Cairo 5 June 2011
ANHRI has condemned today the ongoing martial courts against Bahraini activists upon their expression of opinion though the emergency law, according to which these martial courts were held, is lifted. The martial court will review tomorrow, Monday 6 June 2011, the second sitting of martial court against the poet Ayat Al Cormozy for having recited poems during the protests sit-in which had been dispersed by force in last March in the Pearl Roundabout.
Cairo 5 June 2011
ANHRI has condemned today the ongoing martial courts against Bahraini activists upon their expression of opinion though the emergency law, according to which these martial courts were held, is lifted. The martial court will review tomorrow, Monday 6 June 2011, the second sitting of martial court against the poet Ayat Al Cormozy for having recited poems during the protests sit-in which had been dispersed by force in last March in the Pearl Roundabout.
Ayat Al Cormozy, a 20 years old student and poet, was arrested last March by Bahraini security forces after she had recited poems in the Pearl Roundabout criticizing in it the Bahraini authorities. Ayat had been detained in an unknown place and without any specific charges until the Bahraini authorities had informed her family that she would be prosecuted in a martial court on Thursday 2 June as the first sitting of the court. This prosecution took place only two days after the lift of emergency law according to which these martial courts were held. The court has indicted the young poet of “touching on Bahraini King and participating in illegal demonstrations” and decided to postpone the hearing to Monday 6 June 2011.
This prosecution came after the lift of the notorious emergency law which had been imposed in 15 March 2011 and according to which 600 opponent activists were arrested and around 2000 persons were fired from their jobs because of their participation in the demonstrations that had broken out in the kingdom since last February and which had been violently suppressed by the security forces.
Ayat Al Cormozy is the second woman to be prosecuted in a martial court in the wake of the last events in Manama after that Galila Salman, an activist, had been sentenced to four years jail for possessing forbidden singing records and not obeying the orders of the police officers in the street in 12 May 2011.
ANHRI said “Human rights situation in Bahrain is in ongoing deterioration and the lift of emergency law was merely a trial from the authorities to improve their image while they are actually still following suppressive measures and holding martial courts in fighting freedom of expression”
ANHRI added “Bahraini authorities should stop attacking human rights activists and opponents and prosecuting martial courts against civilians, and should release immediately all activists and arrested demonstrators, and allow a suitable environment for freedom of opinion and expression without adopting prosecution, or arrest or jail policies. It is not logic that the Bahraini authorities calls for dialogue with different political movements while the opposition leaders are in jail.”
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=2621
