Bahraini activist tried over insulting judiciary
Bahrain, Politics, 6/6/2005

The Bahraini women activist Ghada Jamshir was brought on Saturday before a court in Manama that accused her of insulting the judiciary.

A group of women gathered in the court's hall in solidarity with Jamshir heads the Women's Petition Committee, a network of activists demanding the codification of the kingdom's family laws and the reform of its family courts. She also presides over the societal partnership committee of Amnesty International organization.

The judge of the Greater Criminal court Abdul Rahman al-Sayed read three accusations against Ghada Jashmir: insulting the judiciary by publishing printings circulated in public places; insulting a judge in a telephone call, and saying inappropriate words against the judge. The accused woman said she is not guilty.

Ghada Jamshir is accused of slander on the basis of calling family court judges in Bahrain "corrupt, biased, and unqualified" and calling a specific judge "rude and unfair." She is also being criminally charged by the ex-husband of a divorced woman whose case was adopted by the Women's Petition Committee. Her charges are based in part on provisions of the Penal Code of 1976 which have been largely condemned for giving the government wide latitude to suppress public criticism.

"Ghada Jamshir is being punished for exposing the injustice that women face in the courtroom," said LaShawn R. Jefferson, Women's Rights director at Human Rights Watch. "These lawsuits are a blatant attempt to silence her and undermine the reform efforts she spearheads." Two separate shari'a (Islamic law) based family courts exist for Sunni and Shia Muslims in Bahrain. These courts hear personal status cases, including marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance cases. There are no written personal status laws in Bahrain. The uncodified nature of these laws gives judges the authority to render judgments according to their own reading of Islamic jurisprudence. Judges presiding over these courts are generally conservative religious scholars with limited formal legal training. Many of them are unapologetically adverse to women's equality and persistently favor men in their rulings.

Since 2001, the Women's Petition Committee has documented hundreds of cases in which these judges misinterpret religious jurisprudence and deny Bahraini women their rights arbitrarily. For example, several judges have denied women custody of their children simply because they work or are pursuing higher education.

Ghada Jamshir has presented dozens of complaints to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the King describing the mishandling of cases by specific judges. While the government has promised a codified family law granting divorced women presumptive custody of their children, among other things, little action has been taken. The committee charged with this task has not consulted with the Women's Petition Committee or any other nongovernmental activists working in this area.

While the judge decided to adjourn the case until July 2nd, Jashmir said in a later statement she does not care if she is admitted to prison "because we eventually live in a big prison," adding she will not give up her stances.

The Human Rights Watch in demanded on Thursday the Bahraini government to drop the accusations against Ghada Jashmir. "Rather than putting one of Bahrain's most committed activists on trial, the government should work with Ghada Jamshir to immediately address the issues that her organization has brought to light," said Jefferson.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak receives King of Bahrain in Sharm el-Sheikh   (5/26/2005)
  Bahraini al-Wifaq society threatens to boycott the elections   (5/13/2005)
  Women demonstration in Bahrain demand the resignation of attorney general   (2/7/2005)
  Bahraini society accuses government of continuing human rights violations   (12/10/2004)
  60% of the Bahraini boycott the American products   (8/2/2004)

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