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Two men from Pakistan allegedly travelled to Bahrain to exact revenge on a former neighbour, shadowing him for six weeks before ambushing him in a dark alley and fatally stabbing him.
The High Criminal Court heard yesterday that the victim had previously been convicted of murder in Pakistan and jailed for 12 years, according to testimony from his brother.
After completing his sentence, he reportedly survived several attempts on his life. He later moved to Bahrain seeking safety, having failed to get the forgiveness of the family of the man he had killed.
The defendants, who admitted carrying out the revenge killing, testified that they were relatives of the man slain by the victim in Pakistan. They told the court that they had tracked the victim to Bahrain with the intention of killing him in order to settle family scores.
After months on his trail, the duo surrounded the victim, Wasif Ahmed, in a dimly-lit residential alley in Budaiya, and attacked him with sharpened knives, only stopping their onslaught when he was dead.
Yesterday, the Public Prosecution showed the courtroom a video recording of the December 28 incident, caught by security cameras near the crime scene.
A representative of the prosecution gave a speech to the court, describing the alleged murder as an ‘execution’, and asked the judges to punish the defendants with no mercy.
“The men travelled great distances and crossed borders with unwavering intent, coming to Bahrain not to work or build new lives, but to settle a vendetta that began in another country,” he declared.
“They brought their feud to a new place, at a new time and with new methods. The murder weapons were not kitchen utensils, but tools of execution, put together with the purpose of ending a human life.”
The suspects, aged 25 and 28, were arrested just three hours after the incident as they were attempting to flee the country via King Fahad Causeway, thanks to an alert issued by the police.
According to a medical expert, who was summoned to the crime scene, the victim sustained injuries on his head, face, chest, back, limbs and between his waist and arms. He also suffered fractures and both internal and external bleeding. The doctor further observed an array of stab wounds all over the man’s body.
Forensic experts found the victim’s blood on both the knife and the cleaver, and also recovered his blood from under the 25-year-old defendant’s fingernails and on the 28-year-old defendant’s trousers.
The avengers admitted to the charges before the prosecution, the Lower Criminal Court and the High Criminal Court yesterday. They had also re-enacted the murder to police detectives.
“The defendants intentionally killed Wasif Ahmed after having premeditated plans to end his life,” the prosecution’s charges stated.
“They prepared a knife, a cleaver and a knife sharpener, which they purchased specifically for the purpose of killing him. They monitored him and noted his movements for nearly two months, determining when he left his house and when he returned.
“They then lay in wait for him near his home, armed with their weapons, and attacked him with a barrage of blows and stabs across his body.”
Mr Ahmed’s 50-year-old brother told authorities about his late sibling’s dark past.
“My brother was previously accused of murder in Pakistan, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail,” he said.
“After prison, he apologised to the man’s family and tried to make peace with them, but they refused to accept his apology and so he came to Bahrain.
“The defendants belong to the victim’s family, and they tried to kill my brother more than once, seeking revenge.”
A young Egyptian barber who witnessed the attack recounted the incident in court.
“I was going home from work when I saw two people assaulting a man on the ground,” the 20-year-old told the Public Prosecution.
“I couldn’t make out their facial features, but I yelled at them and they fled. One of them came back to pick up his bag from near the body.”
Meanwhile, an off-duty policeman, who lives in Budaiya, testified that the killing happened near his house.
“I was at home when I heard a scream coming from a street near my room,” the 36-year-old said.
“I went out and saw the victim in a pool of blood, with stab wounds on his head and face.
“I checked footage taken by my house’s security camera, which showed two people who took the victim by surprise.”
The footage, which was played before the court, showed the 25-year-old approaching the victim from behind, and the 28-year-old from the front.
According to court documents, Mr Ahmed arrived in Bahrain on September 2, while the two defendants followed on November 12 and 13 respectively.
The victim travelled to Saudi Arabia on November 26, and the defendants continued to track him there – the 28-year-old crossing the border the following day, and the younger defendant doing so on December 3.
Mr Ahmed returned to Bahrain on December 20, and the duo came back on December 26. They allegedly killed him just two days later.
Judges adjourned the hearing to February 16.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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