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A Bahraini man, who kidnapped his Russian ex-girlfriend and her new sweetheart, has been sentenced to three years in prison by the High Criminal Court.
His friend and accomplice was also sentenced to the same spell behind bars. Both were convicted of robbery, assault, kidnapping and holding the couple captive under threat of grave harm.
The court heard that the Bahraini defendant and the Russian woman had broken up a while before the July incident and the obsessive jilted gent had tried to contact her, to no avail.
The spurned man and his friend, both aged 34, set up a meeting with her new Bangladeshi flame to ‘talk things out’ but instead kidnapped him, used his phone to get to her, then abducted her too.
The ex-boyfriend then brought her to his house, where he beat her up, later claiming it was ‘out to my passionate love for her’.
The woman was saved from her ordeal by police officers, despatched to the defendant’s house after the incident was reported to authorities by her boyfriend.
“Crimes like robbery have negative effects beyond the individual, affecting all of society,” read the Public Prosecution’s statement. “Such crimes threaten security and stability, and shake people’s trust in each other, leading to serious financial losses. They weaken economic activity and discourage people from investing or working in the country.
“They induce a state of perpetual anxiety in people, who begin fearing for their safety and the safety of their property.
“Theft is a poisoned dagger stabbing others’ effort and hard work, a fire that eats harvests. Theft is not simply a legal issue, but also an ethical and societal one.”
The Bangladeshi driver earlier testified that he and the defendants met on the day of the incident ‘to talk’, arriving in his company’s truck with his compatriot and co-worker onboard.
The 42-year-old recounted being assaulted and forced into his rival’s black GMC, and his colleague was beaten too when he tried to help.
He was driven to Hoora and threatened with a knife to hand over his phone, which the defendant used to message his ex and ask her to send her location.
They then made him call the woman on the phone, and she came down from her flat to greet him. When she saw her former boyfriend, she tried to run away but he chased after her.
The Bangladeshi was ejected from the car and the terrified woman was forced into the vehicle in his place.
The 34-year-old victim said that her kidnapper hit her, then she lost consciousness. “When I woke up, I realised I was in his house. I couldn’t run away since he was right next to me,” she said. “I was worried he’d assault me again, so I stayed put. Eventually, the police arrived and arrested him.”
The court heard that police had come to the defendant’s Hamad Town home and knocked on the door. There was no response. Sensing that there was somebody home, the Civil Defence was summoned, and the door opened.
Inside was the Bahraini suspect and the Russian woman.
The second defendant was arrested that night after calling 999, when his car was stranded by the side of a road.
A notice had already been issued against his car, as it has been seen at the scene of the crime. Using security camera recordings, police were able to track the vehicle to a petrol station in Ramli.
In the footage, it appeared that the vehicle’s licence plate was covered with a piece of paper. As the car was being re-fuelled, the paper slipped, revealing its real number.
Incidentally, the man’s car broke down that same night, and he was arrested after requesting help from the emergency services after dialling 999, based on a circular issued for the vehicle.
The GDN previously reported that the first defendant admitted to all charges, stating that he and his accomplice hit the two Bangladeshi men, and that he physically assaulted the woman. The defendant said that he had ties to her. “I was in a romantic relationship for two years,” he said. “She disappeared a month ago and I couldn’t reach her so I met him so I’d be able to get to her.
“I beat her up hard. I was in a state of rage, I felt provoked … I don’t know why I did what I did,” he confessed. “All I know is that I did it due to my intense love for her.”
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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