‘Oppression of Bahrain Subjects by the Ruling Family in Bahrain in the early 1900s: The Full List

Back in August I wrote a blog post about the abuses carried out by the Al Khalifa family and their fidawis against the Baharna in the early 1900s. I included a number of examples provided by the then Political Agent Major Daly. Below is the full list of abuses provided by Major Daly. It is also worth mentioning that this is, in itself, an abridged list. Major Daly did not have time to provide an even more extensive report. Many of those responsible were members of the Al Khalifah family. As I said back in August, it is amazing that those accused of terrible crimes later went on to be an important part of the administration. Abdulla Al Khalifa for example, was one of the three judges that sat on the court of appeal in the high profile trial of 5 members of the HEC committee sentenced in 1956. His desire to preserve Al Khalifa rule in Bahrain went back to the early 1900s where, on a trip to Britain, he went to the UK to complain about British interference in Bahrain’s (read Al Khalifa’s) affairs. Given the list of abuses documented below, it is pretty incredible someone like him could ever be in a position to administer justice.

The list, taken from the Records of Bahrain.