Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Re: Call for urgent intervention: Zainab Alkhawaja, Asma Darwish and Sawsan Jawad arrested

2011-06-15T19:41:00.001+03:00

3 women, Zainab Alkhawaja, Asma Darwish and Sawsan Jawad were arrested today after staging a sit in at the United Nations office in Bahrain.
This was posted on Twitter by the Ministry of Interior: "legal action being taken against 3 ladies who refused to leave the United Nations building according to requests by officials in the building" They are being held on the charge of illegally being on private property. A picture of the three ladies: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=163063417092342&set=a.144605752271442.32286.144547425610608&type=1&theater. Inside the UN: http://yfrog.com/kglu6mj, http://yfrog.com/kh12458703j.

As stated by the MOI of Bahrain, the request was made by the UN staff and therefore the UN office is directly responsible for the safety and well being of these three women.

For more information please read below.

This is a call for urgent intervention, especially by the United Nations.

Zainab Alkhawaja, daughter of arrested prominent Human Rights activist AbdulHadi Alkhawaja and sister of human rights activist Mariam Alkhawaja, has been arrested along with two other female Bahrainis. She and two other women, Asma Darwish (brother detained) and Sawsan Jawad (father detained), went to the UN and staged a "sit-down", delivering a letter to Ban Ki-Moon (http://byshr.org/?p=602). They met with a deputy manager, and expressed their concerns, and urged that the UN must take immediate action. Zainab Alkhawaja and the two other women said they would stay until the UN brings justice to the political prisoners of Bahrain.

Today is the 12th day since Asma Darwish started her hungerstrike, and yet she went to protest in the UN building.

The first official from the UN told the three women: "you cannot stay. If u do ull make problems for u, for us and maybe even ur families" The UNDP, Mohd Ahmed, insisted that their voices have been heard and he continued to scare them by saying you "should leave because anyone here could easily say that you were here with guns trying to take over the building." Zainab said "he repeated three times that there might be the issue of people saying we violently seized the UN building." The UN then allowed the police force to enter the room where Zainab Alkhawaja and the two other women were and forced them out. They are now in the hands of the police and we are very concern of their well-being and safety.
Zainab's last words on twitter: "Wow how great are the UN, they let police in to take us"

This is the statement by the Ministry of Interior saying:

Following a tip-off by Bahrain-based UN office, legal measures have been taken today against three women who entered the UN premises after the official work time and refused to leave when asked to do so, the Director General of the Capital Governorate Police Directorate said.

A police report has been written about the incident which is considered as a crime punishable by the law, he added.
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/460948

Updates on trials today, government shifting to eliminate virtual protests

2011-05-23T01:34:00.002+03:00

Dear Friends,

In updates about today:

1. Court reaffirmed death penalty on two detainees.

2. 2. More counts of torture.

3. 3. At the hearing of the 21 prominent activists 2 witness accounts were heard and the hearing was postponed until next Wednesday. Details were reported from Abdulhadi Alkhawaja about detention conditions.

4 4. Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is still banned from traveling.

5. 18 year old Nouf Ramzi Alkhawaja and other students were taken from the exam room at their school and were held for several hours for interrogation. During the interrogation Nouf was slapped hard on her face numerous times.

To read more details please read bottom of email.

Please read:

1. BYSHR updates on the military trials and sentences of civilians and activists in Bahrain: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4082

2. Bahrain workers are facing a tyrannical dismissal and penal prosecution as punishment for exercising their legitimate rights: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4100

3. Bahrain: After destruction of the actual protesting site at "the Pearl", the government shifts to eliminate virtual protests: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4101

In an update about today's trials, in the first case, which was the appeal of the death sentence against four young men, the sentence was lifted from two of the four. The two detainees, Qassim Hassan Mattar and Saeed AbdulJalil Saeed received a life imprisonment sentence, annulling the death penalty. On the other hand, the court confirmed the death sentence on Ali AlSingace and AbdulAziz AbdulRedha. This was despite the fact that the lawyers had presented evidence that Ali AlSingace had a broken leg during the time of his alleged crime, and the judge gave no reasons for why the sentence was changed for two and not the others.

In the case of the accused of kidnapping and torture of police officers, Mohammed Habib AlMuqdad, a Swedish citizen, showed the judge what appeared to be a hole drilled into his leg. He told the judge he could show him the rest of the torture marks on his body due to the torture he had been subjected to.

At the hearing of the prominent 21 activists, Lieutenant Isa Sultan was brought as a witness. Isa Sultan is the person in charge of the case and investigations. According to people present at the hearing, he was sweating and appeared very nervous. He said that the defendants were working in coordination with Iran as they all followed Velayat-Al-Faqih and wanted an Islamic Republic. He also said that they received payments of "Khums" which is Islamic taxation. The lawyer asked him how he knew this if there were checks or such, and he responded that they received it all in cash and then used it to buy gas and car tires for the youth to burn on the streets. He then said that the defendants were receiving directions from Hezbullah who told them they must achieve a constitutional monarchy.

Two other witnesses were then questioned who were in charge of the arrest of AbdulJalil AlMuqdad and Hassan Mushaima. The first person was Nawaf Aldoseri and another person who said that they conducted the arrests in a legal manner. When they were about to question Bader Ghaith (the person in charge of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's arrest and named as a top torturer by several victims during previous cases) the lawyer asked that the other 3 witnesses be brought for questioning. Salah Alkhawaja's wife immediately identified Bader AlGhaith as being the person who beat her when arresting her husband and sexually harassing her. The court was adjourned till Wednesday the 25^th of this month.

During the last hearing the judge ordered that the detainees be taken out from solitary confinement, but many of them remain in solitary confinement. In the other cases, security personnel had brought a mattress into the cells of the detainees where they were held in solitary confinement and an Indian or Philipino prisoner who have criminal charges to stay in their cells with them. The detainees are not able to even communicate with them due to the language barrier.

When the hearing was over families were told that nobody would be given visitation rights today but were later on called back in. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and his younger brother Salah (accused in the same case) were seated together and the visit lasted for around 40 minutes. The information below was taken from Abdulhadi Alkhawaja.

- - He is still in solitary confinement and some of the detainees had Asian inmates brought into the cells with them which didn't really help with the solitary confinement problem since communication with them is impossible due to the language barrier.

- - In the hospital after his operation they had his eyes constantly covered, had chained his legs and one of his arms so that he couldn't move and had left only one arm free for the IV line. He remained like that for 6 days and they regularly came in to insult and threaten him while he was in this condition. They kept telling him that they had arrested his eldest daughter Zainab, had raped her and were keeping her in a prison in Saudi.

- - He had gone on hunger strike on three different occasions to demand the improvement of their treatment and of his condition in jail. He mentioned that after his surgery he had refused to take even his medicine and they had severely beaten him to stop the hunger strike and when he still refused they tied him in the "Faylaqa" method with one arm loose and forcibly inserted an IV line for him.

- - The doctor and nurse who were treating him always had their faces covered when they came to see him. At one point the doctor got really frustrated and started saying who did this to you, and when my father said he did it to himself, the doctor said there is no way a person can cause those types of injuries to himself.

- - Insults and dirty language is something the detainees have gotten used to by now, especially when it comes to the detained clerics. The prison guards do everything possible to degrade and insult the detainees and there is no doubt that psychological torture is implemented on all of them. He said that the worst psychological torture is when they in the middle of the night the guards start banging with metal rods on the cells, and shouting really loud then go into the cells and threaten the detainees. He said that many other prisoners were being subjected to torture much worse than what he had gone through and had been threatened not to speak up.

- - After the trial before last (in which he had told the judge that he'd been threatened) they had beaten him and left him outside in the sun for half an hour with a sack over his head. He also said that to and from the trials they were always transferred with their hands tied behind their backs and sacks over their heads. This made it difficult to breathe due to the heat and humidity in Bahrain.

