Retrial for man who insulted Divine Self

TDT | Manama

The Court of Cassation ordered the retrial of a Bahraini man who was earlier jailed to one year for sharing a post online that has been considered as an encroachment on the Divine Self. The court’s decision followed the convict’s second appeal against his punishment. The court also ordered to refer the case to the same first-degree court which originally sentenced to the man.

It clarified that the retrial decision comes as the defendant’s testimonies weren’t heard by the first-degree court that sentenced him—a fact that is considered as a breach of the appellant’s right of defense. According to court files, the case was reported to the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security at the Interior Ministry, informing that the defendant had posted a comment that is insulting to the Divine Self during a discussion on Instagram.

The defendant, who has been behind bars since then, justified his action by informing interrogators that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. He also confirmed in his statements that he was the one to type the comment, which he said came during a discussion with a relative, the plaintiff.

The case was referred to the Public Prosecution back then and the defendant was interrogated and confronted with his crime. He was charged with publicly encroaching on the Divine Self and demeaning the Islamic religion, insulting the plaintiff, and misusing communications and transportation devices.

The case was then urgently referred by the prosecution to a first-degree court, which sentenced the man to one year in prison for the first charge, publicly encroaching on the Divine Self and demeaning the Islamic religion, while dropping the other charges.

He appealed against the verdict before the Supreme Court of Appeal, which rejected his plea and upheld the verdict. As mentioned above, his final appeal was accepted by the Court of Cassation, which ordered his retrial.