Bahraini poet released from jail

Bahraini poet, Ayat al-Qurmezi, who was thrown in jail for reciting poems critical of the monarchy during anti-government protests, has been released.

Qurmezi, 20, was arrested on March 30 after reciting poems critical of Bahrain’s king and prime minister in the capital of Manama’s Pearl Square. She turned herself in after authorities raided her home and threatened to kill her brothers.

On June 12, a military court charged her with anti-state crimes and insulting members of the royal family. She was sentenced to one year in prison. Manama said her poems incited “hatred of the regime.”

On June 21, after being tortured by Bahraini security forces, Qurmezi apologized to the king and the prime minister on state television.

Her brother told the Associated Press that she was released on Wednesday. However, he did not know if charges against her were dropped.

Many Bahrainis from different cities took to the streets to celebrate Qurmezi’s freedom. She is now a celebrity among anti-government protesters, who say her powerful words will not be forgotten.

While in detention, she was subject to torture and inhumane treatment. Her family says she was forced by the jailors to clean filthy lavatories with her bare hands.

Qurmezi’s detention and the jail term handed down to her drew sharp criticism from opposition groups and Amnesty International (AI).

“By locking up a female poet merely for expressing her views in public, Bahrain’s authorities are demonstrating how free speech and assembly are brutally denied to ordinary Bahrainis,” said Malcolm Smart, Al’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa.