Out on bail
Thanks to everyone for their unstinting support and friendship.
and BD500 poorer.
I went to the Public Prosecution office this morning and was there for 8am with plenty to spare. I was led through the corridors and levels of justice up to the 4th floor around 8.30am and sat in a waiting room to await my turn. I invested this time in reading Al-Wasat newspaper which covered this story very well indeed. The GDN and the Bahrain Tribune did too, so thanks go to all of them for their support.
Eventually, the Chief Public Prosecutor for Capital Mr. Wael Buallai invited me to his office to start the proceedings. This is the same gentleman who was given the overall responsibility of overseeing the recent elections in November of last year and I was honoured to meet him. He is a gentleman, very nice and with a charismatic personality. He not only explained to me the charges levied against me and suggested that I could be tried under the Penal Code and/or the Press & Publications Law 47/2002. He then gave me enough time to review the full charges folder before asking me if I needed a lawyer present.
Judging from the charges folder, I thought it would be in my favour to have a lawyer present. I called the lawyer I usually use – who I understand now has not handled a case such as this before – and was grateful for his prompt arrival. He was next door in the courts building.
Soon thereafter the questioning started. It is worth noting that in Bahrain’s law, lawyers present are not allowed to interrupt the public prosecutor during questioning, at all, object to a question nor advise their clients not to answer a particular one! They just sit there until the end of the session at which time they are given the chance to register any complaints and make any demands like asking the prosecutor for a copy of the file and to release the defendant on his own recognizance or on bail, rather than rot in jail over the weekend for instance.
Mr. Buallai is anything but not thorough, he has gone over every word and every sentence written in the original article as well as some of the comments. The whole article and comments were translated into Arabic in the claim’s folder, some of that translation I felt was not correct and he was good enough to register my complaint and record my own translation the article and comments in my words, which I obliged.
At the end of the 3 hours of questioning, he asked us to adjourn to the waiting room for him to deliberate. He did, and decided that this case should be regarded as a misdemeanor and set bail at BD500 (US$1,325).
My lawyer insisted on paying that on my behalf and we walked out.
That’s the end of the story currently. What comes next is that the file goes through to the general prosecutor’s office for them to decide whether to accept the case and go through with it to the courts, or refuse it and close the case. That all remains to be seen over the next few days. Unless of course, the plaintiff drops the defamation case against me, then although his case will be dropped, it is again up to the public prosecutor and in the interest of general public whether to go ahead with it or drop it.
What’s next though? What is Mahmood Al-Yousif going to do? Am I going to change the direction of the blog, will I concentrate on non-political articles, will I stop criticising public officials and government performance, will I go underground, should I have refused to post bail and get thrown into prison for a few days in order to be a martyr for the cause? What’s next?
Next is business as usual as far as I am concerned. One thing I would strongly urge Bahraini bloggers to do is go underground. It is not worth getting yourself known as that will only invite suits as I am experiencing now. They can never sue anonymous persons of course and they know it. But I am absolutely gob smacked that a newspaper owner like the right honourable gentleman here actually going ahead with this suit. It is as if he is inviting chaos to his own paper and journalists.
Regardless; what we need to do now, and particularly I, is find ways in which I can criticise, but also hide under the legal umbrella too in order to allay the chances of this happening again. Therefore, although (in this country particularly) it is much better to stay anonymous and not become legally responsible for your words, I cannot – personally – allow myself to do that. I have always been a known entity, and stand fully behind the words I publish here and elsewhere. Therefore, let me announce that I shall arrange for a workshop to be held as soon as possible and to be run by professional journalists to teach us how to criticise, but not get legally caught for our efforts.
I also firmly do not believe that in order for one to make a point, one must “sacrifice” and spend some time in jail. I believe in working within the system, and as such, I welcome fighting the case in court if it ever gets to that stage, in order to set a legal precedent which could be used as a benchmark for the future, rather than allow myself to be thrown in jail and create a fuss which does not create the required legal precedent, but might satisfy some egos.
Thank you again for your very valuable support.
I tip my hat in respect to you Mahmood.
I perhaps take my own freedom of expression a little too lightly – I hope this all turns out well in the end – and that you continue to be able to give your excellent “take” on situations which interest you.
Mike
whats the country coming to? i’m scared to write what i really think about those “in power” and read these events in the paper; cause in the end of the day they will through you in jail and not me.
Mahmood are you being held responsible for the contents of the comments section as well?
I was at pains to explain the workings of a website, blog and forum and differences to the public prosecutor. He is – thankfully – a very intelligent person who quickly understood the effects and differences, and gave me the impression that although no legal precedent exists, he did not take hold me responsible for comments entered by persons other than myself.
Although, as I explained, no legal precedent exists to use as a benchmark.
Out of interest, does the person making the charges have to be in court, or only the person on the receiving end?
