DUBAI: The Bahraini government said that a 20-year-old woman, who had sparked international outrage over her imprisonment, was among those pardoned to mark the beginning of the Eid holiday. The woman, Ayat al-Qurmezi, had been sentenced to one-year in prison for publicly reciting a poem she had written that was critical of the small Kingdom's crackdown on the uprising that left hundreds jailed. A statement Tuesday from Bahrain's information authority says the king's pardon extends to al-Qurmezi, who gained prominence for verses denouncing the attacks on Shiite-led protesters. The statement, however, did not give the full total of those pardoned Sunday by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The young woman became famous in the country, and especially among anti-government demonstrators after her poems against the King and Prime Minister led to the government arresting her. One verse, addressed to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, included the lines: “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. Don't you hear their cries? Don't you hear their screams?” The young woman was arrested in March when her family's home was raided by security officials. She was held without charge until June, when she was convicted of anti-government crimes in a special tribunal. BM
