Bahrain Mirror: The Court of Cassation upheld on Wednesday (October 9, 2019) the two verdicts issued against convicts in receiving money from a former Qatari Minister, aiming at affecting the Parliamentary elections in Bahrain. The first instance court had sentenced Waheed Al-Dossari to 5 years in prison and Hasan Al-Araibi to 3 years.

The Public Prosecution accused Al-Dossari of colluding with a foreign state and working for it, aiming at harming the country's political status and national interests, by seeking and communicating with the State of Qatar and Abdullah Khaled Al Thani, who works for it. It claimed that they asked him to run for parliamentary elections in the Kingdom with financial support from Qatar and to implement its policies, approaches and plans against the regime in the Kingdom upon assuming his post.

It also accused him of asking and accepting a gift from a foreign country with the intention of committing an act deemed harmful to the national interest of the country, by requesting and accepting for himself amounts of money amounting to 10,000 dinars from the State of Qatar, and from Abdullah Khalid Al Thani, who works for him, in exchange for running for the Parliament, working through him to implement the plans of this state and its approach based on opposing  and harming the regime in the country. Meanwhile, it accused Hassan Al-Arabi of being aware of the crimes described in the first clause and not reporting them to the official authorities.

The prosecution also accused the suspects of collecting and accepting the funds without obtaining permission from the competent authorities between 2013 and 2018, contrary to the provisions of the law, to receive cash from outside Bahrain by direct cash receipt, and by transferring the money to their bank accounts. This was given to the first defendant and through his account at Qatar International Bank and Al-Rayyan Qatari Bank, with a total of BD 52,126, while the second received cash money through his bank account in Bahrain up to a total of 173,678 dinars.

Arabic Version