BAHRAIN’S highest court has ordered a retrial in the case of a man acquitted of insulting an Education Ministry official.
The Lower Criminal Court had earlier found him not guilty of slandering the public official and misusing telecommunications channels.
The Public Prosecution had reported the defendant after he published an article on his Instagram account. However, the Lower Criminal Court dismissed the charges.
According to documents, judges found the article inoffensive and accusations of slander baseless as the man did not list the official’s name, position or job title.
Prosecutors were, however, unsatisfied with the outcome and appealed the verdict in February, but the defendant was again found innocent by the High Criminal Court.
The Public Prosecution appealed the decision a second time at the Cassation Court in March, arguing that the defendant did disrespect the Education Ministry official.
It added that the defendant had described the ‘official’s level of thinking as low’ and accused him of ‘launching a policy of intimidation to silence any criticism’.
Prosecutors said the official had previously lodged two complaints about the Instagram page, in July 2019 and October 2021.
However, the Cassation Court upheld the initial ruling. “The evidence against the defendant is lacking and contradictory,” read the court’s verdict.
“Therefore, the ruling cannot be overturned and the trial must be repeated.”
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