Thailand.

“Spending time in prison there is unbearable, as I come from a different culture and background. Communicating with the inmates and the guards was difficult. I had to eat only vegetables for a very long time, as swine is served in jail and finding halal food was impossible,” he recalled.

Ibrahim added that he would focus on restarting a career, settling and starting a family here, after losing almost seven years of his life in overseas prisons.

A representative of the embassy spoke to DT News about Ibrahim’s ordeal saying, “We have been closely following Ibrahim’s case. We used to visit him monthly and deliver the money sent by his family. The embassy followed up with the Thai authorities, who informed us last week that Ibrahim would be released as part of a Royal Pardon. We also issued him an exit pass as his passport had expired.”

The official confirmed that Ibrahim was the only Bahraini prisoner in Thailand, mentioning some simple cases that involved Bahrainis, but didn’t require such heavy jail terms.