Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Sheikh Ahmed bin Atiyatullah Al Khalifa, the royal court’s follow-up minister, does not appear to be anywhere in Bahrain for the past three months. There is no information about the “Octopus Man”, who had in his grip the Central Agency for Information and e-Government and the management of the electoral process and its outputs.

He wasn't seen in any of the photos taken during the big official ceremony held at the National Charter building this week to honor Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa for winning first place in the World Endurance Championship. It is to note that this ceremony was attended by most members of the ruling family, including Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, leader of Al-Khawalid wing, to which Atiyatullah belongs.

It was not an opportunity that Sheikh Ahmed bin Atiyatullah would miss. He was the one who kept sending out congratulatory telegrams every time Sheikh Nasser won a small competition. This can be easily confirmed by searching the archives of the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) or a simple Google search.

Sheikh Ahmed is not present. There is no information about him and not even a congratulatory telegram to Sheikh Nasser, despite the fact that his victory this time is resounding, as he is the world champion.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Atiyatullah, for instance, continued to send telegrams on February 14 of each year, congratulating the country’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the anniversary of the National Action Charter. You can search his name on any search engine and you will see these congratulatory telegrams up until last year. However, this year in particular was free of any of his letters. Local newspapers, including Al-Watan, which he has control over and is his mouthpiece and the wing it represents in power, did not report any statement by him on the National Action Charter anniversary. He was not even spotted in the group photos taken of the king with dozens of ruling family members during his reception on this occasion.

In fact, the minister’s last media appearance in the local press dates back to November last year when he visited the Sheikh of Al-Azhar. It is true that Atiyatullah does not issue a lot of statements or appear that much in the media, he often prefers to run his shady programs in power from a back seat, but not so far as to ignore Sheikh Nasser’s World Championship victory and the Charter anniversary, unless he is a follow-up minister in the Royal Court yet does not actually follow anything.

Is there something odd taking place? Only God knows. Perhaps the right person to answer this question is Sheikh Ahmed bin Atiyatullah himself, as he must come out to his followers at least to reassure them that he is fine and not a fugitive in Morocco, for example.

He should respond to the circulating stories and whisperings of state officials about his embezzlement of 400 million dinars (about one billion dollars) from public funds, and respond to whether what is being said about the participation of his brother, the commander of King Hamad Hospital, Sheikh Salman bin Atiyatullah Al Khalifa, in the embezzlement process is accurate. More importantly, what is the role of the Minister of the Royal Court Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed in all of this, and the validity of the rumors about his prior knowledge of the aspects of spending the said amount after Atiyatullah throw the burden of the matter on his shoulders. 

Is Atiyatullah still the Minister of Follow-up Affairs at the Royal Court, or has he been removed calmly from his post by creating the post of “Minister of Public Affairs at the Royal Court”, to which Majid Al-Nuaimi has been recently appointed? Ine has to ask, what do all of these stories about him have to do with the recent changes that took place in the royal decrees and the removal of its president, Khalifa Al-Fadala, after he was also involved in theft and money laundering? 

At Bahrain Mirror, we don’t know the answers to all these questions. We do not present them as information, but as questions because we have not been able to verify them from a second source. Yet, they are things that are being secretly circulated behind closed doors. It is advisable that Sheikh Ahmed bin Atiyatullah himself comes out to refute all these stories, even through an anonymous editor from “Al-Watan” newspaper. However, his silence this time will not be “golden” at all. 

Arabic Version