'Crimes Department': Former senior Interior Ministry official sentenced to seven years in prison and dismissed from office
- Ordered to repay 1.293 million dinars and fined double the amount in a border cameras tender case
The Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Khaled Rashad and with the membership of Judges Abdulhadi Al-Hajjari and Abdulaziz Al-Mu'adadi, sentenced a former senior official in the Ministry of Interior to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labor, dismissed him from his post, and ordered him to repay 1,293,700 dinars and 600 fils, and to be fined double that amount, on two charges of affiliation, in a case related to the maintenance of border cameras and the supply, installation, and maintenance of an underground invisible system and networks and devices.
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The court also sentenced an accused foreigner in absentia to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labor and ordered his deportation from the country after serving his sentence.
The court decided to refrain from pronouncing a penalty on seven other accused, including a former senior official, while ordering each of them to provide a guarantee of financial bail amounting to 500 dinars, committing them to good conduct and behavior for one year.
The case dates back to accusations of facilitating the misappropriation of public funds, harming national interests, forgery, and professional negligence, in connection with activities related to a tender for the maintenance of thermal cameras at the Ministry of Interior, and the supply, installation, and maintenance of an underground invisible system and networks and devices, with a value exceeding 1.889 million dinars.
The court had previously annulled the Public Prosecution’s decision to dismiss the complaint and ordered the referral of the accused to trial, based on observations contained in the Court of Audit’s report regarding the contracts in question.
In its reasoning, the court emphasized that holding a senior position at the country’s borders is not merely an administrative duty, but places the officeholder in a position of trust linked to both the integrity of public funds and national security.
It stressed that the nature of such a position requires the incumbent to be a “watchful eye” over what is under their charge, and that negligence must not become a means to perpetuate irregularities or a shield behind which the negligent can hide.
It pointed out that the damage could have been avoided if duties had been performed with the integrity required, and if supervisory authority had been exercised properly, noting that vigilance would have cut off errors before they escalated and prevented documents and reports from being used as a cover to conceal the reality of the misappropriation of public funds.
The court affirmed that public office must not become a channel to facilitate what should not pass, nor should responsibility turn into a burden that its holders shirk, explaining that “the higher the position, the greater the duty; and the more closely the work is linked to the security of the country and its people, the more sacred it is to neglect it.”
In contrast, the court justified its decision not to impose penalties on the seven accused due to the absence of prior criminal records in their files, and its conclusion that they are unlikely to reoffend in the future. It therefore opted to guide them away from their missteps and assist them in correcting their behavior, subjecting them to a guarantee of good conduct and behavior for one year.
The court ordered the deportation of the foreign accused from the country after serving his sentence, in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code.
