14-Jan-2010
The Supreme Court of Appeal has decided to appoint an expert to investigate the University of Bahrain Printing Press corruption case, which has been adjourned to 3 February 2010. The High Criminal Court has ruled 5 years imprisonment for the first defendant in the case and 3 years for the remaining three defendants, and has fined each of the accused 100 Bahraini dinars.
The Chairman of the Manama prosecution Ahmed Bugeery indicated that the court required that all defendants pay a fine of 90 thousand dinars and an additional 5000 dinars to the civil rights attorney as a temporary compensation.
The court heard the testimony of six witnesses, including one responsible for the investigation commission set up by the university, who said she did not call all workers in the printing press, and that she called only those involved in the matter. She added that she learned that the second defendant was appointed as charge d’affaires, who is accountable for matters that occur at the printing press.
The woman witness said that with reference to the statements from the press workers, and through the investigation commission which was assigned by the university, they determined the amount of the publications handled by the first defendant to be worth approximately 90 thousand dinars, and that an investigation committee had directed administrative and disciplinary sanctions immediately after the fraud was discovered at the university press.
It is worthwhile mentioning that the defendants in the case printed posters for an election campaign, at a cost estimated to be 90 thousand dinars, for one of the defendants in the case by taking wrong advantage of their positions in the printing press.