Was the Right Honourable Minister His Excellency Mr. Mansour bin Hassan bin Rajab or his rep on hand? Or will he be required IF the case goes to court?
Imagining the worst, the case goes to court. Can the case carry on without his busy self, or will his absence just delay the whole procedures by months? We’ve all seen this scenario many times.
If only the person getting prosecuted has to be there, it seems a jolly good wheeze to make charges and waste everyone’s time while they just carry on as normal. This cannot be a fair and just method of doing business.
Power to you Mahmood!
Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Out on bail, huh? Wow, you are famous, Mahmood, or is that infamous? That’s too bad cause I have this cake with a file in it already specially prepared to come to your aid. Oh well, I don’t suppose homeland security would let me take it out of the country anyway.
Listen, I cannot tell you how much respect I have for who you are and what you stand for as well as what you having been willing to put on the line for your beliefs. More people need to step up to the plate and do that; because there is strength in numbers, and because people need to be accountable to the people they are suppose to SERVE. If there is a problem, it needs to be fixed, and if there is no solution, the person has not done his job and should expect critism.
The free speech thing is a no brainer as well; I hope the government understands the world is watching.
Anytime you need a file, let me know. Good luck.
So did you get coffee this time, or was it tea again?
But seriously, shouldnt they find out WHAT a blog is before blaming a person for using it???
If I were your lawyer, I’d be in a real pickle. I’d advise you to zip your lips, but knowing you, you wouldn’t :biggrin: and now knowing a bit a Bahrain law, you couldn’t.
Hopefully, truth is a defense to defamantion, but judging from the comments of Highlander, even persons who purport to dream for freedom of speech, believe that such freedom does not extend to “disrespect” in the form of what is at its worst, merely namecalling. [Not this statement, though, "has been allegedly pursued relentlessly by various businesses and banks for monies owed and allegedly implicated in various corrupt schemes", which is what would concern me if you were here, but I assume that this is "true".]
The frightening thing about this, from my perspective, is that a public official has available criminal prosecution as a possible remedy. Even if the prosecutor excercises his discretion and drops the case, the mere inconvenience of questioning, facing possible charges, and all that goes with that is enough to silence the average dissenting bear. Here, we only allow civil suit as a remedy for defamation (to my knowlege), and we make it a supreme court issue when a civil litigant endeavors to obtain an injuction to restrain speech. See here, for an interesting example.
Good luck, Mahmood. I pray that you don’t have to “take one for the team,” but if you do, I strongly suspect that in the end, your ongoing efforts to improve your country’s governmental systems and the lives of its citizens will be advanced by this.
P.S. When this case is resolved, I would suggest that you invite the prosecutor to your gathering of bloggers and journalists to educate everyone on the limits of Bahraini law and his prosecutorial discretion.
guess if you’ll all be masked crusaders, its best to call off public gatherings, huh?
Mahmood, this is going to be a very interesting time, not only for you, but for many whose voices are not generally heard. Reported in today’s issue of the Bahrain Tribune, you identified what for me is ‘the big question’: Whether or not a citizen of Bahrain has the right to label a government official as anything other than exemplary and to question his or her decisions and actions in a public forum (and the degree to which such a thing is permissible). Furthermore, the case may well set a precedent regarding the status of blogging in the Gulf today. If the court decides that the same laws apply to blogging as to newspaper reporting, then it is indeed a tacit recognition of the importance of the blogging phenomenon.
I believe that your decision to continue with your blog in the same open spirit on which you have built it and to commit to working ‘within the system’ is honorable, brave and correct.
May you continue to find satisfaction in this area while giving your many readers the opportunity to take a peek inside some of the less-well-understood mechanics of Bahraini politics and culture.
Good luck to you and your family. Sounds like you have the makings of a Bahrain “Profiles in Courage” version.
It takes courage to stand for your convictions, and I am proud to be your friend.
Like Al Pacino in ScarFace said.. “Say hello to my little friends”.. Mahmood.. Take them on !!!! There is a saying which I always remind myself of in times like these.. “للحق دولة وللباطل جولة” – said by Ali ibn Abi-Taleb.
Good Luck Bro…
We are all behind you Mahmood! This is outrageous! :angry:
Thank you Jamal, I knew you and the family would be there for me.
What a waste time and energy : yours and that of all the civil (and uncivil) servants involved in the ‘case’. What a shame. :wub:
I echo Gibran’s . Power to you, Mahommod. AbuRasool
Hello Mahmood.
I follow your blog..never commented until today.
to you, and for all what you blogged, I say: BRAVO !
