A JAILED drug-crazed sailor, who was found guilty of recklessly speeding in his boat and being involved in a collision that killed two fishermen, has lost his final appeal against sentence at Bahrain’s highest court.
The Bahraini was earlier convicted of manslaughter and neglect, alongside two of his Indian employees, having sailed in the dark without turning on the boat’s headlights.
Seafarers Ali Shaikh-Hasan and Abdali Al Abed tragically died in the crash, which occurred near Um Al Subban Island off the coast of Budaiya, early on Christmas Day 2024.
The boat-owner was initially sentenced to seven months in prison and fined BD1,150 at the Lower Criminal Court, which also ordered the confiscation of his vessel.
The two Indians received the same jail term. However, the sailor’s penalty was increased to three years, after the Public Prosecution appealed the verdict at the High Criminal Appeals Court, asking judges to impose a more severe penalty.
In the original trial, he was further found guilty of illegal possession of pregabalin (sold as Lyrica), and for not fitting the boat with safety equipment or an automatic identification system (AIS).
Lyrica is a commonly prescribed medication for pain and epilepsy but some use it as a potent intoxicant.
The two Indians were convicted of not renewing their residence permit. All three were also found guilty of using an environmentally-destructive fishing method known as ‘trawling’.
On the day of the incident, the Coastguard received a notification at 6.53am that two boats had collided near Um Al Subban Island. Following the accident, the suspects pulled the Bahraini victims’ boat to Malikiya Beach, aboard which one of the corpses was found, while search and rescue operations later located the other at Budaiya Beach.
Prosecutors were not satisfied with the seven-month sentence, arguing that wrongful death required a greater penalty, and managed to secure the result they were seeking, upon appeal.
The Bahraini took to the Cassation Court to appeal this decision. His final appeal was rejected on a technicality, since the power of attorney authorisation given to his lawyer did not encompass representation before the Cassation Court.
“Lodging an appeal through the Cassation Court is a personal right, and no one has the authority to make an appeal on his behalf, unless they are legally authorised to,” read the verdict.
“The power of attorney issued for the appellant’s lawyer granted him authority to represent his client before the courts, and to lodge appeals on his behalf, but did not include the Cassation Court.”
In Lower Criminal Court hearings, the lawyer claimed that the sailor took pregabalin due to chronic pain, as he suffers from a spinal injury and a herniated disc. He claimed that painkillers were prescribed to him by a doctor, who also recommended that he do less manual work.
The GDN earlier reported that an investigation by the Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry found that it was difficult to determine which of the two parties were responsible for the accident.
The report, carried out by the Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection Directorate, had inconclusive findings, and assigned half of the blame to each party.
After the accident, the three defendants were transferred to hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Aged 61 and 55, the late Mr Shaikh-Hasan, from Karzakan, and Mr Al Abed, from Manama, were both buried later that day, and left behind three children each. Meanwhile, the attorney representing the heirs of one of the victims lodged a request to be allowed to sue the defendants in Civil Court.
Prosecutors stated that the defendants didn’t fit the boat with safety equipment like a fire extinguisher, life jackets, a first-aid kit on board, and didn’t turn on sea lights to avoid collisions.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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