Two Azeri women jailed for passport forgery in Bahrain

They were caught when immigration officials became suspicious, the Lowere Criminal Court heard.

The women 'tourists' from Azerbaijan are aged 25 and 22. They arrived at Bahrain International Airport on a Turkish airline from Istanbul.

Both pleaded not guilty to truing to obtain one week's entry visas.

They were previously remanded in custody on July 24 for a week pending investigation.

Immigration officials noticed that the revenue stamps were removed from one page of the passports and pasted on another.

The 25-year-old's name was also not listed on the Tukish Airlines passenger list. They were taken on one side for further inspection and Azerbaijani passports found with different details and return tickets.

The 25-year-old said: "I arrived in Bahrain on July 23, as a tourist for a week and then I wanted to return to my country.

"Knowingly I got the Turkish passport when I was in Turkey with my other woman friend.

"We were in a nightclub where I met a Turkish man and he asked me do you want a Turkish passport and I said yes.

"He said he gave another Azerbaijani woman a Turkish passport because it makes it easier to travel to other countries with it.

"He said I can get you a Turkish passport and you can travel to Bahrain easily.

"He said it is an original Turkish passport and I agreed.

"I paid him US$ 1000 and gave him my picture too to put it in the Turkish passport.

"Soon he prepared the passport and brought it for me.

"I decided to travel to Bahrain for a week knowingly I travelled to Turkey with my original Azerbaijani passport and travelled out of Turkey with the same Azerbaijani passport to come to Bahrain.

"But at the airport when I gave my Turkish passport to the immigration authorities to obtain a week long visa the official got suspicious and told me that it was forged and also my name was not listed in the passengers coming from Istanbul, Turkey on this flight.

"I became victim of a fraudster in Turkey.

The 22-year-old, second Azerbaijani woman gave a similar account of being deceived by a Turkish man who sold a forged Turkish passport to her.

She said: "I wanted a Turkish passport because with it one can travel everywhere but with an Azerbaijani passport it is difficult."

The 22-year-old was remanded in custody for a week pending investigation on July 23.

When the charges were read to her in the court she denied them.

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