Religious scholar and poet under arrest

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN on 19 June 1995 requested PEN members to write to the Bahraini authorities about the welfare of detained religious scholar, Shaikh ‘Abd al-Amir Mansur al-Jamri. It is feared that continued imprisonment will worsen his already poor health. Amnesty International reports that on 1 April 1995, security forces […]

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN on 19 June
1995 requested PEN members to write to the Bahraini authorities
about the welfare of detained religious scholar, Shaikh ‘Abd
al-Amir Mansur al-Jamri. It is feared that continued imprisonment
will worsen his already poor health.

Amnesty International reports that on 1 April 1995, security
forces surrounded the home of Shaik al-Jamri, aged 58, a
prominent Muslim religious scholar and poet, former member of
parliament and judge. The area surrounding his home in Bani Jamra
was cordoned off and people living in houses close by were
forcibly evicted. Shaik al-Jamri and 18 other family members,
including his wife Zahra Yusuf, their three sons and three
daughters, and several children were detained under house arrest.
They had no access to the outside world until 15 April when
Shaikh al-Jamri was transferred to an unknown location and the
family was freed.

The arrests led to protests in Bani Jamra which resulted in
security forces shooting at unarmed civilians. Two people were
killed and more were seriously injured. This event led to further
disturbances and arrests in other parts of Bahrain.

The family was not informed of Shaikh Al-Jamri’s whereabouts
until 9 May when one of his daughters, ‘Afaf ‘Abd al-Amir al-
Jamri, aged 31, was brought to al-Qal’a Prison in the Bahraini
capital, Manama, to see him. (It is believed that Shaikh al-Jamri
is not usually held in this prison, but was brought there from
his usual place of imprisonment in a detention house in the town
of Safira.) During the meeting, ‘Afaf al-Jamri was herself set
upon by women police officers and beaten. She was taken into
custody and held in an unknown location until her release on 12
May.

Shaikh al-Jamri suffers from heart disease. He has reportedly
been transferred to Bahrain’s Military Hospital on at least three
occasions since 15 April. He is reported to have suffered
significant weight loss.

Shaikh al-Jamri is a scholar of Islamic theology. In the mid-
1970s he served as an opposition member of the National Assembly
until the Constitution and parliament was suspended in 1975.
Since then he has continued as a religious scholar and carried
out numerous social, charitable and educational activities. From
1977 to his suspension in 1988, he served as a judge on the
Religious Court. The Religious Courts are part of the Ministry of
Justice and handle cases relating to personal affairs, including
marriage, divorce and religious issues. There are two courts each
catering for the Sunni and the Shia communities. Al- Jamri is a
Shia. In 1988 he was briefly arrested for his political
activities. His son-in-law and son were arrested at the same time
and are serving prison terms. He is the author of numerous books,
including a collection of poetry published in 1990. The most
well-known of his publications include a study of Islamic
teaching published in 1968, and “The Status of Women” published
in 1970.

Shaikh al-Jamri was one of the authors of a petition distributed
in 1992 calling for the restoration of the constitution and the
return of the parliament. In October 1994 he and 13 other pro-
democracy leaders (including representatives of both the Sunni
and Shia communities) issued another petition which was signed by
25,000 Bahrainis. It was to be submitted on 16 December 1994
(Bahrain National Day), but was blocked by the arrests of
thousands of demonstrators protesting the detention of a leading
cleric who was central to the signature collecting campaign.

Recommended Action

Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman al-Khalifa

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

Government Road

POB 1000

Manama, Bahrain

Fax: + 973 533 033

Please send copies to the Bahraini representative in your

country.