Victim’s mental health to be assessed in case

Manama

The High Criminal Court has ordered the mental assessment of a Bahraini victim involved in a kidnapping case, in which three defendants are implicated. Judges at the High Criminal Court took this decision to determine if the victim can give a valid account as to when he went through during his time in captivity.

The first and second defendants reportedly abducted the victim while he was in a bus station. They lured him into their car by offering him a ride to his destination, according to court files. But they allegedly took him to a stable in Barhama, where the third defendant was awaiting them.

"They held me captive in a room and they showed me a picture of a man. They accused me of embezzling his money in a fake money investment scheme," the victim told prosecutors in his statement.

He alleged that the first and second defendants trussed him up and beat up with electrical cables and pipes. "They shouted at me to reveal where I had hid the money. When I told them it was kept in a box in a room, they ceased their assault."

"One day later, they took me to my home in the early hours of the morning, and a fourth man was accompanying them. He (the fourth man) was carrying a look alike machine gun, and later the first and second men left the car and entered my home," he explained.

They plundered perfumes as well as other belongings from the house and took the victim back to the stable after no money was found.

"They told me that they would give me a grace period to bring them the money, which they alleged I was owing to the man in the photograph. They told me to tell my parents that I was in police custody, if they asked me where I had been,” the man added.

The defendants were held guilty on grounds of robbery, kidnapping and physical assault. The fourth man, however, is still unknown and hasn't been charged in connection with the case.

The trial was adjourned until June 16, pending the completion of the mental health report of the victim.