- - They constantly talked about and insulted Maryam AlKhawaja and Nabeel Rajab. They gave him details about what they will do to his daughter Maryam in very vulgar language.

- - They're being kept in AlQurrain prison.

One of the women brought her 22 days old baby to the court as her husband who was detained and had not seen his baby girl yet. He was also previously arrested in the August crackdown. When she had gone into labour she had to convince the ambulance to come because he said he would not go to her area in Sitra. When he finally came he was accompanied by riot police who opened the ambulance door and interrogated her.

Attack on Nabeel's home again, appeal tomorrow on the death penalty and hearing for the 21 political activists

2011-05-21T22:49:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

Hope this email finds you well.

For the second time in few weeks Nabeel Rajab's family house was attacked early morning Saturday by teargas bombs while the family was sleeping. Nabeel Rajab is the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the vice president of FIDH. Today's (Saturday) attack was different because the teargas bombs were shot into the house on purpose breaking the window of Nabeel's brother, Nader Rajab, section where he lives with his family. Nabeel said: "We had very frightening moments rescuing my brother, his wife and his daughter as they were close to serious suffocation. This is an attempt to murder a member of my family to pressure me to stop my human rights activities. Thank God the teargas bombs fell on the tile and not the carpet which could have caused a fire and could have killed the whole family while they were asleep. Please do whatever you can to stop the government from attacking me and my family who have nothing to do with my human rights work"

In an urgent matter, those who were released from prison are now being called back for interrogations and military courts. It appears now that the cases against them, usually the charges range from illegal assembly, incitement to hatred, incitement against the regimes and so on, were not dismissed. There are several cases in which people have already received sentences ranging from 2-20 years imprisonment. We are currently working on a list of cases and sentences which will be sent to you when ready.

On another note, the appeal against the death penalty in the case of four young men who made coerced confessions to killing two policemen will be tomorrow, Sunday, as well as the hearing of the 21 prominent Bahraini leaders.

In the case of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, the spokesperson for foreign affairs of the leftist government party in Denmark has stated that if Abdulhadi Alkhawaja is not released soon it will cause a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. This is due to Abdulhadi being a Danish citizen.

Best,

--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Attempted rape of Alkhawaja in prison and updates

2011-05-16T21:15:00.002+03:00

Dear Friends,

Today was the third session in the trial of the 21 prominent Bahraini figures.

The lawyers said today that this case being tried at court is unconstitutional as they are being tried on charges that occurred previous to when this court was instituted (by State of National Safety).

Mohammed Jawad Parweez's lawyer asked that he be released due to his age and health, but the judge refused. Parweez then took his shirt off to show the judge the torture marks on his body but he was forced to sit down by the security forces in the court room.

At the end of the trial, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja tried to address the court saying that security forces had tried to force him to make a videotaped apology to the king. He refused saying he would apologize if they can prove he did something illegal. As he tried to explain how they attempted to rape him, the security forces forcefully removed him from the court room. He later on told his wife that they took him into another room in which four men came and took their pants off. They then proceeded to touch him and tried to take his pants off saying they were going to rape him. He was unable to defend himself as his hands were handcuffed behind his back, so he threw himself on the ground and hit his head against the floor repeatedly until he lost consciousness. He also told her that he was to have a head scan as there may be damage to his head. He added that they repeatedly told him that they are going to find me (his daughter) and rape me. As a human rights defender this puts me in danger as well.

Ali Salman's (President of AlWefaq Society) step brother, Abbas AlMurshed who is a journalist in AlWaqt newspaper was arrested today.
Students at the University of Bahrain is are being made to sign loyalty pledges: http://thegrumpyowl.com/2011/05/16/loyalty-pledge-of-university-of-bahrain/
--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Updates on Bahrain including trial of 21 prominent activists

2011-05-13T03:21:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

At the trial today, and despite statements that the hearing would be open to international observers, Brian Dooley from Human Rights first and A lawyer from Frontline Defenders were not allowed into the hearing of the 21 detainees on trial for 10 different charges. The security personnel threatened the woman from Frontline that they would remove her forcefully if she did not leave.

At the hearing, the lawyers complained that they did not have enough time with their clients and that the prison conditions were very bad. They also demanded the detainees be given more time to use the bathroom. The government lawyer said that was not necessary and the prisons were just fine. One of the lawyers asked the judge to release the detainees and that they would attend the trial, but the judge refused saying that the sentence if they were found guilty would be either death or life imprisonment, so bail was out of the question. During the hearing, AbdulHadi Alkhawaja told the judge that he feared for his life as he had been threatened by his jailers that they would kill him. After the hearing, all the families were allowed to see the detainees except Alkhawaja's family, who were told they would only see him if the lawyer from Frontline left. She did, but they did not allow the family to see him anyway.

Human Rights First on Alkhawaja: "When he was recovering from the operation they tortured him again," Torture and Unfair Trial of Protesters in Bahrain http://goo.gl/9fcMq

Human Rights Watch: "Activist Bears signs of Abuse": http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/10/bahrain-activist-bears-signs-abuse

The security also threatened all the families that if they speak to the lawyer from Frontline they will not be allowed to see the detainees.

Mohammed Jawad Parweez told his family he had been tortured and showed them marks on his arms and legs from long periods of being hanged.

A girl and her family came forward to Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and told him that she had been sexually harassed during a raid on her family's home. Her name is being withheld for safety reasons.

Hamad Yousif Kadhem was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment after being found guilty for attempting to murder a number of policemen, provoking protesters and damaging vehicles. http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/456345

Chief military prosecutor releases 24 staff members of SMC: http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/456360

Bahrain: First nurse is sentenced since 14 Feb unrest: http://byshr.org/?p=458

Bahrain is to hold by-elections next September 24 to replace vacant parliamentary seats, Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, adding that the second round of those elections will take place on October 1, 2011.

Interview with Christopher Stokes, MSF, on abuse of medical personel in Bahrain http://goo.gl/9r68P

"At the GCC Roundabout young people were given pills which affected their minds and made them do unusual things, Marshal Shaikh Khalifa added that the Peninsula Shield forces will remain in Bahrain after the State of National Safety is lifted, in anticipation of any foreign threat, BDF forces will revert to their barracks, but will always be on alert to fend off any threats." http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/456162

There will be a hearing tomorrow at 10am by the Tom Lantos Commission at Congress on Bahrain: http://tlhrc.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1211.

Regards,

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

El Mundo: Journalists are not welcome in Bahrain

2011-05-11T16:00:00.003+03:00

This is a Google Translation of the original Spanish article on elmundo.es y cuartopoder.es.

Monica G. Prieto |
Updated on Wednesday 05/11/2011 6:05 hours

"Silence is a sign of misfortune and often a crime of silence (...) need to tyrants and occupiers who ensure that their actions go unnoticed." Yesterday, the sentence of Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski contained in his book "The Soccer War 'it seemed the perfect description of what is happening in Bahrain, where a wall of silence surrounding the arrest, the brutal repression and trials Fast against alleged traitors is carefully constructed by the Al Khalifa dictatorship while sell their economic recovery and an apparent normality can host the next championship of Formula 1. Simply to deny reality, and the first step is to prevent anyone seeing that reality.

I landed at the airport in Bahrain on 20.30 am on Monday, after a short journey from Beirut to Kuwait motivated because Bahrain has suspended direct flights to Lebanon by sectarian differences. Professional visas passport immediately called the attention of border guards, who spent my documents to an immigration officer who, after a short interrogation, gave in turn to a security agent.