I was advised by a close friend, who is a blogger and a professional journalist/columnist to creat a blog for myself. I have been thinking about it for over six months, and today, aftere reading what you went through, I say I hear you loud and clear when you talk about going underground. But I also think, on the other hand, that the whole point of blogging is to say what we think and be read in hope that what we write might make a difference. Why can’t we be free to stand in bright daylight with our faces and names known? why is hiding and living undercover should become the regular and safer choice? does safty win over freedom of thaught and freedom of speach? i think yes it does because thinkers and writers will always be the weaker group in the land of “law and order”, a land that belongs to a group of tens of systems that claim “law and order”.
so no. i will not blog, i will not write, but, by God, I shall always be free and, by God, I shall always have an openion.
DC.. Habibti.. Yes.. You are free and you will always be free.. And you are opinionated indeed.. and as a friend, I treasure your opinions and brilliant thought.. but I beg to disagree with you: how can you be free when you cannot speak your mind and call a spade a spade? how can you be free when constructive criticism is not tolerated? how can you be free when there is a law underminding everything you utter? how can you be free when you cannot question anyone in authority? how can you be free when you are watched? how can you be free when someone is keeping a tab on what you think of and can use it against you when he wants to? how can you be free when your voice is suppressed? how can you be free when you are oppressed? how can you be free when the rules which control you deem you repressed? any other words which end with ‘essed’? I can’t be arsed to look them up!!
A «family lawyer» is usually well qualified for procedure questions etc., but to stay on the offensive, you would benefit from someone who handles these questions on a regular basis.
Newspapers experience such «attacks» at regular intervals, and should be able to get you in touch with a specialized lawyer. If nothing else he/she could assist the lawyer you currently use.
While I don’t doubt that you could afford such an investment, I would be equally GLAD to contribute towards your legal expenses. Set up an PayPal account, and I’m sure others would do the same!
sillybahrainigirl,
to answer you, simply, i can be free and infact I am free because I choose freely , i think freely and am free to believe and think what i choose to be beleive and think. no one can take that away from, not even if jailed. they can take away my voice but never my openion. never my freedom.
I choose to be safe over the choice to speak and write freely because i do not beleive that going to jail for what i think will make any difference. we can shout all we like and we’ll be heared and ignored anyway.
I am with you, Mahmood. Your opponents are tyrants; plain and simple. :angry:
May you fight the good fight and prevail. A courageous stance by a courageous man. Hat’s off to you sir!
Mahmood this situation is a prefect summary of the current political scenario in Bahrain. You should use your upcoming interview on al Jazeera international to broadcast the problem. Whenever a negative issue is brought up against the government whether it’s the Bander report or criticism of a Minister; the government tries to place a blank over the issue pretending it doesn’t exist. They use our biased legal system to silence their critics. I see no difference between the government placing a full media gag on the bander case and this minister lodging a case against you. Unfortunately you were unlucky to have been hit twice.
I second Einar’s comment. Set up a paypal account – I will be happy to contribute to any additional legal expenses as well.
An friend who had to shut down his blog because his work wouldn’t let him blog decided to just leave comments on friends’ blogs instead, and then linked them together via Del.icio.us. Voila: A virtual blog.
Try it:-) That ought to be far too mind-blowing and abstract for those in your government with little, closed minds to even begin to understand what that is.
Mahmood,
I think you need to learn the rule of the game. If you noticed, many Journalists in Bahrain raised hot issues lately and nobody took them to court.
There are many tricks when it comes to selecting your words and sending the message without taking the risk of being sued. One of my colleagues attended a training course on this subject lately and he is an expert now
At least you will be in a better position to defend yourself and know your rights without consulting a lawyer.
Hang in there, buddy!
From The Bahrain Constitution – 2002
“Article 23 [Expression]
Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.
From what I understand you are not being sued because of defamation of the ruling family, Islam or for inciting sectarian violence. All you’ve done is to step too hard on somebody’s toes.
Maybe his threshold of pain is lower than that of most other people but, in the end it comes down to what the law says about the part I have stressed above.
People in public positions should be prepared and willing to face criticism, sometimes even criticism of a harsh nature, as long as the comments don’t go to the extent of accusing them of having broken the law without any rock solid evidence.
If a person can drag somebody else into court and win it because his “pride has been hurt”, then something is wrong with the understanding of what is considered an “acceptable level of pain”.
Disputes like that should be settled with words and facts, not through court cases.
So, Mahmood, you have my full support and sympathy. I doubt it will help you much in court, but, at least you can go through this, knowing that you have moral backing from a lot of friends and family.
DC,
That fear means that you aren’t free, though, so it’s a bit contradictory to what you said earlier.
To be free, and to have real freedom of expression, it means no fear. The only laws against it should be hate speech and incitement (of violence and crime.)
Sure, you are free to have an opinion, but you choosing not to express it out of fear … that’s not freedom.
You’re a brave man Mahmood. If there is anything I can do don’t hesitate to let me know.
I mean it.
