Court acquits two men in helping fugitive case

The Lower Criminal Court acquitted two brothers of charges of hiding a wanted fugitive and possessing arms for lack of proof. The court also found that the suspects’ house was inspected without necessary legal documents. The defendants’ lawyer Feda Abdullah told the court that the police officers arrested the pair and inspected their house with an expired warrant, making the case baseless.

“Police officers used a warrant that expired seven days ago to inspect the defendants’ homes,” she said. The lawyer also brought before the court the discrepancies in the initial investigation report, which is silent about the pair’s involvement in the case. The lawyer told the court that even though one of the brothers knew the that the suspect was a fugutive they really had no idea about the crime he had committed.

“Even the wanted man didn’t know what his crime was. Case files say he was sentenced to six months in prison but is silent about the date or the crime. It further says he was sentenced to three months in jail and fined BD100, both in 2011. However, no further details were given,” she argued. The lawyer further told the court that the defendants were caught in possession of a wood stick and a knife, which is not sufficient to level charges against them.

The court in its verdict said the investigators should not have entered or inspected the house without the permission of the residents except in cases of extreme necessity specified by the law and in the manner prescribed therein. “Moreover, the court found that the arrest warrant was invalid as necessary legal procedures weren’t followed,” the verdict explained.