African woman gets jail for assaulting two policewomen

An expatriate woman was sentenced to one year imprisonment for assaulting two policewomen at the detention centre in Isa Town last year. The First High Criminal Court also ordered to permanently deport the Guinean national after she completes the imprisonment sentence. Court files show that the 28-year-old was initially arrested for illegal residency in the Kingdom.

On November 25 last year, while at the detention centre, she requested the police officer, the first victim, to call the embassy of her country. The woman apparently went on a rampage when the officer told her that “there’s no Guinean Embassy in Bahrain”. According to the victims’ testimonies, the woman then began hurting herself and refused to listen to the officer’s requests to calm down, despite threatening to put her in handcuffs.

The officer said the woman tore her police uniform while violently resisting to be handcuffed. A policewoman, the second victim, was hit with the handcuffs by the woman, while she, the policewoman, was attempting to bring her under control. Both policewomen eventually handcuffed the defendant and brought the situation under control. The Public Prosecution accused the defendant of using force and violence to stop public servants, the victims, from performing their duties by violently resisting them.

She was also accused of physically assaulting a Public Security personnel, the second victim, and causing the injuries as shown in the medical report. However, the court’s verdict was the lightest penalty for the crimes, as the court considered the woman’s circumstances, as per Article 72 of Bahrain’s Penal Code, which states: “If an offence is committed under extenuating circumstances and the judge feels the need for clemency, the penalty shall be reduced.”