Arab man’s jail term reduced on appeal in Bahraini visa forgery case

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An Arab national convicted of five years in prison for forging Bahraini visas has had his jail term reduced by two years upon appeal.

Now facing three years in prison, the defendant must also pay a BD100 fine for his involvement in producing illicit materials.

The High Criminal Court also ruled for his deportation upon completing his prison term.

According to court documents, the defendant lured two fellow compatriots into a scheme by promising them fraudulent employment opportunities in Bahrain in exchange for a fee of BD450.

However, the victims realised they had fallen into a trap only upon their arrival at Bahrain International Airport.

They were denied entry by airport authorities, citing the invalidity of their visas, which forced them to return to their point of origin.

The sequence of events leading to this case dates back to 2020, when the suspect collaborated with an unidentified individual to fabricate official documents.

These counterfeit documents included two entry visas allegedly issued by the Nationality, Passports, and Residence Affairs authorities.

The victims were then presented with these falsified visas, leading to the misappropriation of approximately BD900 from them.