HUMAN rights activists and relatives who lost loved ones in the Al Dana dhow tragedy are demanding answers after the GDN revealed that the vessel owner was still not behind bars - despite being jailed for five years for causing the death of 58 people.

Abdulla Al Kobaisi has yet to serve any of his sentences and has just launched a new venture to introduce liquid gas-powered cars to Bahrain.

He was initially jailed for 10 years for manslaughter as the owner of the dhow, but this was later reduced to five years on appeal.

Mr Al Kobaisi was released on BD10,000 bail while his appeal was underway, but was originally spared the cells because he was reportedly in hospital with "serious health complications".

He now claims to have reached an out-of-court settlement with 70 per cent of the families who had lost loved ones in the disaster.

However, Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) assistant general-secretary Dr Abdulla Aldeerazi said even if Mr Al Kobaisi was reaching out-of-court settlements, he should still serve his sentence.

"If he was in hospital and has recovered, he should go to prison to serve the rest of his sentence," he said.

"That should be the normal practice and nobody should be excluded from that.

"This will upset the rest of the victims and families who have lost loved ones.

"They will feel that they have been cheated."

Bahrain Transparency Society (BTS) president Abdulnabi Al Ekri also questioned Mr Al Kobaisi's freedom.

"We know that many sentences are not implemented and this gives us doubts about the much-heralded sovereignty of the judiciary in Bahrain," he said.

"If there is a sentence, it should be implemented, regardless of who it is against."

Mohammed Abdul Latif, whose 27-year-old son died in the tragedy, was shocked to discover that Mr Al Kobaisi was not in prison.

"I was under the impression that he was in jail," he said.

"The last I heard about him was that he was seriously ill in hospital, but it is obvious that he should go to jail after being discharged.

"I am shocked to know this man is free and living a normal life."

His son was among those caught up in the disaster as one of the Century Hotel workers who were providing catering for the party onboard the boat.

Mr Abdul Latif, who has two other children, said two years after the tragedy his family was still trying to come to terms with their loss.

"I have serious health problems and was hoping to retire as soon as my son earned enough to take up the family's financial responsibility," he said.

"My wife is still not normal.

"Whenever she sees any man of my son's age, she goes up to him and calls him by our son's name.

"If Bahrain has any sense of justice they should prove it by putting this man (Al Kobaisi) in jail like he deserves."

Meanwhile, a dhow survivor still living in Bahrain and who asked to remain anonymous described the situation as "baffling".

"On a personal level, I am sure that people would like to see justice and him serve jail time," said the man.

"If he is fit and well, he should be in prison."

However, he said there was no point in getting angry, adding that the case had already dragged for two-and-a-half years.

"The bottom line is we would like to see some form of justice," he said.

"But more importantly, we want to make sure fair and proper remuneration for families of the victims is given and get some recognition that the survivors were significantly affected."

The man said a survivor's group, consisting of Britons, South Africans and Indians working for Nass, Murray and Roberts, had not been contacted by Mr Al Kobaisi's legal team since they turned down an initial offer of BD500 compensation.

The 15 raised a joint action against the vessel's owner in the aftermath of the tragedy.

However, the widow of 60-year-old Al Dana victim Furqan Ali was philosophical about news of Mr Al Kobaisi's freedom.

"What can I say about this?" asked Nuzhat, 53, whose daughters Hina, 23, and Harris Ali, 26, are both students at Sindh University, Pakistan.

"I know God will deal with him.

"I don't know in the future what will happen to me and my daughters and that is a big problem for us."

South Africa-based Murray Roberts Group executive director Millard Arnold was also unaware of Mr Al Kobaisi's freedom and said the company would look into the matter.

"Clearly, there will be those who will ask questions considering that a man who has been found guilty is not serving any time in jail," he said.

"However, this is a matter for Bahraini law.

"We have always said that the government and its legal system is something we have put our faith in."

Fifty-eight people died when the dhow capsized in March 2006 during a Nass, Murray and Roberts party to celebrate the completion of concreting work at the Bahrain World Trade Centre.

The company had hired the dhow from Island Tours, which in turn had hired it from the Abdulla Al Kobaisi Company for Travel and Tourism.

Mr Al Kobaisi and Indian captain Rajendra Kumar Ramjibhai were convicted in May last year of manslaughter for the deaths.

Mr Ramjibhai was jailed for three years and later lost an appeal against his conviction.

However, Mr Al Kobaisi successfully appealed against his sentence, which was cut to five years at the High Criminal Appeal Court last December.

His lawyer Abdulrahman Ghunaim confirmed in April that he had not spent any time in jail because he was recovering in hospital with health problems.

geoff@gdn.com.b