Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced that it released arms and drugs dealer Abdulrahman Khalifa Al-Dhahrani on Thursday (May 23, 2019). It, however, denied that the king released him, stressing that his release came through the judiciary, which is claimed to be an independent authority.

Releasing the arms and drugs dealer via the alternative penalty law is similar to setting him free by a royal decree. At the end of day, he is the son of a figure close to the king and his royal court. He got involved in serious and dangerous crimes, yet was released after a short period of time. That's because the security and judicial authorities as well as the alternative penalty law are all in the grip of the king and his royal court. This is known to all.

This same judiciary rejected the request of peaceful human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, yet accepted that of arms and drugs dealer, Al-Dhahrani. As known, the prison's administration report about a detainee affects the judge who considers the request, so what was the stance of the prisons' administrations regarding the released arms dealer?

The statement of the Interior Ministry, which claimed that Bahrain Mirror is a website that aims at promoting sedition, said that the Director-General of Reformation and Rehabilitation noted that the inmate was released from the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre in Jaw Prison on May 23 by a judge order under the alternative penalty law and not by a special pardon.

The Director-General of Reformation and Rehabilitation denied reports on a number of websites about the release of an inmate by a special pardon. He said that those websites aim at promoting sedition, clarifying that the inmate was released from Jaw Prison's Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre on May 23 by an alternative penalty execution judge order.

"The Director-General said that the inmate [arms and drugs dealer] served two years and four months of his four years and seven months sentence. He will serve an alternative punishment of two years and three months through community services and rehabilitation and training programs."

"The Director-General said that the implementation of the alternative penalty law was announced earlier, in which its full details and goals were highlighted," the statement added.

Why doesn't the alternative penalty law include prisoners like cancer patient Faisal Elias or Ahmed Mirza who suffers from severe sickle cell anemia or other prisoners who suffer from psychiatric problems, or does it only embrace the son of the former speaker of the house of representatives and brother of judge Ali Al-Dhahrani whom the Ministry of Interior immensely relied on to issue harsh sentences against dissidents and revoke their citizenships.

The story of the release of Al-Dhahrani's son is a full-on scandal, so there is no need to hide behind the rhetoric of an "independent judiciary". The Judiciary of Bahrain is condemned by one of the most prominent human rights organizations for being a punitive tool against dissidents and is known to lack independence.

The Alternative Penalty Law allows a judge to change the prison sentences that are less than one year and more than five years in case it was shown that the personal or health conditions of the defendant are not suitable according to reports he asks for or are given. The judge then has the right to replace such sentences with house arrest or any other alternative penalty.

The law also authorizes the detainee or the prison administration to petition the judge to replace the punishment or the remainder of the sentence with an alternative penalty, and the law requires that the sentenced person have served half of the sentence or sentences issued against him. The prisoner should also have good conduct, and his release should not endanger public security.

In the name of the public opinion, the Ministry of Interior should be addressed and asked: which of the above conditions applies to Abdulrahman Khalid Al-Dhahrani? Is he ill? Does he have difficult personal circumstances that require his release? Was his conduct good in prison? Isn't Al-Dhahrani's son a danger to public security for being a notorious arms and drugs dealer?

This is a complete farce! The Ministry of Interior has protected Al-Dhahrani's son for a long time and did not arrest him for years even after being aware of his crimes, before it was forces to to so. It; however, treated him as a special prisoner. He was able to do whatever he wanted, go home and then return, threaten the police, and he was also allowed to sleep outside the prison. He was a prisoner only in form, because the law does not apply to everyone in this country.

Arabic Version