His tone was menacing. "What has come? Do you intend to cover events?" He asked. In his interview would follow two with individual security agents after almost three hours of waiting and many questions, which seemed to be responsible are delivered. "Do not insist, in any way going to enter the country." Immigration officials were more graphic. "Sorry, we can not do anything. You are considered a security problem. You must leave immediately for Bahrain."

Hours later, he announced the expulsion of a correspondent for Reuters, Frederik Richter, who is accused of bias in their reporting. With measures like these, Bahrain shows continue earning a spot on the list of predatory governments freedom of expression by Reporters Without Borders, which equates to countries like Yemen, Syria and Libya. Neither Human Rights researchers are welcome, as have confirmed to this newspaper members of Human Rights Watch.

But what has to hide the small Gulf kingdom, a Shiite majority and ruled by a Sunni dynasty for 200 years, to oust the press before it was received with open arms? No small thing: a state of emergency to justify arbitrary arrests and a curfew from midnight to 05.00 hours, a military occupation by troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council and 800 arrested, including doctors and nurses, academics, bloggers, human rights activists and political leaders left, de facto, 70% Shia population without charge who can undertake a dialogue with the regime.

The Bahrainis have been robbed of their revolution. Or rather, we are stealing from everyone. Used the popular appeal of Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen to emulate the courage and demanding democratic reforms as basic as they enable people to freely elect their parliament, the Senate is handpicked by the king and his men, the lowest is chosen by the elite sympathetic to the Al Khalifa and an end to discrimination against the Shia community that refuses to work, social benefits and positions of responsibility.

Seized on February 14 because then marked the tenth anniversary of a referendum approved by the population according to which the regime promised to move toward democracy, was in 2001 and months later came the disappointment. The king never even discuss the drafting of a constitution unilaterally approved a charter that did not meet expectations.

So Bahrainis took the Pearl Square three months ago: secular and religious, Shiite and Sunni, young and old, to ask for freedom and dignity and not to challenge the dictatorship. And the regime were suppressed, first by police, then to the military and later accepting military aid from Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together the countries of this region, all led by Sunni-Bahrain and see the ghost of a threat : The Rise of the Shiite minority in the Gulf and the growing influence of Iran's archenemy.

"The message is clear: desist or I will withdraw. King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa was accompanied by his show of force with the announcement of a 'national security state' in three months that includes a curfew, a ban on protests and expands Army authorities, "he wrote in his latest report on Bahrain International Crisis Group. "In the following days of protests, security forces and pro-regime criminals armed with swords and sticks attacked demonstrators throughout the kingdom, killing seven people in the first three days and wounding many more. Since then, Opposition leaders have been arrested. "

But the media attention and had traveled to Libya and Syria. Repression in Bahrain, a member of the West-the U.S. has the V Fleet based there, ceased to exist in the news, and while the silence normalized to the outside what was happening, the dictatorship radicalized his pursuit of a coup.

Just the 800 arrests are reported undertaken on behalf of the kingdom's security, as 47 doctors and nurses charged with "terrorist activities", attended the injured protesters during the eviction police are tried by courts-martial, how responsible is processing at 21 political, religious, human rights defenders, as Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, regional head of the NGO Frontline, and intellectuals for "terrorist organization funded by a foreign entity" in reference to Tehran.

Torture in prison happen - one of the founders of the newspaper 'Al Wasat' (the main opposition newspaper, about to close due to pressure), Farid Fakhrawi, died in custody - and no stranger to the witch-hunting Sunni kingdom. Journalists, athletes and officials are being laid off when not formally indicted by calling for democracy.

NGOs denounce the arrests as general secretary Hassan Mushaima Al Haq, the colegaAbdul Khalil al Singace, Ibrahim Sharif, leader of the secular Sunni Waed, Vice President Al Wafaq, Jawad Feruza, and MK Ibrahim Mattar Mattar ... All the opposition is being arrested.

There has been sentenced to death and feared that such measure is applied to some of the above. Bahrain's regime is running out of anyone with whom to negotiate to find social peace. And silence the Shiite community through violence is numerically impossible, as well as counterproductive.

Waving the ghost-present sectarian protests against the population as a Shiite coup put an end to the perks of the Sunni-Muslim conflict has worsened not only in the Gulf but throughout the Middle East, with serious repercussions in Iraq and Lebanon. While the West can not hear the resounding silence that comes from Bahrain is a risk that the Shiite majority, as the Crisis Group, seek help from Iran and is involved. "For many years activists in Bahrain have taken their cause to the corridors the power of U.S. and Europe. With U.S. support schemes continuously Al Saud and Al Khalifa, Bahraini opposition is left with more options to consider seeking help beyond the Gulf. "

All for not worrying about the silence imposed on the kingdom or to inquire about the reasons for the revolt. As he said the Archbishop Helder Camara, the Brazilian Gandhi, "the mother of all violence is social injustice."

This article has been published in elmundo.es and cuartopoder.es .

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/05/10/comunicacion/1305059020.html

Protecting the Idea of Academics - A New Challenge in Bahrain

2011-05-10T15:49:00.002+03:00

As received:

Dear Educators, Intellects, Leaders, Politicians, Human right activists and organisations

I hope you read this open letter and give it the required consideration that it deserves. All I ask is fifteen minutes from your busy day to make a conscious decision about a matter that I would hope is of concern to people placing value in education and the development of a moral, ethical and just society.

Over the past month and until today , academics from the University of Bahrain and many teachers serving in public schools have been sacked from their profession. Not due to negligence, incompetence or a lack of carrying their duties. Moreover, they expelled over two hundred students, and revoked scholarships for many students studying abroad. This has been part of a wide and unabated crackdown on civilians expressing thoughts of democracy. The government would justify actions by stating that 'any form of dissent to divide the country will not be tolerated', which is code for 'we will remain as rulers and will crush anyone who attempts to dislodge us'. Adolf Hitler famously said: "we have to put a stop to the idea that it is a part of everybody's civil rights to say whatever he pleases."

The fundamentals of universities are reliant upon openness and freedom to express ideas. Teaching, research, development, and participation from the university community are the norm and the focus of all well-educated communities. Unfortunately, the values underlining your infrastructure are the values we are desperately fighting for these days.

I speak not of a political mantra. Not of democracy. Not even the basic human rights of self-determination, access to health and freedom of speech without fear of persecution. I speak of the inherent notion that if you have ideas that oppose government, even if passive in nature, then you will face prosecution and unfounded allegations of conspiring with external powers to change the regime. More concerning, is the targeting of individuals based on their faith. These tactics are not unfamiliar to authoritarian regimes; in fact, it defines their attitudes and psychological demeanour to any dissent.

Bahrain has entered an apartheid-state of discrimination based on ideology and belief; a heinous and tragic demise by any standard to a once-known friendly and liberal state. The government and its' proxies, driven by hardliners in the government, are systematically sifting through the government bodies and affiliated companies and simply destroying entire families by firing any individual that has expressed an opinion opposing the basis of the autocratic rule, compounded by banning them from seeking work in the public sector (and making private sector employment almost impossible). It seems that the world can live without freedom on this tiny island of barely a million inhabitants. Looking at the big picture, Bahrain is no more than a speck compared to more pressing international issues such as the debt crises of many countries, civil war in African countries, natural disasters stretching from Haiti to Japan & Australia, and even nuclear disasters.

I am not here to lay blame on who instigated what, and why nobody seems to care. I have lost hope in the international politicians and assemblies, and can't fault them for what is clearly an agenda of no major concern to their lives and communities. Sure, everyone condemns cruel acts, but how far does condemnation go and what is the practical implication if these words are followed by hand-shaking and business deals with those same people they have condemned. Do we preach of human rights and turn around to the abusers to reinforce their despotic clench on civilians' throats who seek those same rights? It's a strange world we live in, and even stranger how your business partner is your ideological nemesis, which somehow we can live with, as long as they leave their ideology in their backyard.

