Bahrain court clears hotel owner of tourism license violation charges

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Lower Criminal Court acquitted a hotel owner of the charge of relinquishing his tourism license and leasing it to a construction company without obtaining written approval from the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA).

The incident was reported to the Public Prosecution by BTEA, stating that the judicial arrest officer discovered that the hotel owner had signed an agreement with a construction company to manage the hotel he owned without obtaining approval from the authority.

Based on this, the Public Prosecution referred the hotel owner for trial and requested his punishment according to Decree Law No. 15 of 1986 regarding tourism regulation and its amendments, and Decision No. 5 of 2010 regarding the prohibition of internal leasing and relinquishing of tourism services and all its facilities, which carries penalties of imprisonment and fines or one of the two penalties.

The lawyer representing the hotel owner argued that the elements of the violation were absent, noting that the incident took place in June 2023, while the photographic evidence presented was dated September 2021.

Furthermore, the contract between the parties had ended, as they were unable to obtain written approval from the authority. The lawyer also pointed out that the enforcement officer had issued the violation without visiting the hotel, relying on a photocopy of the contract without presenting the original version or clarifying its source.

Additionally, the accused was not summoned for questioning and confrontation. He stated that in cases where imprisonment is the possible sentence, it is not permissible to assume the incident without verifying its authenticity.

In the reasoning of the acquittal verdict, the court stated that the prosecution relied on a management contract copy that the court did not find convincing as evidence to hold the defendant accountable for the allegations.

After reviewing the lawsuit’s facts, circumstances, and details, the court found that the existing evidence in the documents was insufficient to be considered as proof beyond reasonable doubt for convicting the accused. Therefore, the court ruled to acquit the defendant of the charges brought against him.