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Appeal court judges have reduced the sentence of a rude traveller who screamed, kicked and spat at police officers after refusing to be searched at Bahrain International Airport.
In December, the Gulf national was sentenced to two years in prison by the High Criminal Court, fined BD1,000 and set to be permanently deported after completing her sentence. The 36-year-old was also found guilty of possessing hashish for personal use.
She contested the verdict at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court. Judges cut her jail time in half but upheld the fine and deportation penalties.
The GDN earlier reported that the Kuwaiti woman walked past security at the airport, screaming obscenities while belittling Bahraini officials, and demanding that she wanted to travel back to Kuwait.
A policewoman earlier told the Public Prosecution that the appellant passed through the airport scanner without yielding to a secondary search. When the officers requested she return to complete airport security procedures, the appellant ignored them and continued walking toward the duty-free shops.
The Bahraini policewomen then ran after the appellant and stopped her, to which she brazenly admitted that she would not comply, then used a string of expletives at the officer.
When she informed her colleagues about what had occurred, the appellant was approached by other officers who informed the traveller that she needed to attend the airport’s police station for a report to be filed. “In the police office, the appellant was stirring up trouble. When I was about to handcuff her, she punched me in the face, but my colleagues were able to get her under control,” the officer testified.
Another policewoman recalled how unco-operative the appellant was, and that when she told her to show some respect, she stormed out of the office. She stated that, when the woman was returned inside, she spat, kicked and screamed.
Authorities later detected traces of hashish in the woman’s urine sample.
In January, High Criminal Court judges convicted her of assaulting public security officers while they were performing their duties. She was also convicted of publicly disrespecting four police officers, and hurling baseless insults at them in a way that harmed their reputation. Both one-year sentences were reduced to six months on appeal.
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