Sudanese national’s death penalty upheld

The High Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the death sentence issued against a Sudanese national who was earlier convicted of pre-mediated murder, after he gruesomely killed an Indian national in Hoora last year. The defendant had told judges that he killed a drunken Indian national because “he loves Bahrain and hates seeing drunk people walking on public roads”.

Shockingly, the 41-year-old man carried out an ‘Islamic State killing’, where he tortured his victim to death while recording the murder using a camera, according to court files. The Sudanese national murdered the victim after encountering him on a public road at dawn. He also sodomised him while he was dying, according to medical reports. The report stated that the Indian man was strangled to death after he was beaten up. 

The Sudanese national said he did everything out of his love for Bahrain and refusal to see drunk men walking publicly. The defendant came to Bahrain in search of a job and he is a holder of a medical engineering certificate. “I came to Bahrain four months ago, looking for a job. My sister works as a doctor at a hospital here. Her employers sponsored me, but I couldn’t find a job,” the defendant said in his statement yesterday before the High Criminal Court. 

“I didn’t have any relationship with the victim. I saw him on the day of the incident at dawn and he was drunk. I was talking with my Bahraini friends on the road and I stopped him. “I asked him about his religion and because I love Bahrain and I don’t like to see drunk people walking in public. I ordered him to show me his ID. But he ran away,” he added.  The defendant got to know about the accommodation of his victim through one of his friends.

“I went to his apartment because I wanted to advise him. He opened the door for me, and I entered inside. He locked the door and attacked me. And I responded in self-defence,” he revealed. The court documents say the defendant then proceeded with torturing the victim and he killed him. To mislead investigators, he is said to have written slogans on the walls of the apartment with an intention to get people belonging to a certain sect indicted in the murder.   

“I decided to pour Chlorine on the body of the victim because I saw in movies that they were using chemicals to conceal the traces of the crimes. I also poured alcohol and powder all around the apartment. “Before I left I wrote some slogans on the walls to mislead investigators,” he explained. The defendant has been charged with premeditated murder. His next hearing is scheduled for September 16 to hear prosecution witnesses.