Bahrain Mirror: An Egyptian dancer, holder of Bahraini passport, candidate for Bahraini elections said that she filed a complaint to the Bahraini Public Prosecutor against what she described as a "vicious media campaign" which she was subjected to on social media in Bahrain. A statement issued by dancer Amira Hasan Imam read that "a campaign was led against the candidate and backed by [persons under certain] nicknames and others who have capacities. We chose not to enter into media conflicts and instead resorted to taking legal measures with the competent authorities in the state."

Al-Ayam local considered that was published were false tweets attributed to the candidate, adding that they were fabricated by fake accounts. It went on to say that the forgery was proven by experts through neutral technical reports submitted to competent parties.

Online activists had revealed tweets published by Amira in which she insulted Shia residents who constitute the majority of the country's population, dubbing them "maggis", "polytheists" and "sons of Muta'a".

She said in one the tweets that she will continue to post via her account, but then decided to close it down after announcing her candidacy, "a polytheist procession for Karzakan (Bahraini Shiite village located west of the country) safavid donkeys," she said ridiculing the rituals practiced by Shiites as a sign of grief over their Imams.

Amira Hasan Al-Imam came to Bahrain at the beginning of the 2000s after signing a contract to work as a dancer in the bar of a three-star hotel in Manama, known as Samiramis. Minister of Justice Khalid bin Ali Al Kahlifa, who was born and lived most of his life in Egypt, interfered to facilitate giving her a Bahraini nationality, because she has close ties with his Egyptian mother. Since then, she changed her name from "Amira Hasan Al-Imam" to "Amira Al-Hasan", using the family name of a known Bahraini family "Al-Hasan". She also had a membership in one the pro-government liberal societies, Al-Meethaq, which claims that it fights religious sectarianism.

Last month, Al-Hasan announced that she intends to run for the Parliamentary elections in the first directorate in the Muharraq governorate and that she "will be independent and will seek to support and empower women".

In one of her tweets, Al-Hasan had said: "May Allah curse the Shia and destroy them". "New T-shirts this year in the procession of sons of Muta'a. Isn't there a new ‘we are at your service O Hussain' style?"

Despite the wave these tweets stirred, the authorities remained silent, exactly as they did in other similar incidents. Instead, a local newspaper- Al-Ayam- owned by the King's media counselor, Nabeel Al-Hamr, announced that the public opinion was stirred against the candidate in this time and it coinciding with the election race represents election traps targeting the Kingdom's stability.

Two lawyers have submitted two criminal lawsuits to the prosecutor demanding "to take the necessary legal measures to achieve justice". Lawyer Fatima Al-Hawaj who filed one of the two complaints said "her tweets remained until the date she deleted the account, thus, the crime is considered to be ongoing. We didn't know her crime until the day we filed the report."

The other complaint filed by lawyer Shahzalan Khamis stated "the plaintiff insulted and mocked the Bahraini civil society in all of its sects and affiliations, and in all what this state represents in this social and political system."

For its part, Al-Ayam newspaper saw that "the real aim of such filed reports that include certain phrases and conflicts represent a reflection of a period in which sedition was awakened and grudges were alive, which severely harmed the nation"

Arabic Version