Bahrain jails prominent female activist

A Bahraini court jailed on Thursday opposition activist Zainab al-Khawaja for one month after convicting her of attacking a policewoman and taking part in an illegal rally, witnesses said. The daughter of prominent jailed opponent Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike since February 8, had been charged with "using force against a policewoman and insulting her as forces of order tried to disperse an unauthorised rally" on April 21. It said Khawaja, who has been active in holding anti-government protests since security forces quelled a month-long uprising last year, obstructed traffic on the same day by sitting in the middle of the main King Faisal Road in Manama. On Tuesday, a court adjourned to May 27 another case against Khawaja in which she is charged with staging a rally with another woman in December in the middle of a roundabout on Budaiya highway, outside the capital, where Shiite demonstrators hold frequent protests. She was forcefully removed by police after refusing to end her protest. On Monday, a court fined her 200 dinars ($530) for insulting a police officer.