By Noor Zahra
Gulf Daily News

MANAMA, Bahrain — A housewife who helped spark a massive riot when she attacked guards at the country’s main prison earlier this year has been jailed for six months.

The 38-year-old Bahraini assaulted officers at the Jaw Prison Reform and Rehabilitation Directorate’s visitor centre on March 10 after being denied access to see her imprisoned relatives.

She was convicted of assault by the High Criminal Court yesterday, but earlier claimed her actions had been an “accident” borne out of frustration.

“I went to Jaw Prison with one of my brothers to visit my other brother and son who are in jail,” she said in her statement to prosecutors.

“When we got there, officers asked us to wait in the reception area because it was 11am and visiting hours had  ended.”

An argument then broke out between the woman’s brother and the prison guards, she said. “The guards asked all the visitors to leave and it was at this point that my brother started to have a fit,” she said.

“He shouted at me to leave the prison because it was not safe for me to stay. A female officer was polite and tried to calm us down but I accidentally hit her. I then picked up a chair and threw it at the officers.”

Within hours of the disturbance in the visitor centre, a full-scale prison riot had erupted at Jaw that caused an estimated BD508,000 worth of damage and took dozens of additional officers to contain.

According to Interior Ministry statistics, 141 policemen were injured in the ensuing violence, while 104 inmates were also hurt.

Despite the chaos seemingly sparked by the woman’s actions, the High Criminal Court was sympathetic with her predicament when deciding its sentence.

“Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident the court handed the defendant a reduced sentence out of sympathy,” said the court’s verdict documents.

In a separate case, 57 men – all inmates – are also standing trial at the same court in connection with the riot that broke out that day.

They have been charged with attacking officers, damaging prison facilities and arson.

Vandalised

The GDN reported at the time that much of the prison was vandalised in the riot, with a nurse even allegedly held hostage at one point.

Several images of the incident were circulated online, purportedly showing the inside of the detention centre with prisoners atop the roof, smoke rising from burning debris, smashed windows and trashed cells.

According to court documents, 24 of the men on trial attacked police officers and caused them injury, while the others joined in the riot, set fire to buildings and destroyed property.

Prosecution witnesses will take to the stand at the next hearing in the men’s trial on October 29.