Bahrain teacher re-arrested as persecution continues

Jalila al-Salman in Al Wefaq forum about violations against women in Bahrain

Ivana Davidovic
WVoN co-editor 

Although the Bahraini king recently set up  an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the treatment of protestors, the regime  is continuing its pursuit of teachers and others who have dared to oppose it peacefully.

The vice president of the Bahrain Teachers Association, Jalila al Salman, interviewed recently by WVoN about her trial, was arrested this morning by a group of masked security forces, who broke into her house at 3 am.

According to a family member, neither she nor her lawyer had received official notification of the arrest, as required by law.

The military court sentenced Mrs al-Salman in September for her part in the teachers’ strike and the peaceful protest at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital, Manama.

She spent 149 days in detention where she went on hunger strike in order to draw attention to the inhumane treatment of prisoners. This left her with serious heart and kidney problems.

In her earlier interview Mrs al-Salman said that the members of the Inquiry had facilitated her release on bail in August because of her deteriorating health and because they did not want any more women in prison.

She was led to believe that she would be free until her appeal, which is scheduled for December 11.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), which is campaigning for the release of all political prisoners, believe that Mrs al-Salman has been arrested because of her decision to speak openly about her detention and her determination to speak out about the regime’s violation of human rights.

Since the protests started in March, hundreds of teachers and medical professionals have been arrested, dismissed from their jobs and charged with false offences.

If you want to support the BCHR’s petition to end the violations against students and teachers, please sign it here.