If these same actions have taken place in a western country, the government would have changed immediately, and the aggressors prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Instead, journalists are being harassed, doctors imprisoned, academics fired, religious institutes destroyed and burned, and homes invaded, vandalized and robbed. It amazed me how the world response, more specifically the political response, was akin to a deafening silence. Yes, there were condemnations, but how many, how frequent, and what was the substance of the message? Even more importantly, is the lack of push to prosecute the perpetrators for the well-documented crimes. It seems this will be another forgotten page in history, and the government of Bahrain will have a free pass on the basis of self-preservation of authoritarian regime. These exercises must have a great inspiration for freedom of thought.

I am here today not asking for retribution or military intervention, but simply asking for a voice of reason to protect not journalists, healthcare workers, academics, labourers or civilians, for they have been considered as replaceable commodities. Instead, I seek a much simpler request. I ask for the protection of maintaining our ideology, faith and ideas without the fear of being wiped out through intimidation, abuse, economic deprivation and in many unfortunate cases psychological and physical torture. A young 20 year old girl, Ayat Al- Qormezi, read out a poem against the government in February 2011 at Pearl Square. During the crackdown in March 2011, the government had her arrested and tortured, and somehow seems 'missing' these days. Her story is one of many, but the response of the world has been indifference as far as the victims are concerned.

If the fabric of society can be torn to shreds, can a new piece of garment be simply sewn back together? I suspect not. Instead, the government of Bahrain has been actively replacing that fabric altogether, thereby fashioning a new country. This must be the new and smarter technique of ethnically cleansing the population, thereby avoiding legal international ramifications, while calling it a strategy to bring 'order and stability'.

I ask you, the educators, if people like Socrates, Plato, Galileo, Voltaire, Newton, Edison, and many others were not allowed to think then where will we be? Will we have reached enlightenment? Will we have understood our surroundings and space? Will we have light as we know it? If the Renaissance and Reformation never existed, would this be the same 21st century? Could we imagine a world where thinkers were not allowed to think? We could, but that would take us to the medieval ages.

If world politicians have no investment in Bahrain, then I can understand that, but would you remain silent knowing the idea of academics, people you have taught as students, are being persecuted for their faith and ideology? The verification of persecution towards white-collar and blue-collar workers is simple, for sacking and preventing these individuals from public work has been published in government newspapers, as though it was something to be proud of, or perhaps to show the repercussions of any thought opposing the Big Brother institution, as George Orwell depicts in "1984". Just as naïve as their actions are, their insight to the damage being done is nothing short of malicious.

I urge you to condemn these ill-thought actions and send a strong message through your institutions and governments to the government of Bahrain, that their actions will not be positively rewarded through future partnerships. That they are not welcome on your shores, and you will be supporting the prosecution of these crimes against humanity at the International Court of Justice. Even extending the call for sanctions may send the right message; that tolerating persecution of civilians for their beliefs and ideas is unacceptable. More importantly, we need your voice to call for an independent international body to investigate these crimes immediately and to be given the full cooperation of the government. If they hear your voice and heed your warnings, maybe there is still hope of salvaging a desperate situation.

As for me, there will most likely be a bounty on my head for speaking such blasphemy. I will be charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government, and disdaining the reputation of the country, as though reputation is somehow a measure for justice. My family will be persecuted for the remainder of their lives, if not shortened through human intervention. For those reasons, I seek to keep my identity concealed and refer you to the European Parliament, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Physicians for Human Rights,

Bahrain Support Group

Few days after his house was attacked and burned, Saeed Ayyad arrested

2011-05-09T16:17:00.000+03:00

Dear Friends,

Three days ago I wrote to you:

"In an alarming update, Saeed Ayyad's house was fired upon by security forces using teargas which carries a flame. As a result his home caught on fire and you can see the fire and the result in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkEKPsI1Dzk. Saeed fled his room as the shot was directed at his bedroom window and he managed to get out of the house..

Saeed Ayyad is an activist who has been taking international visitors around to speak to witnesses and document violations. We have reason to believe that his house was targeted due to his activism."

I am now writing to tell you that Saeed Ayyad was arrested on Friday morning during a dawn raid on his brothers home.

10s of students have been expelled from University of Bahrain due to their online activism. Some of these students are honor students, and this comes right before the beginning of the final exam period. Some of these students were graduating this summer.

Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and vice president of FIDH, has yet again attempted to travel after he was told that there is no ban in effect against him, but was again prevented from leaving the country.

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Bahrain Updates #14: Monarchy and Submission.

2011-05-09T11:38:00.019+03:00

The consequence of the utilization of "free labor" undermined the entire feudal social formation throughout Europe and laid the material basis for the modern liberal constitutional state. As the noted political economist C.B. MacPherson argued in his The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke (1962/1988), the idea of free labor conceptualizes the individual "as essentially the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing to society for them." Freedom, as "the" human essence is portrayed in a negative sense as "freedom from dependence on the will of others," with freedom being a function of possession. From this origin, owing to the necessity of the capitalist mode of production, society begins to be seen as constituted on a contractual basis, consisting of relations of exchange between proprietors. Consequently, MacPherson concludes, political society "became a calculated device for the protection of this property and for the maintenance of an orderly relation of exchange" (MacPherson, 1962/1988, p. 3). (Cavell, October 1, 2006, "Liberalism & Its Implications for the Middle East and North Africa," (http://userspages.uob.edu.bh/cscpo/bcsr_paper_10_1_06_revised_pdf.pdf).

Folks,

One of the most bizarre and pitiful articles to appear this past week was one which appeared in the Thursday, May 5th issue of Bahrain's Gulf Daily News entitled

"We were not involved..." (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=305331). The article highlights the case of Mr. Faisal Jawad, CEO of the Jawad Group in Bahrain, a substantial capitalist enterprise which owns the Bahrain franchises of several well-known international chains including Costa Coffee, Burger King, Monsoon, Accessorize, French Connection UK, BHS, Travelex, Avis, Mango, Shoe Citi, Chili's, Dairy Queen, Hush Puppies and Papa John's, etc. It is being alleged that Mr. Jawad supplied pro-democracy protesters with free food while they were camped out at the Pearl Roundabout in late February and early March, before regime forces attacked, dispersed protesters, and then, on March 18th, tore down the Pearl Monument. A regime-inspired boycott is now underway against the Jawad Group's affiliates.

For his part, Mr. Faisal Jawad denied the charges as being untrue. However, Mr. Jawad had written a letter in early March which was published in the Gulf Daily News newspaper, in which he criticized local media saying he perceived their role in the Middle East was to protect "corrupt governments and not to say the truth and expose unlimited ill-gotten wealth". As GDN reporter Tom Hanratty notes: "The letter, published on March 1, also expressed support for the international media's reporting of events in Bahrain - angering many who felt foreign journalists had been guilty of distorting the facts." Mr. Jawad's response is worth noting: "I studied in the UK for about four or five years," he said. "In the UK I was among people and a society in which, if you have an opinion, you can say it without fearing any repercussion because, regardless of what that opinion is, it is an opinion. When I wrote the note to the GDN, I thought that in 2011 we lived in a society that would allow people to share their opinion and that's why I wrote it. Maybe, though, people here are not ready for others to air their opinion and maybe in retrospect I regret writing that letter."

Despite Mr. Jawad's uncategorical denials of involvement in supporting the protesters, he, like all Bahrainis, is now called upon to kowtow to the autocratic monarchical power that rules the island kingdom of Bahrain. As The Republic Newspaper out of Columbus, Indiana reports: "While Bahrain's justice minister was making the latest accusations against alleged enemies of the state — this time medical staff — other officials were busy organizing a patriotic blitz that encourages pledges of loyalty on Facebook and Twitter" (http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9460204e82fc46528f920aa9e8551b0a/ML--Bahrain-Loyalty-Online/?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4dc4e6d35bd29f46%2C0).

