Page 126 - Personal Column (Charles Belgrave)_Neat

Bahrain High Court. Normally the trial would have been in the Manama quite unmoved. They probably assumed, as was usually the case, that after
Law Courts, but the police advocated very strongly that for security some time their sentences would be considerably reduced.
reasons the case should not be heard in Manama, because to bring the In the past, when men were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment,
prisoners through the town might provoke more demonstrations. The they had served their time in India or in the Andaman islands. In this
Shaikh ordered the court to sit at Budcya, a little town on the coast op­ case it was thought desirable by the Shaikh that the three ringleaders
posite Jidda island where the men were being held. The only large room should not be imprisoned in Bahrain, so he requested the British Govern­
which we could find was above the police station. There Was not much ment, through the Resident, to arrange for his prisoners to serve their
space in it, the judges sat at a table closely pressed against the wall; the sentences elsewhere. St Helena was chosen as the place for their confine-
five men were provided with benches, and the members of the public, ment, and two days after their trial they were taken on board a naval
most of whom came from Budcya, sat on the floor so that at times it was frigate which called at St Helena on its way to the United Kingdom. It
very ditficult to get in and out of the door. was agreed that the costs of transport and of looking after the prisoners
One of the police officers conducted the prosecution. The men were should be paid by the Bahrain Government. When the three members of
charged with planning to assassinate the Shaikh, some of his relations and The Committee of National Union left Bahrain, there was an almost
myself, to destroy the palace and the airport, to overthrow the Govern­ audible sigh of relief from most of the Bahrainis, who now felt that they
ment and to depose the Ruler and with organizing a general strike and a could get back to their lawful occupations without fear of constant
demonstration, which had been allowed by the Government on certain strikes and disturbances. Very little sympathy was felt for the St Helena
conditions, which were not kept, which led to violence and the des­ prisoners, ‘eating the bitter bread of banishment’ on Napoleon’s island, or
truction of property. The accused men, after hearing the charges, refused for the two men on Jidda' island. Most of their compatriots considered
to accept the authority of the court, because it was not sitting in Manama. that they had only themselves to blame.
They said that if the case was heard at Budeya none of them would speak Soon after these events questions were asked in the House of Com­
or answer any questions. They were given every opportunity of question­ mons by Mr W. N. Warbey, M.P., a Left-wing Labour Member, about
ing the witnesses and the documents during the two days’ hearing, but the legality of the procedure by which the three Arabs, subjects of the
they firmly persisted in keeping their mouths shut. They seemed to take Shaikh of Bahrain, were removed to and imprisoned in St Helena, a
little interest in the proceedings; one of them, as I noticed when I was British colony.. Details were given about the statutory orders which
giving evidence, actually went to sleep and was roused by a nudge in the sanctioned the deportation and detention of the prisoners. A group of
ribs by his-neighbour. I appeared as a witness, giving evidence about persons in London then got together with the object of interesting them­
certain documents and letters which had passed between the Government selves in the case. They employed the firm of Bernard Sheridan and Co.,
and The Committee, and I described my interview with Bakr and the solicitors, and engaged Mr Walter Raeburn, Q.C., who founded the
arrangements about the procession. Much of'the evidence was docu­ Society of Labour Lawyers, and a young barrister, Mr Roland Brown,
* mentary, consisting of papers and letters found in the possession of the whose connection with Bahrain was through a Bahrain student who was
men and in The Committee’s headquarters. There were letters to Egyptian reading Law at Cambridge.
officials and notes regarding conversations in Cairo; from one of them On March 21st, 1959, Mr Roland Brown appeared before a court at
it appeared that an Egyptian newspaper owner was offered the exclusive St Helena, applying for a writ of habeas corpus for the release of Abd al
opportunity of being in Bahrain at the time of the final coup d'etat by The Rahman Bakr. The application was opposed by Mr B. J. M. Mackcnna,
Committee, provided that his paper gave them support in the meantime. Q.c. After a hearing which lasted for four days the court dismissed the
Another document listed the aims of The Committee, which included application..
doing away with the Shaikh and myself. Even at the end of the second • The case then went before the Privy Council and as this book goes to
day, when the judges found the five men guilty on all charges and sen­ press I have heard that the final appeal has been rejected.
tenced the three ringleaders, Shemlan; Bakr and Alewat, to fourteen
years imprisonment, and the other two men to ten years, they seemed
232 P.C.—Q 233

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