Ali al-Ghanmi

Ali Jassim al-Ghanmi (Arabic: علي جاسم الغانمي) (born c. 1987)

Pearl Roundabout incident In February 2011, large-scale pro-democracy protests began in Bahrain as part of the international Arab Spring. The center of the protests was Pearl Roundabout in Manama, which protesters compared to Tahrir Square in the recent Egyptian revolution. The roundabout saw several battles between protesters and police, including a 17 February pre-dawn raid that killed four protesters and injured one hundred more.

In the month that followed, al-Ghanmi criticized Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, at a series of rallies. According to an activist interviewed by BBC News, approximately two hundred police followed al-Ghanmi's example and defected, almost all of whom were also later arrested.

On 9 January 2012, al-Ghanmi was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment by a military court for having defected from the police: two years for "disturbing the peace", three years for "incitement to hatred against the government", and seven and a half years for his going absent without leave and his participation in the rallies.

Responses

Al Wefaq, Bahrain's main opposition party, said that al-Ghanmi arrest is "yet another prove that the government only recognizes Bassiouni Report when it comes to official statements for media consumption".

Personal life Al-Ghanmi is married and has a daughter.