“This is a criminal case in which the Bahraini government cannot interfere. If it was a case of a Guantanamo Bay detainee, for example, then things would have been different,” the deputy said.
Hamad (a.k.a Abu Ubeida) is a key witness in the trial of Rasim Delic, the highest-ranking Bosnian Muslim army officer indicted by the United Nations war crimes court.
“I have approached Hamad’s family in Bahrain but they have not given me a positive response in connection with his release. They also have no clue about Hamad’s daughter born in Bosnia,” the MP said.
The deputy said he had contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance in the case but his request was rejected. “In view of the nature of the crime it becomes tough for the government to take up the case.
Hamad is free to come to Bahrain after serving sentence but I am trying to ensure that he serves his remaining sentence in the Kingdom,” the MP said.
The Hague court conducted the hearing in Sarajevo away from its seat in The Hague, the Netherlands, because Hamad is serving a 12-year sentence in Zenica, for his involvement in a car-bomb attack in Mostar, a town split between Croats and Muslims.
In his testimony in the Delic trial this month, Hamad said he fought with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 1991-92. He also confirmed that he was in El Mujaheed unit and had contacts with Bosnian Muslim army officers when he was commanding his unit in 1993.
Last week the legal and legislative committee of parliament discussed cases of Bahrainis serving term in the other GCC countries. The panel also discussed means of bring them home to serve the remaining term under a prison exchange programme. There was no discussion on Bahrainis jailed in other countries.
