Two defendants tell court killing ‘retaliation’ for cousin’s death 12 years ago

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Two men accused of murdering a man in his fifties told a court yesterday they stabbed him to death in revenge for the killing of their cousin more than 12 years ago, as the Public Prosecution played CCTV footage and sought the maximum penalty.

The defendants, aged 25 and 28, told the High Criminal Court they stabbed the victim, who shared their Asian nationality, during the opening session of the trial.

Prosecutors said the men claimed the victim had killed their cousin in their home country years earlier.

Attack

They tracked him for two months, the court heard, before lying in wait close to his residence and carrying out the attack. Footage played in court showed the first defendant checking the area about 90 minutes before the killing, prosecutors said.

Further recordings captured both men attacking the victim near his home until he fell and died.

The Public Prosecution said the case began after Northern Governorate Police reported finding a body in an alley in Budaiya with multiple stab wounds.

Statements

Investigators examined the scene and took witness statements, which, along with camera recordings, pointed to the two defendants.

Police arrested them as they tried to leave Bahrain, prosecutors told the court

The weapons were later recovered after the defendants led officers to where they had been left.

The men gave detailed confessions during questioning, the court heard, saying the long-running dispute drove them to plan the killing.

They described waiting near the victim’s home, stabbing him several times, then fleeing.

Stab

A forensic pathologist concluded the man died from stab and incised wounds in different parts of his body, consistent with the seized weapons.

Laboratory tests found the victim’s blood and cells on the defendants’ clothing and on both weapons, prosecutors said.

Proceedings are continuing.