Bahrain Mirror: The National Action Democratic Society (Wa'ad) filed an urgent lawsuit against the Ministry of Interior and police stations to reopen the society's headquarters that the authorities forcibly closed.

Wa'ad issued a statement on Sunday (July 2, 2017) that read:

Members and leaders of Wa'ad were surprised on 31/5/2017 to see that the headquarters of the society in Umm Al-Hassam was surrounded with heavy forces of security men affiliated to Al-Houra police station, and so was the case with the society's branch in Arad in Al-Muhrraq that was surrounded by security forces affiliated to Al-Hidd police station. These forces prevented all the members, leaders and guests from entering the headquarters and practice their activities, under the pretext that the high civilian court had issued a decision to dissolve the society and liquidate its funds and properties for the state budget.

The society communicated with the parties that surrounded the headquarters to check whether they have a written order to close the headquarters, in order to appeal it in all the available legal ways in the Bahraini law. Bahrain Civil and Commercial Procedures Act stipulates in article 244: "The Courts of Execution shall have competence to execute judgements and decisions made by the Civil Courts in their various kinds and degrees. Execution shall take place under the supervision and control of the Judge of the Court of Execution unless the law determines otherwise." Thus, the sentence issued by the civilian court to dissolve Wa'ad can't be executed expect with an order from the execution court and under his supervision.

On the other hand, jurisdiction and law provisions do not allow to forcibly execute the sentence if all the legal appeals way were not made. Bahrain Civil and Commercial Procedures Act stipulates in article 245: "Judgements may not be forcibly executed while it is permitted to challenge them by means of objection or appeal unless summary execution is prescribed by law or ordered in the judgement. Summary execution is obligatory by force of law for judgements and orders given on urgent matters and it is obligatory by force of law provided a guarantee is given for judgements on commercial matters." Thus, the leaders of Wa'ad tried through communicating with the parties that surrounded the society and prevented its activism without an authority from the law to make the competent parties stop this violation.

Wa'ad did not accept the judgment dissolving it and challenged it because it violates the jurisprudence, justice and law, the verdict is considered a clear legal default that requires to be appealed and the case should also be rejected because it lacks bases and affect right of freedom and expression stipulated in the Constitution; which proves that the judgment issued by the Court is not enforceable until all means of appeals are applied.

In addition to all of the aforementioned, the society extracted a license from the complaints apparatus in the court that proves that the sentence issued against Wa'ad is challenged and sent to Al-Houra police station in an attempt to make them remove the siege they imposed on the headquarters and open them.

However, all the kind attempts failed. Thus, Wa'ad had to file an urgent lawsuit against the Minister of Interior and Al-Houra and Al-Hidd police stations before the summary court. The society demanded in the lawsuit to stop assaulting the society's headquarters and bind all the defendant parties to withdraw their security forces and allow Wa'ad to open its headquarters and practice its activism. Hence, we were told that the ministry of interior was heading to withdraw its security forces and open the headquarters. However, this was not executed until the moment of issuing this statement.

Wa'ad was aiming through its struggle and hard work to build a modern democratic civil State and reach the constitutional Kingdom like the ancient constitutional monarchies mentioned in the National Action Charter, that Kingdom where the separation of powers and the rule of law are essential pillars. However, the executive authority closed the society's headquarters in a blatant interference of the judiciary and an infringement to fundamental pillar of modern civil state that is based on respect of law and separation between powers. We call on the competent parties to stop and reverse these acts, respect the law, reopen the headquarters of the society and allow it to practice its activism.

Arabic Version