Cassation Court ‘upholds sentences’ against fugitives arrested by Interpol

TDT | Manama

Two men who were arrested by the Interpol have had their imprisonments upheld by the Cassation Court. They have now exhausted all their options to challenge the initial verdict. The duo earlier received five years behind bars each. A third man stood in the same trial for helping the second defendant and was given three years in prison and his appeal was rejected by the Cassation Court too. 

The first and second defendants were wanted in connection with security cases in 2011, but they managed to flee the Kingdom. The first suspect is said to have dressed and worn make-up to impersonate his sister, whose ID was used to facilitate his escape from the Kingdom. The second man reportedly used his cousin’s ID card, which had a picture similar to his face in his way out the country.

The pair went to Kuwait in a different period of time. However, the Interpol arrested them, although they tried to legalise their stay by leaving to UAE and then returning to Kuwait using their original IDs, according to Prosecutors. The first man, who posed like his sister, is said to have stayed in Kuwait for four years before he was arrested and extradited to Bahrain.

The first defendant told the police that he was helped by one of his sisters and her husband, both of whom drove him out of Bahrain. He revealed that his sister applied makeup on his face, so he could look like her, whose ID was used. However, neither the sister nor her husband were charged after they denied their involvement with his escape. The second escapee used the same plan to exit Bahrain. But he was captured after three years of fleeing in Kuwait too.

He was helped by his cousin who transported him to Kuwait  and provided him with his ID to allow him to flee from the Kingdom and reach Saudi, then Kuwait. The cousin denied he was involved in helping him. However, the escapees, as well as the second man’s cousin, were put on trial.