IOR/R/15/2/23

The file consists of the following papers:

• transcript of a statement made by a Shiah Bahrein [Bahrain] pearl merchant, in which he accuses members of the family of the Sheikh of Bahrain, especially his sons, of conducting a secret persecution against members of the Shiah community. The merchant alleges that this took the form of extortion, confiscation of property, and murder, and states that he had been tortured three years previously and had recently received an illegal demand from Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa [Sheikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] for 10% of the price the merchant had paid for a potentially very valuable pearl;
• letter from the Political Agent, Bahrein (Major Harold Richard Patrick Dickson) to the Deputy Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Prescott Trevor), dated 3 September 1920, in which he reports that he had taken the statement in question from the merchant on 31 August 1920, had found that his allegations of extortion were supported by other merchants, had held an interview with Sheikh Abdullah, and had settled the matter by referring the merchant to Abdullah's father, Sheikh Isa [Sheikh ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah]; and
• letter in reply to the above from the Deputy Political Resident, dated 21 September 1920, congratulating the Political Agent on his handling of such a potentially troublesome case.