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A fugitive who fled to Iran after being accused of rioting was arrested at Bahrain International Airport trying to return home allegedly using forged documents.
He is now facing trial at the High Criminal Court after an eagle-eyed airport employee spotted the discrepancies and alerted police.
The 34-year-old from Muharraq has been accused of using a passport with forged renewal stamps, as well as doctored biometric data, and attempting to use the false details to enter the kingdom.
A 49-year-old computer literate labourer from Al Daih is facing trail in absentia, as he remains across the Arabian Sea, although well known to the Bahraini authorities for allegedly producing dodgy documents for criminal elements hiding in foreign lands.
The man is facing charges related to forging official documents, fingerprints and stamps.
His co-accused is facing charges related to aiding the forger to commit the crime, as well as attempting to enter the country using the fake passport elements.
According to court documents, the 34-year-old was arrested after he attempted to re-enter the kingdom on a flight, almost a decade after he fled by boat to Iran.
One of the witnesses, a 41-year-old airport employee, told the authorities that when he scanned the 34-year-old accused’s passport, the information on his screen showed him that the arriving passenger had never officially left the kingdom.
Not only did it suggest that the accused’s status was that he was ‘still in Bahrain’, it revealed he was ‘wanted’ for alleged crimes committed in the past.
They also checked his passport, which showed that it had expired and contained new stamps that were made to look like ones issued by the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA).
It became clear they were not official after ‘several errors and discrepancies’ were discovered by the employee.
Suspecting foul play, he immediately informed a nearby police officer for assistance and the accused was arrested.
An expert later inspected the passport and revealed that the biometric data did not match the ones that were in the official NPRA database.
The General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Evidence launched an investigation that revealed that the accused had fled the kingdom by sea.
Using secret sources, they were able to determine that while in Iran, he allegedly cooperated with the 49-year-old in order to forge the stamps and biometric data.
During interviews with investigators, the 34-year-old admitted to illegally leaving the country in 2016 after he was involved in a case in which he had been accused of vandalism and rioting.
He stated that while he was in Iran, he used what he called a ‘specialised office’ in order to renew his passport with the help of the labourer, saying he did this multiple times despite knowing that the stamps were forged.
He also admitted that he knew his co-accused helped Bahraini fugitives in Iran by forging stamps and approached him despite knowing that they were fake.
The accused also claimed that he wanted to renew his passport at an official source, but was unable to do so due to the lack of a consulate or embassy in Iran.
The ongoing trial has been adjourned until March 17.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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