Bahrainis lose appeals in kidnapping case

Jail sentences issued against four Bahrainis were upheld in the case of kidnapping a teenager, torturing him and forcing him to state that he is a police informer.

The High Criminal Court earlier sentenced the defendants to seven years of imprisonment as they were found guilty of committing the offences at a farm located in Dar Kulaib Village.

According to court files, the incident took place when one of the defendants assigned his accomplices to kidnap the victim as he received information that he was co-operating with teams of police officers.

The victim was taken from Shahrakkan village and brought to the farm in the neighbouring village of Dar Kulaib, where he was forced to confess that he was a police informer while being recorded on camera.

 After committing the crime the defendants released the victim near his father’s house, where a friend witnessed the incident and recorded the registration number of the vehicle used by the defendants. The victim’s father rushed him to the hospital and reported the case to the police.

 Investigations led to the culprits who were immediately arrested. On January 31, 2018, the Public Prosecution interrogated the defendants and charged them with kidnapping and torturing the victim. They were all sentenced by the court to serve a seven-year imprisonment sentence.

They appealed against the verdict, but their plea was rejected by the High Court of Appeals.