Page 155 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat

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persistently refused to receive it. Finally this amount.
and also the fine in the Ghattam case, was added to the amount
subscribed by the public for building the new Shia School.
The case had not been tired before,although at the time
of the murder the witnesses and the relations of the victim,
all of them Shias, were summoned before the Sunni Kadi, Their
refusal to appear wa3 apparently taken as an admission that
they withdrew their case.
Shaikh Hamed bin Abdylla A1 Ghattam had been previously
ttied by Shaikh Hamed for instigating murder, and rape, in the
house of one of his tenants at Farsia. The previous judge­
ment was ambigious and though a fine was imposed, there was
some doubt as to the meaning of the judgement. The Court
examined the whole case again, found the accused guilty and
retified the previous judgement ordering payment of blood
lponey. The relations of the victim refused to take the money.
Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalid was found guilty of instigating
the attempted murder of Shaikh Hamed. At that time he was
living on the mainland having been banished for far his comp­
licity in two murderous attacks on villages in Sitra. The
ammunitions used against Shaikh Jiamed was sent by him to the
leader of the gang and an incriminating letter from him was

found in the house of one of the gang.
The question of his punishment was refereed to Shaikh
Hamed. For political and family reasons, and because the
attempt hod been made against his own life, Shaikh darned granted
him a pardon. It is a matter of opinion whether this generous
act of clemenoy Y/as altogether well judged.
Throughout the trials the Shaikhs adopted an insolent
attitude indicating that they did not consider the court
qualified to deal with them, Their only defence was obstinate
denials of all evidence that implicated them, The trials
caused a great deal of local interest.
Zbrt Murder Case.
In another murder case a young Bahrani, living und-.r t