Two men accused of forging higher education certificates could be vindicated by new statements issued by their former university.
The 38-year-old Bahraini and 46-year-old Pakistani’s lawyer submitted the documents to High Criminal Court judges for consideration in their case.
They are facing charges of acquiring an engineering licence with a fake degree from a university in Karachi, after being reported for alleged contradictions in their paperwork.
In the initial investigation, prosecutors had reached out to the university about the alleged forgery, which responded that it had no record of the degrees being issued.
However, after being contacted by the defendants’ defence, the NED University of Engineering and Technology issued a retraction of its original statement.
Titled ‘Correction of Records,’ the letter refutes the earlier statement to Bahraini authorities which suggested the engineering degrees were ‘fake and forged’.
“The degree attached is true and original,” read the new signed and stamped letter which was received by the court with an official silver seal on it.
The notification, which focused on one of the defendants, went on to explain that the student had passed the requisite examinations in 2001.
A copy of the man’s bachelor of engineering was attached with the letter, which the university states is authentic.
The Pakistani defendant, who lives in Adliya, was present at the hearing, and maintained his innocence regarding the forgery charges.
He also brought his passport which was valid at the time the degree was acquired to prove he was in Pakistan attending his university studies.
His Bahraini co-defendant from Maqabah had appeared at earlier hearings and produced evidence from the university to help clear his name and reputation.
Nevertheless, the case’s witnesses stand by their Public Prosecution testimonies which implicated the two defendants.
The first witness was the then chief executive of the Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions (CRPEP), who brought the case to the authorities’ attention in 2019.
He told the Public Prosecution that the alleged discrepancies were discovered when the Bahraini man applied for a promotion.
The then-head of the foreign academic credential evaluation department at the Education Ministry also gave her testimony.
She was the one who contacted the university the first time and received the ‘fake and forged’ response.
Court documents say that the Bahraini was first granted his CRPEP licence in 2007 and his co-defendant in 2014.
The case was adjourned until later this week, awaiting a response from prosecutors regarding the Karachi University’s new statements.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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