Hawzah News Agency- The detailed report, published by the Bahrain Mirror, describes a climate of deliberate disorganization and procedural manipulation, arguing that the judicial process underway in Bahrain is not a routine criminal proceeding but rather a political project aimed at pressuring the beliefs and figures of an entire religious community.
A Testimony of Faith Amid Deliberate Delays
The eyewitness recounts arriving at the courthouse accompanied by an elderly sheikh, approximately seventy years old, who had traveled a considerable distance under the scorching sun to testify on behalf of a cleric's innocence. Upon reaching the building, the elderly sheikh headed directly toward the stairs despite the availability of an elevator, ascending the long flights slowly, determined to fulfill his religious duty of bearing witness.
The witness describes the hall where those summoned to testify had gathered — Shia clerics, seminary students, trustees of religious centers, preachers, and other faithful men. They greeted one another with calm hearts and smiling faces, as though they had not come for what amounted to the trial of Shia Islam itself. They spoke little, maintained long silences, and treated one another with gentleness.
The witness recalls hearing one man pray: "O God, make our tongues steadfast upon truth and wisdom." Another whispered the supplication of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (AS) from the prison of Harun: "O God, O Deliverer of the tree from..." while yet another prayed for the hastening of relief.
Three Hours of Waiting, Ten Minutes of Testimony
The session was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., but the witnesses sat waiting for more than two hours. Some had traveled from distant areas such as Diraz and Karzakan. The elderly sheikh, exhausted by prolonged sitting in a poorly ventilated room under stifling heat, consoled himself with the words: "Whatever God wills is good."
The waiting continued until the noon call to prayer. The witnesses were left wondering whether to remain in hope of being called or to pray and preserve the virtue of praying on time. As the wait lengthened, the hall emptied of witnesses while the mosque filled with them for prayer.
They returned after prayer to even deeper silence, the fatigue of waiting having drained their energy.
At 12:45 p.m. — after nearly three hours — a lawyer arrived to inform them that the first witness had been called. Each testimony, including questions and recording, took approximately ten minutes. With eleven defendants in this session and two witnesses for each, over twenty witnesses remained, meaning more than three additional hours would be needed to complete the process.
"Despite all this, we are here by our own will and choice," the witness writes. "Giving up our time is the least we can do. The issue at stake is the trial of an entire faith and community, not a criminal case against individuals."
A Courtroom Ordeal by Design
At approximately 1:30 p.m., court officials moved all remaining witnesses to a special room near the ongoing courtroom — an action apparently intended to prevent those who had already testified from meeting with those still waiting, "as though this were a school examination and they feared the questions being leaked."
As the hours dragged on, the witnesses questioned the level of time management. Was this incompetence, or a deliberate attempt to exhaust the witnesses mentally and physically? Was the delay and tension simply part of the trial of a faith?
"Had it not been for the witnesses' eagerness to support their faith and defend the clerics, no one would have endured such treatment," the account states. "The witnesses were effectively imprisoned in a room, not knowing when they would be released."
At 2 p.m., a lawyer informed them that each witness's testimony, including responses to questions from the judge and prosecution, would take thirty minutes.
At 2:45 p.m., they were told the judge had adjourned the session for a break. "Yes, the judge, the prosecutor, and their companions have the right to rest, eat, and breathe — for they have exhausted themselves interrogating witnesses about the concept of 'Wilayat al-Faqih' (Guardianship of the Jurist)," the witness observes.
"And it is natural that they are tired, because they are putting an entire faith and community on trial, not merely one or two individuals."
A Higher Reckoning
The court stole the time and energy of the witnesses without any assurance that their testimony would be accepted or rejected. But as one lawyer consoled them: "It is counted among your good deeds."
"Our fatigue and waiting is nothing compared to the imprisonment of the clerics and the insults they endure," the account concludes. "They sacrificed themselves and their time in service of the faith, and now they complete their struggle with patience behind prison bars, facing grave and baseless accusations."
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