Indeed, the state-run media in Bahrain has, following the commencement of the brutal crackdown in mid-March, been promoting a regime-run so-called "Loyalty Campaign" which has government agents show up in various areas of the country, mostly shopping malls, etc., and entreat passersby to sign a loyalty oath to the monarchy. As one pro-government website states: "In what started last week as signing an allegiance pledge and Loyalty swords campaign is now turned into a movement of masses from all spectrums, turning up in numbers signing their initials supporting the wise leadership" ("Organisers aim to collect over 500,000 signatures for Loyalty Campaign" http://www.peacebahrain.com/2011/04/organisers-aim-to-collect-over-500000-signatures-for-loyalty-campaign/. In fact, the extreme measures being taken by the regime to show that citizens are loyal have spread fear and paranoia thoughout the kingdom. As one blogger writes: "People speak in code on the phone and constantly declare their loyalty to the government just in case" ("No Tears for Bahrain," April 7, 2011, http://middleeastrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-tears-for-bahrain.html).

Americans should remember the most influential pamphlet of the revolution of 1776 was Thomas Paine's Common Sense where, in the section headed "Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession," Paine stated:

But it is not so much the absurdity as the evil of hereditary succession which concerns mankind. Did it ensure a race of good and wise men it would have the seal of divine authority, but as it opens a door to the FOOLISH, the WICKED, and the IMPROPER, it hath in it the nature of oppression. Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed in the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.

Anyone who has lived in any of the world's few remaining monarchies (only about 44 countries still present themselves as headed by a monarch, with only a handful claiming to be absolute monarchies) has likely experienced the daily acts of servility and slavish deference demanded of the citizenry. Fawning obedience to the point of obsequiousness is characteristic of what state media in such countries broadcasts and print, and oftentimes this "instruction in proper citizenship" takes of the form of citizens et al. kissing the hand of the monarch as he or she parades in front of them or, alternatively, subjects are depicted as falling on their knees or prostrating themselves in front of these self-proclaimed pooh-bahs. It involves pathetic and usually obnoxious displays of ready-compliance and sycophantic behavior. Such crawling before and submitting to and bootlicking of another human being was possible when education was reserved only for the elite, but once people realized, as Ben Franklin once said that, "The greatest monarch on the proudest throne is obliged to sit upon his own arse,"--in other words, monarchs are not naturally different from anyone else--then the aura and mystique of monarchy died. Hence, the only method for maintaining monarchical power in today's world is through coercion and brute force.

Free people despise such spineless subservient behavior and dismiss such claims with contempt. Just as Roger Williams wrote in 1670 that "Forced worship stinks in God's nostrils," so too does forced loyalty to monarchs elicit a very foul odor in the form of an unwelcomed stench.

Readers this week called my attention to a blog article entitled "Bahrain: Are You Confused?" and dated March 25, 2011 and written by a former Fulbright recipient, a Dr. Martin Scott Catino, who briefly taught at the University of Bahrain in the American Studies Center during the second Bush era, and who now claims to be "a Senior Military Adviser in Afghanistan, a specialist in US Foreign and Security policy". In his blog article, Dr. Catino blames radical Shia extremists for Bahrain's present chaos. He asserts that these clever insurgents are utilizing guerrilla warfare tactics in an attempt to realize "their violent dreams." Catino writes: "Radical Shia Imams parading as caring pastors mixed with Shia malcontents, human rights activists, the intelligentsia, and the young and the restless who moved about in abayas and dishdashas at schools like the University of Bahrain, where Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's Ali Khamenei were deemed champions of the world's oppressed, and of course, of the Shia of Bahrain. These very people and groups are now key players of the insurgency taking place in Bahrain" (http://www.thoughts.com/martinscottcatino/the-insurgency-in-bahrain).

Dr. Catino, of course, is entitled to his opinion about the democratic opposition and, indeed, we should welcome his contribution, for it provides us with a clear articulation of present US policy towards the six Gulf Kingdoms and, in particular, of US policy towards Bahrain, for it displays not only a disdain for the majority Shia population of Bahrain but, as well, it further evinces the same servility towards monarchy that the pro-Bush crowd exhibited during W's time in office. Catino writes of Bahrain's King as follows:

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain, is a powerful man, whose whit and ability to maintain control is admired, envied, and despised by the various sectarian and racial groups that walk the streets of places like Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The King is brilliant, and holds the reins of power with an ease and finesse that baffles his opponents. His ability to manage easily the diverse interests of the Sunni Arab world, the shifting sands of international economics, and the many South and Southeast Asian migrants that inhabit his island involves subtle skills that he uses confidently, grasping intangible power structures as easily as one could grasp the steering wheel of the family car. He understands every Middle Eastern leader's most cherished secret: the most important fight is the one to stay in power. So he offers much more than crackdowns: free schooling, subsidies to the poor of his country (Shia included), and business freedoms in the local markets. In fact, the Ajam, the enterprising Persian business class of Bahrain, embrace this freedom. But more importantly they embrace the freedom to stay out of politics, which dampens the delights of the dinar.

It is all-too-often that some self-professed conservatives in the USA proclaim their love of liberty in one moment while in the next subjugating themselves to monied interests who are determined to crush the very liberty by which they speak. This, of course, is compounded when such persons claim to be supportive of republican governments (i.e. representative governments where power arises from the people) and yet grovel before unelected monarchs. And, as long as US foreign policy leaders follow such a submissive course, America will remain obedient to kings, emirs, shahs, shoguns, czars, sultans, etc.
regards,

csc

Latest Updates

For those following developments in Bahrain closely, I refer you all to The Crooked Bough website for timely updates on the political situation in the Kingdom, as it is beating most outlets at critical reportage coming out of Bahrain.

About the author:

Until February 15th of this year, I was an Assistant Professor teaching in the American Studies Center at the University of Bahrain. I submitted my resignation following the Fall semester at the end of January, as my wife, a Moroccan national, was granted an immigrant visa to the US by the State Department with the proviso that we be residing within the USA by April 1, 2011. Little did we know in January, when I submitted my resignation, that we would be in a race for time before we could leave, as the Arab rebellions were sweeping from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen and into Bahrain and beyond. We left Bahrain on February 25th, the day of the largest demonstrations in Bahraini history, and have since been residing in Seattle, Washington.

Background on Bahrain:

On February 14, 2011, the citizenry of Bahrain rose up in opposition to the Al Khalifa monarchy and demanded democratic reforms. Their voices were met with stiff resistance from the autocratic regime which has been in power for over 200 years now. Unbowed, the citizenry took to the Pearl Roundabout in downtown Manama with some advocating for a constitutional monarchy and others a democratic republic. In response, the regime unleashed a reign of terror down on the protesters. Meanwhile, the US was directing its focus on Libya and getting through the United Nations a resolution for a no-fly zone over that country, which passed on Thursday, March 17th. One week prior, on Friday, March 11th, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew to Bahrain and met with the King and the Crown Prince, and on Monday, March 14th, approximately 2000 to 3000 Saudi Arabian and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tanks and troops rolled across the causeway from Saudi Arabia into Bahrain to crush the opposition. The next day, March 15th, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued Royal Decree No. 18 for the year 2011, declaring a three-month "State of National Safety". The Bahrain Defence Forces (BDF) subsequently began a systematic crackdown on anyone who was suspected of opposing the monarchy and calling for democracy. On March 18th, the BDF tore down the Pearl Monument, known to locals as either "Lulu" or "the GCC Monument" and to the international press as "Pearl Square" due to its similarity to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt where protesters had gathered. The regime's crackdown is an attempt to wipe away the memory of the 2011 Bahraini Democratic Spring from the popular mindset, and they are sparing nothing to root out and crush, using force and intimidation including torture and murder, any further resistance. The silence from most of the mainstream media in America is deafening.

