Wednesday 13 July 2011

Bahraini Poet Released (Associated Press)

Published in Winnipeg Free Press, today, by the Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain - A Bahraini woman, jailed for reciting poems critical of Gulf kingdom's rulers during a wave of protests earlier this year, was released from prison on Wednesday, her brother said.
Ayat al-Qurmezi, 20, became a minor celebrity among protesters after reciting poems critical of Bahrain's king and prime minister in the capital's Pearl Square, which was the hub for Shiite-led demonstrations that broke out in February.
One verse, addressed to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, included the lines: "We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. Don't you hear their cries? Don't you hear their screams?"
Al-Qurmezi was detained in March during a raid on her family house. Last month she was convicted of anti-state crimes in a special security tribunal and sentenced to a year in prison as part of the Sunni rulers' crackdown on Shiite-led uprising.
Al-Qurmezi's brother, Youssef, told The Associated Press that his sister was released on Wednesday. He did not know if charges against her were dropped.

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