Asian man jailed for life in Bahrain for murdering African woman

TDT | Manama                                  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Supreme Appeals Court upheld an Asian man's life sentence after finding him guilty of fatally strangling an African woman.

The defendant is said to have killed the victim in retaliation for posting pictures of his female relatives on Facebook with captions indicating that they were prostitutes. The details of the incident go back to when the defendant met the victim through Facebook, where they exchanged numbers.

This resulted in a relationship that lasted until the defendant returned to his home country. Months later, the defendant returned and did not communicate with the victim, until one day he posted an advertisement on Facebook to sell his mobile phone; the victim called him and bought that phone.

A while after the purchase, the victim posted pictures of the defendant’s female relatives, which were saved on the phone, to Facebook. The defendant called her in a rage and demanded that she take the photos down, but she refused, accusing the defendant of having relations with other women.

She also blocked him on Facebook. Two days later, the defendant communicated with the victim, who revealed that another Asian man had stolen her mobile phone. Worried that the photos posted on Facebook would reach his female relatives, the defendant tried to communicate with the second defendant, who did not respond to his request. He also complained to the victim, who was completely indifferent, provoking his wrath.

On the day of the incident, the defendant communicated with the victim in the evening. She told him that she was having a party, so he awaited her until past three in the morning. After the party ended, the heavily inebriated victim let him inside.

The defendant revisited the issue of his relatives’ photos on Facebook, to which the victim replied that he was a liar and that the women in the pictures were his lovers. This prompted him to slap and punch her, and seeing a nearby shawl, he used it to strangle her. He left after confirming that she was dead. He was convicted of premeditated murder.