The fact that the US Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain and the fact that the US is completely dependent on and addicted to Saudi-monarchy oil--i.e. oil doled out by a corrupt and sclerotic regime, and that both regimes (i.e. the Al Sauds and the Al Khalifas)--indeed all GCC regimes--in turn, are kept in power by US guns, makes all the difference--for now at least. The US is clearly supporting the Al-Khalifa monarchy, putting its oil interests ahead of its avowed democratic principles. From all accounts, the beating into submission as well as the subsequent bloodbath continues in earnest. For US citizens, it is another lost opportunity... But with your help and voices, we can eventually rectify our country's policy in this regard and realign it with our country's stated principles.

US interests in the long term will ultimately be served by supporting democratic elements and, eventually, democratic regimes in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Does that mean we should overthrow existing governments? No, but it does mean that we should not be arming, financially supporting, and enabling corrupt regimes to slaughter opposition forces advocating for democratic rights in their countries, and then remaining silent while it happens. Sycophancy in the service of autocratic rulers with decidedly undemocratic ethos is degrading and demeaning. Such a stance is an affront to humanity. Putting off the goal of aligning ourselves with democratic elements for short-term advantage will have negative repercussions not only on current US foreign policy but, as well, on US domestic policy, as millions of petro-dollars will find their way back into US politics attempting to undermine our democracy here at home. While countering theocratic influence in the region is understandable and necessary, this will require a strategy with quite a bit more sophistication than is presently being demonstrated. As well, implementing such a strategy will necessitate experienced hands who are neither intimidated by the apparent chaos often associated with democratic movements nor infatuated with monarchical tendencies and supportive of elite rule.

NOTE:

Names and other identifying information have been removed and/or redacted in order to protect the safety of the sender[s], unless the person(s) is (are) a reporter or a public activist(s) and want their names to be known, as publicity sometimes gives them some protection from regime retaliation. If you are not a known public activist and/or reporter, please inform me if you would like your name to appear along with your report; otherwise, I will redactit to maintain your anonymity.

regards,

csc

__________________

Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D.

P.O. Box 9087

Seattle, WA 98109

(206) 734-8187

ccavell@gmail.com

http://www.cscpo.com/

The past week has been a very long one. People assume every week that the government will be satisfied with the retribution acts and destructive behavior they've been carrying out for the past three months and for the past month and a half in particular, but the government just keeps on exceeding everybody's expectations in their stubborn, indifferent approach, which can only express the extreme arrogance and narcissism of monarchs.

Their "loyal" parrots are celebrating the death sentence rule, demanding more of it, and continuing their hate campaigns on the streets, at work places, and on the web. Many people are harmed at work or in their personal life because of pictures, videos, or mere allegations by "loyal citizens" online or in real life. It's taking a toll and starting to be really dangerous.

The degrading investigations at workplaces are still continuing. Staff are being interrogated, then punished by being fired or suspended, for "crimes" of participation at demonstrations, speaking to media channels, or merely setting foot on the roundabout.

Several people have gone through these investigations; they are humiliating and outrageous to any free person on this world. Putting people on witch trials, telling them they are guilty of speaking an opinion or having a wish that did not sit right with the "wise leadership".

Believe me, you don't appreciate freedom of speech, until you live in Bahrain these days. Many of the freedoms and basic given rights that are taken for granted all around the world every day are being horribly violated and infringed upon today in Bahrain.

Today, opposition leaders went on trial in the morning. It's not over yet; they have another hearing on May 12. It's unclear, as usual, how things went inside the court. Later in the day, however, the king announces that the "State of National Safety" will be lifted on June 1, 2011, which came as a shock to pro-government crowds, especially after Parliament voted last week for the extension of the "state of national safety" for 3 more months. I guess now, both the opposition and the "loyalists", know how the parliament is structured in a manner which makes it purely a facade and not a real, effective, functional institution. The Minister of Foreign Affairs tweeted that elections will follow this. I have no idea how that will go.

I don't believe the government is intending to implement any improvements to the situation or at all address the major issues that brought the uprising into being or the ones that caused the crackdown. I honestly think they are only announcing that they will lift the martial laws because it's hurting their pocket. We all know that the investment companies in Bahrain Financial Harbor and the twin towers in Manama have threatened to leave in June if martial laws are not lifted. Bahrain has already lost so many credits and points internationally. The Crown Prince's baby, the Formula 1, will only have a shot at taking place if the martial laws are lifted, as he was given an extension till 3 June, 2011 to confirm Bahrain's readiness to receive F1 this year in compensation of hosting the first stage as previously planned in March. The revenues and profits made in these and many other institutions/ projects/ functions all around Bahrain all go into the "good hands" of the royal family. I don't think justice will be served by June or afterwards if it were up to the royal family. Things will stay the same; only the surface will be changed, i.e. removing check points and military vehicles from the streets.

I'm so sickened by the folly and evil surrounding me. Read my updates and you'll get my sentiments:

This week they include:

· Bahraini Voices;
· Media Reports;
· Video Reports;
· Picture Reports;
· History of the Monarchy in Bahrain; and
· Bahrain's Uprising Archive.

· Bahraini voices:

o Very important summary and inclusive analysis: Getting Facts Right: Who Refused Dialogue?: http://lazacode.com/net-citizen/getting-facts-right-who-refused-dialogue?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lazacode+%28lazacode.com%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner The opposition did indeed refuse "unstructured dialogue", but it is the regime and the Gathering of National Unity who refused "structured dialogue".

o Readings about the labor movement in Bahrain: http://chanad.posterous.com/

o Several doctors were arrested last week; then, on Thursday, several female doctors were released. Many more still reside in the regime torture-full jails.

§ Physicians for Human Rights: Bahraini doctors webpage: http://bahrain.phrblog.org/

§ Missing doctors: http://bahrain.phrblog.org/the-missing/

§ Bahrain charges medics http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13267040

§ Medical Professionals Again Targeted with Arrest of President of Bahrain Medical Society and Charges Against 47 Others http://bit.ly/iW42AX

o Amal Society (Islamic Action Society) targetted heavily by regime:

§ 2^nd May: Arrest of Khalil AlHalwachi, one of the few remaining members of Amal "Islamic Action Society" left outside prison. What Fatima AlHalwachi said about her father'a arrest http://on.fb.me/kFdPHR

§ The authorities have been on a witch hunt, arresting staff and members of Amal, until they arrested Secretary General of Amal: Sheikh Mohammed Ali AlMahfoodh early on the 2^nd of May as well.

· Amal's press release on the detention of their Secretary General and members of staff and board. http://www.amal-islami.net/index.php?plugin=news&act=news_read&id=3306

o or https://www.facebook.com/notes/%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%84/arrest-of-sheikh-mohamed-ali-almahfoodh/219734108042248

o and http://twitpic.com/4t9dpo

· Hajar AlMahfoodh writes a letter to Obama http://www.pressenza.com/npermalink/letter-from-the-daughter-of-sheik-almahfoodh-to-obama

· Crooked Bough:

o Breaking news on arrest: http://www.crookedbough.com/?p=1176

o Free Mahfoodh http://www.crookedbough.com/?p=1214

o Arrest of Wefaq resigned Parliament Members: Mattar Ebrahim Mattar and Jawad Fairouz late night on Monday the 2^nd of May:

§ AlJazeera English: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201152205239385476.html

§ Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/node/98637

§ http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/bahrain-arrests-two-former-shiite-mps-source

§ Bahrain: Detained opposition MP Mattar Mattar interview on BBC a few weeks ago. Watch: http://bit.ly/kGfkWM

§ Mattar on AlJazeera English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuggIgm1PfI&feature=youtu.be

§ [Arabic] BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/05/110502_bahrain_arrests.shtml

§ [Arabic] Reuters http://ara.reuters.com/article/topNews/idARACAE7411GN20110502

o May 3^rd: Press Freedom Day: this must be a very special year for press freedom in Bahrain. We have marked a year since the closure of the independent newspaper AlWaqt, and AlWasat (the only other remaining independent newspaper) had intended to close as well, after all the drama they've been through last month. Press laws and prohibitions currently are as ridiculous as the laws enforced in our streets and courts these days. A very interesting year for "press freedom" in Bahrain indeed.

