Page 163 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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There were, however, more important criminal eases than in the previous year, two of them
concerned riots. On 10th Muharram 1,373, a Sunni mob made an unprovoked attack on the
Shia village of Arad on Muharraq island in which a number of villagers were injured, some by
shots from a shot gun. The hearing of the ease did not take place until a considerable time
after the event. Three persons were banished from Bahrain for a year, two of these persons
were members of the Ruling Family. The second riot, which took place at the gates of the
Drum Plant at Sitra, developed from a Sunni Shia quarrel in which Shias from the Sitra villages
and Arabs from a village at the south end of Sitra island took part. One Arab was killed and
a number of people from both sides were injured. The ringleader of the Shia, Hassan bin
Marzook, the most influential man in Sitra, and others were sentenced to terms of imprison­
ment. On this occasion, owing to the very large numbers of witnesses and persons involved
in the proceedings the Court sat in one of the barrack rooms at the Fort.
There was one case of culpable homicide in which two vegetable sellers in the Muharraq
bazaar, one a Sunni and one a Shia, quarrelled and in the struggle which occurred the Sunni
Arab fell and died.
Opium smuggling on a very large scale was proved against a number of men, most of them
Persians, in this case terms of imprisonment and fines were ordered.
The two Senior Courts disposed of 1,019 cases, including some which had stood over from
the previous year. All the criminal cases were dealt with but at the end of the year there were
338 civil cases pending. Some of the delay which occurs is due to the length of time which is
taken by the Shera Courts and the Majlis Tajara which deal with cases which are sent to them
by the Senior Courts. The Sunni Shera Court is especially slow and it is not unusual for the
same case to be heard by the Sunni Kadhis from ten to twenty times.
Junior Courts. In the Junior Courts 2,897 cases were filed and 2,828 cases were disposed of.
This included a certain number of cases from the previous year. At the end of 1954 there were
761 outstanding cases.
The Sunni and Shia Shera Courts dealt with 570 and 307 cases respectively, 152 civil cases
were referred for an opinion to the Majlis Tajara.
In the Appeal Courts the Shia Appeal Kadhi gave judgment in 33 appeal cases, unfortun­
ately there is still no Sunni Appeal Kadhi and appeals from the Sunni Shera Court are heard by
the Senior Appeal Court which consists of Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa and the Adviser. This
Court disposed of 37 cases and the Junior Appeal Court heard 25 cases.
The total amount of Court fees collected was Rs. 61,471, and fines amounted to Rs. 6,616.
Towards the end of the year Shaikh Mohammed Ali, one of the three Shia Kadhis, died
suddenly from a heart attack. No appointment had been made by the end of the year to fill
his place.
In October 1954 Mr. G. L. Peace, O.B.E., was appointed as Judicial Adviser to the Bahrain
Government.

POLICE AND PUBLIC SECURITY
(From the Report of the Shaikh Khalifah bin Mohammed, Director of Police and Public
Security)

Strength. At the end of 1954 the strength of the Police and Naturs was as follows :
Police Officers :
Superintendents .. 3 N.C.O’s and Men 361 Naturs 269
Inspectors 1 Followers,
Sub-Inspectors .. 2 Boatmen, etc. .. 47
Sub-Inspector Ahmed Saecd, who had been ill for a long time, died while on sick leave in
Bombay from cardiac trouble. Havildar Mirza Jan, a Punjabi Instructor, with long service in
the Police, died suddenly of a heart attack.