(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC reports that the writer and scholar Shaikh Al-Jamri, who was sentenced on 7 July 1999 to ten years’ imprisonment and a massive fine, has been pardoned by the Amir of Bahrain and unexpectedly released. **Updates IFEX alerts of 1 July, 16 April and 15 February 1999, 17 February 1998, 11 October, 4 […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC reports that the writer and scholar Shaikh Al-Jamri, who
was sentenced on 7 July 1999 to ten years’ imprisonment and a massive fine,
has been pardoned by the Amir of Bahrain and unexpectedly released.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 1 July, 16 April and 15 February 1999, 17 February
1998, 11 October, 4 October and 19 June 1995**
On 7 July, Shaikh Al-Jamri – a 62-year old religious scholar, poet and
former member of the now defunct National Assembly – was sentenced to a
ten-year prison term and a fine of 5.7 million dinars (about US$15,000,000).
After news of his sentencing became known, many of his supporters and
members of Bahrain’s Shiite community took to the streets and protested. The
next day, 8 July, his wife and two sons were called to the prison, and it is
thought he may have signed a statement promising not to be engaged in
political activities on his release. He was then released, and has returned
to his village of Bani-Jamra, where large crowds came out to greet him. He
is now in his house with police officers on guard outside, and his village
has been sealed off. (It is hoped that this will only be a temporary
measure, while the crowds remain undispersed).
Shaikh Al-Jamri was arrested in January 1996, along with seven other
prominent Shi’a Muslim clerics, apparently in connection with a petition he
circulated calling for constitutional change. His supporters believe that
the cohesive voice of the international community, including PEN and other
human rights groups, was a significant factor in the government’s decision
to release him.