§ Fate of Bahraini journalists today: http://bit.ly/k3WxK5

§ Reporters Without Borders: Bahrain king is press predator: Watchdog http://bit.ly/l4CaG4

§ 2 headlines on the same GDN front page: "Press Pillar of Democracy" http://bit.ly/kjnLpz and "Newspaper to close down" http://bit.ly/jxrSJZ

§ Alwasat announces backing off decision to close down: http://www.alwasatnews.com/3165/news/read/559843/1.html

§ the Irony of all ironies: King reassures that no one will be harmed for peaceful expression of their opinion through the media within the constitution and government laws! [Arabic] http://www.alwasatnews.com/3160/news/read/553992/1.html

§ BCHR: Bahraini journalists call for a helping hand and for the adoption of measures to insure their safety: http://goo.gl/j4Thk

o Huge trend amongst young people these days in Bahrain is reading Orwell's 1984. Many are reading it and quoting it on their social network web pages. Definitely a healthy phenomenon.

o Sheikh Mohammed Habib AlMeqdad, who has been a prominent leader in the recent uprising in Bahrain, called his family from jail to bring him clothes. AlMeqdad had been in hiding, and no news were heard from him or of his arrest since the 16^th of March when he went into hiding. It was a great shock to many who still had faith in his safety.

o Freedom House: Bahrain medical professionals unfairly charged: http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=581&alert=55

o Bahrain: Human Rights Defender Mr.Naji Fateel at risk http://byshr.org/?p=423

o The series of job losses continue. Last Monday, it reached Mrs Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, who was fired from Kanoo School, by order from the Ministry of Interior, along with other teachers. Many other institutions witnessed similar acts, based solely on sect, last name, political affiliation or family members' involvement in politics!

o Attacking and burning down of Saeed Ayyad's home, torture of Alkhawaja, activist at high risk http://ow.ly/4PgMh

o Spying case adjourned: THE trial of a Bahraini and two Iranians accused of spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guard... http://bit.ly/lZX40w

o Lower National Safety Court Adjourns Four Cases http://goo.gl/fb/UtWMj

o 3^rd of May 2011: Bahrain house of representatives (all pro-govt now) call for 3-month extension of martial law and boycotting of Iranian products [Arabic] http://bit.ly/jzXPxy

o 8^th of May 2011: King announces that the State of National Safety will be lifted as of 1^st of June, 2011 on the same day that opposition leaders (including Wa'ad's Ebrahim Sharif, Haq's Hassan Mushaimae, and Wafa's AbdulWahhab Hussain) are put on trial:

§ Important information on detainees put on trial http://bahraincenter.blogspot.com/2011/05/important-information-about-trial-of.html

§ http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/08/us-bahrain-trial-idUSTRE7470Q220110508

§ http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/bahrain-puts-opposition-leaders-activists-on-trial/

§ http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-postpones-high-profile-trial-to-may-12-1.804811

§ http://akrockefeller.com/blog/bahrain-pro-democracy-activists-will-stand-trial/

§ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110508/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_5

§ Nabeel Rajab of Bahrain Center for Human Rights tweeted:

· "both Mr. Abdul Wahab Hussain and Mr. Hassan Mushema were limping while entering the military court #Bahrain"

· "الكثير من المعتقلين الذين قدموا اليوم للمحكمة كانت عيونهم حمراء مثل الدم وينتابهم ضعف في التركيز وبقوا مقيدين طوال فترة سجنهم" translation "lots of the detainees that were brought to court today had bloodshot eyes and had low concentration and were handcuffed the entire time they've been in prison"

· "سمح للاهالي بالجلوس مع المعتقلين حوالي ربع ساعة بحضور الامن واغلبهم تحدث عن حسن المعاملة حتى لو ان وجوههم واجسادهم لا تبدوا كذلك" translation "families were allowed to have 15 minutes with their detained family member(s) in security forces presence. Most spoke of being treated well, even though their faces and bodies showed otherwise"

· Media reports:

o US Labor urges trade pact with Bahrain be suspended: Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/06/us-bahrain-usa-trade-idUSTRE7456AP20110506

o 'Bahrain rights situation frightening' - Interview with Nabeel Rajab http://ow.ly/4KGcn – I can't see this interview because the Press TV website is blocked in Bahrain.

o US Silent: Bahrain Authorities Putting Doctors and Nurses on Trial for Caring for the Wounded http://bit.ly/kHywpI

o Human Rights Now: Will Bahrain Carry Out Four Executions? http://bit.ly/mO4j0p

o BD1,000 paid to crossfire victim's relatives: RELATIVES of an Indian man, who was killed in crossfire during cla... http://bit.ly/lGRCAs (NOTE: there was no crossfire! Riot police were attacking citizens on Budiya highway with fire; that's what it was. Firearms that they claim they never used against people.)

o After spending weeks celebrating the Prime Minister, now they remember to praise the king: Capital Governorate organises line-up of festivities to show allegiance to the leadership http://goo.gl/fb/AdjU3

o WLCentral: 2011-05-01 Reports of Shia mosques and matams being destroyed or vandalized in #Bahrain http://wlcentral.org/node/1725

o Obama urges Bahrain's monarch http://skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=607506&vId

o Obama urges Bahrain king to respect 'universal rights' http://cot.ag/kogwe7

o After crushed protests, Bahrain is accused of deepened oppression of Shiites http://goo.gl/3NRVs

o Bahrain's rulers press crackdown and widen loyalty drive to the web http://fb.me/WoQXaY94

o Bahrain doctors to be tried for helping protesters http://bit.ly/kTvc8a

o Bahraini authorities announced charges against the medical staff http://byshr.org/?p=410

o We all know the purpose of these offices and who the passports will go to: Bahrain to open more passport offices http://www.tradearabia.com/news/LAW_197804.html

o ARTICLE19 calling on Bahraini government to put immediate stop to the violent crackdown on the protests & on the press http://ow.ly/4LVYf

o Statement from Bahrain state news agency regarding arrest and charges against 47 doctors and medics http://bit.ly/iQAXSV

o Bahrain king orders end to emergency rule as opposition leaders go on trial: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bahrain-accuses-21-opposition-figures-of-seeking-to-topple-monarchy/2011/05/07/AFiY5QMG_story.html

o Bahrain king orders end of emergency law: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011581342480276.html

o Reuters: Bahrain loses allure as offshore money haven http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/bahrain-assets-idUSLDE7430H920110504

o UN urges Bahrain to free detained activists - http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201155155822502904.html

o UN human rights chief voices deep concern about Bahrain crackdown http://ow.ly/1cxaaE

o Counterrevolution in the Gulf in Foreign Policy http://tinyurl.com/6grkue9

· Video reports:

o The brave men of Bahrain, ganging up on the weak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi1o0_pSDZY&feature=share

o Al Jazeera English: Relatives fearful over Bahrain trials http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/05/201151145514937193.html ; Dr Farida AlDallal, Dr Ali AlEkri's wife, who was also arrested & beaten under custody, says that he has had no access to lawyers.

