Manama: Bahrain's interior ministry yesterday denied allegations that police had kidnapped a woman, who was allegedly among those who staged a demonstration in a shopping mall, while she was undergoing treatment in a hospital.
Authorities said they arrested Ashwaq Al Muqabi after she was cleared by her doctor to leave the hospital following her treatment for sickle-cell disease.
Due process
Ashwaq has been sentenced to six months in prison and her arrest was according to the due process of the law after she finished her treatment that was started on October 20, the ministry said. She will serve the sentence at the women's prison under medical monitoring, it said.
On Thursday, the opposition Al Wefaq claimed that Ashwaq was kidnapped by the police from the hospital. "This is a crime that has no humanitarian or moral dimension," Al Wefaq said.
The ministry rejected the charges. "What the society said was not true and aims to stir public opinion," the ministry said. "Whoever is genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of this girl should advise her to avoid getting involved in criminal acts that make her face legal action," it said. Ashwaq was among a group of women arrested for staging a demonstration at the City Centre shopping mall last month.
In a separate statement, Al Wefaq said that security forces had fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the house of Ali Salman, its secretary general, during attempts to disperse rioters in the area.
