A TEENAGER described how he attempted to prevent a physical altercation that ended up in the death of his friend, a court heard.
The 18-year-old Bahraini took to the stand at the High Criminal Court yesterday, where he said that he pleaded with his friend, Abdulla Humaida, to not confront their other friend moments before the latter stabbed Mr Humaida to death during a brawl in Hoora on January 17.
The third teenager, a 19-year-old Bahraini, is standing trial in connection with allegedly plunging a knife into the chest of Mr Humaida.
The pair got into an argument after they took explicit videos of each other and threatened to post them on social media application Snapchat.
They agreed to meet outside a restaurant on January 17 to settle the dispute “over a fist fight” but the fight became violent and the defendant stabbed the 18-year-old from Sudan.
“I have known them both since childhood and I told Abdulla to stay away from him because he told me that he was seeking revenge,” said the Bahraini witness in court.
“I told him to stay out of trouble and I accompanied Abdulla when he confronted the defendant.
“I cursed at (the defendant) and Abdulla then punched him in the face.
“They both got into a fist fight and I then saw Abdulla screaming ‘my heart, I need water’.
“He looked like he was in a very bad state and his eyes were open.
“We all then realised that (the defendant) had stabbed Abdulla with a pocket knife.
“I cannot believe I lost both of my best friends; one is dead and the other is in jail.”
Defence lawyer Fatima Al Hawaj previously told the court that her client had not planned to murder his friend but had “accidentally” stabbed him during an argument. She requested the judges to reduce his charge from beating to death to manslaughter.
The GDN previously reported that the defendant told prosecutors during questioning that he got into a heated argument with the 18-year-old victim twice before the January 17 incident.
He allegedly was high on sniffing aerosol cans, including a cleaning product named Stop, on the street when he committed the murder.
The trial has been adjourned to September 26 for a ruling.
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