The General Director of the Northern Governorate Police confirmed the arrest of Zainab Al-Khawaja late yesterday for her role in a larger illegal gathering in a busy roundabout of one of the main roads outside Manama, according to a statement issued by the Information Affairs Authority (IAA).
“Budaiya Road is a key commercial area, as well as residential zone, with high traffic that links the Northern Governorate with the capital,” the statement said.
According to the Ministry of Interior’s Police Media spokesman, when informed by police that the gathering was illegal, all of the women left the scene except Al-Khawaja. Police followed protocol by calling female officers to handle the arrest, which was filmed by another officer at the scene. However, in the process of getting her into the police vehicle, Al-Khawaja resisted arrest and female officers had to physically remove her from the site.
In a second incident in Abu Saiba, a similar illegal gathering resulted in the arrest of another woman who refused to disperse when ordered to do so by police.
Both women were referred to the Public Prosecution and their lawyers were present throughout the legal procedures.