While hate speech should be condemned, it should be condemned in the court of public opinion, not law. Only incitement to violence should be prohibited. Best to let hateful people have their say, so you know what they think and how to counter their ideas. Don’t push them underground where their prejudices fester unchallenged.
Butterfly:
The ironic thing is that I am part of the organisation that created and organised that workshop!
Unfortunately I couldn’t attend due to my being bedridden at the time.
I agree with you fully now about modes of criticism and i should be a little bit more intelligent in the way I write things from now on.
يعنى باب النجار مخلوع
completely and utterly! blame the segway
Hang in there Mahmood! I am reminded why I chose to go anonymous on my blog…
eheheh .. you will get out of this too, I am sure.
You know what is the problem Mahmood? Arabic language is very rich and a word can mean 100 things. Just think of these words for example:
قدح .. ذم .. تجريح
Tell me how many things you can think of under each of the above words. That way, every act can be considered as a crime!
This is one step towards ‘teaching’ democracy to illiterate Bahrainis; Goverment’s Style. Hang in there Mahmood.
Looks like things are being resolved – good for you Mahmood – but what is even better is that you stick to what you believe in. And quite right, this does not need to extend to jail-time.
We look forward to seeing your new eloquently packaged commentaries – perhaps there’s a case here for coming up with some wonderful bits of sarcasm and other word art which will elegantly cloak the matters yet at the same time keep it all crystal clear, much to the delight of your dedicated readers and the confusion of those who’ll never get it. I’m certain you’re up for that challenge and you’ll excel at it !
For some inspiration: http://www.theonion.com
:biggrin:
I see Lulu at Lulu’s Bahrain has already started it…Love it !!!!
Dear Mahmood,
I began to think about my freedom here in the states. There are differences my friend. I will keep up in my prayers. Mahmood, you are a voice for those’s who have been wronged. You are a voice in a part of the world that doesn’t allow freedom of speech. Your a maverick in enriching us to the cause of injustice to mankind. I salute you; I am proud to know you.
Best Regards,
Amira amirahgabrielle@yahoo.com
Dear Mahmood:
I offer condolences that you have to put up with this nonsense. I can’t pretend to know any of the mechanisms of the Bahraini legal system, but gut reaction says this is just f’ed up by any standard.
I was wondering, though: does it help or hinder that the blog on which you comment on political matters is in the English language? “Ze Authorities,” of whatever stripe or country, may always freak out unnecessaily if a local blog is not in the native language as they may ascribe all manner of speculation, correct or incorrect, to its content, and even if they themselves don’t, they may be in a position to present it as such to the populace with an alarmist bent. I genuinely believe your intent is to chronicle the progressive review of the Bahraini government and infrastructure as well as its society. Previous entries in which you OFFER ACTUAL SOLUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES is the evidence of this that puts you above most other bloggers and, let’s face it, officeholders worldwide. But is it counterproductive to write in a language that the mass of the voting base doesn’t understand? The http://ar.mahmood.tv/ seems more neutral, relatively picture-intensive and doesn’t seem to have the regularity of updates that this one has. It is not my intention to goad you away from your strategic long-term habits or comfort zone. I just always get the impression from your writing that you are always on the cusp of getting results favorable to the Bahraini people, if not outright elected for public office, and more of a presence on the Arabic-language front may help. However, you do know the situation better than I, and I defer to that expertise.
But I agree that you can’t go to prison. You’re just too pretty.
Just read the new front page message and I really hope it works out.
Proud to be your friend Mahmood.
Sorry for the comment earlier…i didnt mean to get you into any kind of trouble….sorry once again.. :pouty:
Good luck
Mahmood:
I have told you before how the New World Order is laying down control grids world-wide. I have also told you how they are all working together via the International Banksters. I have also posted several times how they plan to throw the entire Middle East into un-ending chaos.
Yes, it is true. I have made a couple of drunken posts which you barred me for…way back when…over a year ago.
NOW is the time to wake up and realize what is happening. While the “Globalist Elite” use the United States Army to start WWIII against Iran, they are clamping down on “little Bahrain” to eliminate desenting voices. Yours yells loudly across the Internet. You should consider all this.
Besides, you are an UPSTANDING CITIZEN OF BAHRAIN!!! You are a target.
Why? Because you post about the jack-off cheesy political situation in Bahrain? NO. Because you are intelligent, educated, well informed, and a LEADER!!!
I will post a tribute to you on my blog in the next few days.
In the meantime, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!
—CQ
Mahmood
I hurt for you. More than that I hurt for Bahrain; how one person can choke the life out of a thriving community. Insha’allah this will not end the blogging. All I have to say is that this is now Reason no. 735 why I put up with sub-zero temperatures rather than head home.
When I started reading your most recent post, I was in shock. It’s hard to believe that someone could be so offended by what you’ve written to file charges aginst you. The update has left me relieved.
Now, one question. Will your lawyer get his money back?