Mahmood's Den

The Bahrain Journalist Association (BJA) is calling all journalists to demonstrate outside the court if the court considers the case against blogger Mahmood Al Yousif (right).

BJA vice-president Adel Marzooq said in a statement that he did act as a mediator to resolve the issue. He said Al Yousif abided by removing the words from his article but the minister wants to remove comments on the article.

The blogger had replaced descriptive words about the minister. “I was asked to change the words which I did in good faith. What did I get after doing this? First of all, let me clarify that the article was translated in Arabic which came across as a different meaning to the plaintiff.”

The article, dated November 22, shows the blogger criticising the municipality for not carrying out their duties. Citing an example, Mahmood said, “An employee from the municipality had filed a case against the department. He was asked by the minister to solve the matter amicably rather than approaching court. This explains the contradictory nature of the minister where he wants to take me to court while he is resolving internal issues of the ministry.”

Mahmood said. “I have done my bit and stand for whatever I have written. I have posted the original entry as in the end I would be dragged in the court. I plan to open the comment section of this particular article. I will stick to my case and let the court take its course.”

Mahmood’s lawyer, Hassan Ismail, told the Tribune, “We have not received any notice from the court, but as things are going we are expecting a response in a day or two.”
Bahrain Tribune :: Sandeep Singh Grewal :: 14 Feb, ’07