The Supreme Criminal Appeals Court has upheld a ruling to execute a man who stabbed his neighbour to death in Shakhoora.
In July, the High Criminal Court found the Bahraini appellant guilty of murdering 57-year-old Ali Mahdi Albasri, whom he left bleeding outside an apartment building that he owned and lived in.
The 47-year-old convict appealed the death sentence, with his lawyers requesting that the court reduce it to life imprisonment.
However, a panel of judges unanimously rejected the plea yesterday.
In the appeals verdict, the court countered many of the defence’s arguments, including claims that he suffers from psychosis and delusions as a result of bipolar disorder.
“A psychiatrist who evaluated the appellant stated that the man was conscious of his actions and the consequences thereof when he committed the murder, and that his decisions were not influenced by a mental illness,” read the ruling yesterday.
“His wife, to whom he was married for 17 years and fathered two children with, testified that she did not notice signs of mental illness throughout their marriage.
“During his time at the Psychiatric Hospital, he was not violent, did not exhibit psychotic symptoms, and would complain about the conditions at the hospital and often inquire about his rights.
“Statements from medical staff, his family and acquaintances, along with an MRI brain scan and a toxicology report, indicate that he did not experience psychosis, contrary to what the defence claims.
“He was offered many choices after his initial complaint to the municipality against the victim. His siblings offered to buy the house from him and find him an apartment, but he rejected those options and resorted to murder.”
The verdict was responding to the defence’s ‘insanity plea’ and their claim that the crime was carried out during a psychotic episode, despite the fact that he was twice declared fit to stand trial.
It added that he had started preparing for the stabbing and planned for it meticulously, readying the knife, wearing gloves to hide his fingerprints and stalking the victim’s movements.
While upholding the death penalty, the court also upheld an order for the man to pay BD5,001 in temporary damages to the victim’s family, until the civil court suit raised against him comes to a conclusion.
The GDN earlier reported that in a memo submitted to the court, his attorneys claimed that the appellant ‘experiences delusions of grandeur’, claiming to be Jesus or the Mahdi (Islamic messiah) on various occasions.
They argued that the Health Ministry Medical Commission’s conclusion, that the appellant’s mental illness did not absolve him of punishment, went against modern psychiatric conventions. They further alleged that the report contradicted international standards when it comes to psychiatry, namely the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
The initial verdict, issued by the High Criminal Court, clarified that the appellant’s hatred and resentment towards Mr Albasri began when the victim, a distant relative of his, moved into his neighbourhood and built an apartment building there.
He harassed the victim over the years, and smashed surveillance cameras outside his building on multiple occasions. He was jailed and after release decided to end his neighbour’s life.
Ahead of their final confrontation, the resentful man studied Mr Albasri’s daily routine, and stalked him to learn what time he usually left his home – the very building that sparked the killer’s bitter animosity.
On February 27 at 6.30am, the late Mr Albasri is said to have gone out to get breakfast for his family, when the killer, who had been lying in wait for 45 minutes, accosted him and rehashed old disputes. He then produced a knife and stabbed his prey seven times in the neck, chest and abdomen while sitting on top of him, targeting vital organs, and only stopped when the victim died.
During the trial’s first hearing, the man admitted to premeditated murder, having told policemen that he was waiting for the victim to leave his apartment so he could kill him.
However, he retracted his confession later in the proceedings, as his defence team took the ‘insanity’ strategy and attempted to paint him as a paranoid man who experiences fits of psychosis.
Mr Albasri was buried in his hometown of Janusan, a day after his death, as hundreds of condolence messages poured in, remembering him as a pious man who was an active member of his community.
The 47-year-old killer has one final chance to contest the verdict at the Cassation Court, Bahrain’s highest court of appeal.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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