o I'm not usually a fan of turbans talking, but this one is making a direct, simple point worth hearing by western communities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a1o6lxFp-4&feature=youtu.be

o Bahriani Unions May Day Message http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArmwGVTF6Jk

o Common Bahraini government answers:

§ 1: Minister of Health: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrTTdjH3BWc&feature=youtu.be

§ 2: Minister of Foreign Affairs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vwKa2IYaHY&feature=related

o Outrageous video: pro-government crowd arms children and lectures them on defending themselves (against?). Man lecturing says you must sacrifice your blood; remember your loyalty is to Allah, Land, the King. The situation requires this from you as youth. We are sending you to a dangerous position, but you must do this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTJ2OQlwTI These are the same people who accused the opposition of abusing children for letting them participate in peaceful protests and "contaminating their minds with politics".

o Shia mosque spray painted with words cursing opposition and hailing the king: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgKMPmVewiM

o [Arabic] Very interesting response from Egypt by Dr Mohammed Salim AlAwwa on Bahrain's uprising: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzCwo2J1wXo&feature=share

o Candle vigil in Sanabis against the execution court rule: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBJ_6GAAnfU

o The Stream: On OBL death and Bahrain http://stream.aljazeera.com/episode/episode-2566

· Picture reports:

o Bin Laden lamented by the pro-government crowds https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.199192853455883.44617.191271114248057

· History of the monarchy in Bahrain:

o Belgrave Diaries: http://www.scribd.com/doc/54167454/AlKhalifa-Scandals-from-Belgrave-s-Diaries

· Bahrain's uprising Archive:

o March 2011 events:

§ Bahrain Opposition VS State Sponsored Terrorism http://www.scribd.com/doc/54088179/Bahrain-Opposition-vs-State-Sponsored-Terrorism

§ Students waiting outside UoB shot at by government agents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgwRGR9cbFQ (the only front with such weapons in Bahrain)

o February 18^th, 2011: One of the most iconic videos of the Bahraini uprising: Bahrain army shoots protesters with automatic guns; the protesters rescue the wounded and continue to march slowly and eventually do a peaceful sitting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEw3E3POc7Y&skipcontrinter=1

Twenty one trial defendents named

Posted: 08 May 2011 02:46 PM PDT

Britons named in Bahrain 'terror trial'

Posted: 08 May 2011 02:30 PM PDT

Bahraini state television announces that twenty one anti-government activists are being put on trial for crimes including collaborating with terrorist groups and trying to overthrow the government.

While Bahrain demolishes mosques, U.S. stays silent

Posted: 08 May 2011 02:25 PM PDT

In the ancient Bahraini village of Aali, where some graves date to 2000 B.C., the Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque had stood for more than 400 years - one of the handsomest Shiite Muslim mosques in this small island nation in the Persian Gulf. Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/08/2858559/while-bahrain-demolishes-mosques.html#ixzz1LnZXYsuq

Bahrain to end emergency, tries opposition heads

Posted: 08 May 2011 02:18 PM PDT

King Hamad on Sunday ordered an early end to Bahrain's state of emergency declared in mid-March to tackle Shiite-led protests, as leading opposition figures went on trial in a court set up under the law.

Ruling Sunnis in Bahrain detain Shiite teachers, students

Posted: 08 May 2011 02:17 PM PDT

Empowered by a six-week-old state of emergency, the Sunni minority government of Bahrain has arrested scores of Shiite women teachers and schoolgirls, held them for days in prison and subjected them to physical and verbal abuse, according to victims, human rights advocates and a former member of parliament. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/08/2207527/ruling-sunnis-in-bahrain-detain.html#ixzz1LnXNAdOT

Bahrain's king: state of emergency will end in June

Posted: 08 May 2011 10:50 AM PDT

The king of Bahrain has decreed that the country's state of emergency will end June 1, state media reported Sunday.

While Bahrain Demolishes Mosques, US Stays Silent

Sunday 8 May 2011

by: Roy Gutman, McClatchy Newspapers

(Photo: daoro [3])

Manama, Bahrain - In the ancient Bahraini village of Aali, where some graves date to 2000 B.C., the Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque had stood for more than 400 years — one of the handsomest Shiite Muslim mosques in this small island nation in the Persian Gulf.
Today, only bulldozer tracks remain.
In Nwaidrat, where anti-government protests began Feb. 14, the Mo'men mosque had long been a center for the town's Shiite population — photos show it as a handsome, square building neatly painted in ochre, with white and green trim, and a short portico in dark gray forming the main entrance.
Today, only the portico remains.
"When I was a child, I used to go and pray with my grandfather," said a 52-year-old local resident, who asked to be called only "Abu Hadi. "The area used to be totally green, with tiers of sweet water wells."
"Why did they destroy this mosque?" Abu Hadi wailed. "Muslims have prayed there for decades."
In Shiite villages across this island kingdom of 1.2 million, the Sunni Muslim government has bulldozed dozens of mosques as part of a crackdown on Shiite dissidents, an assault on human rights that is breathtaking in its expansiveness.
Authorities have held secret trials where protesters have been sentenced to death, arrested prominent mainstream opposition politicians, jailed nurses and doctors who treated injured protesters, seized the health care system that had been run primarily by Shiites, fired 1,000 Shiite professionals and canceled their pensions, detained students and teachers who took part in the protests, beat and arrested journalists, and forced the closure of the only opposition newspaper.
Nothing, however, has struck harder at the fabric of this nation, where Shiites outnumber Sunnis nearly 4 to 1, than the destruction of Shiite worship centers.
The Obama administration has said nothing in public about the destruction.
Bahrain — and its patron, Saudi Arabia — are longtime U.S. allies, and Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Members of the Shiite opposition assembled a list of 27 mosques and other religious structures demolished or damaged in the crackdown. A tour by McClatchy of several townships suggests the number of buildings destroyed is far greater.
The demolitions are carried out daily, Shiite leaders say, with work crews often arriving in the dead of night, accompanied by police and military escorts. In many cases, the workers have hauled away the rubble, leaving no trace, before townspeople awake.
Bahrain's minister of justice and Islamic affairs, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla al Khalifa, defended the demolitions in an interview, claiming that any mosque demolished had been built illegally, recently, and without permission.
"These are not mosques. These are illegal buildings," he said.
That claim, however, is easily challenged. In Aali, for example, the government rerouted a planned highway some years back so as to preserve the Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque, residents say.
McClatchy visited three other sites where "before" photos of the destroyed mosques showed they were well maintained, decades-old structures.
Some sites had a wistful air. At the Sheikh Aabed Mosque in the village of Sitra, once a ramshackle building that residents said was more than a century old, prayer rugs and other religious paraphernalia covered the ground.
On Wednesday, the State Department told McClatchy that it's "concerned by the destruction of religious sites." The statement noted that the Bahraini government had international obligations to preserve the common cultural heritage.
In private, U.S. officials are harsher. One, who's not in Bahrain, said that by bulldozing Shiite mosques and persecuting the political opposition, the government was treating its people like a "captive population."
Another U.S. official visiting the area described the Sunni leadership as "vindictive" and indicated the Obama administration was deeply worried about Bahrain's rapid downward spiral. Both officials asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Shiites have long complained of bias and discrimination here, despite massively outnumbering the entrenched Khalifa dynasty, whose prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman al Khalifa, 75, has held the office for the past 40 years — a current world record.
In mid-March, the government, after a month of protests, abandoned dialogue with moderate Shiites and Sunnis and invited Saudi Arabia to dispatch some 1,500 troops to help quell the unrest. The government imposed a state of emergency and began a crackdown on dissent. Among the first government acts after Saudi troops arrived was the destruction of the iconic Pearl Square, the traffic circle where demonstrators had camped out for weeks.
The government even recalled the half-dinar coins that featured the roundabout.
Most ominous is that hate speech of the sort that preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide is now allowed in public. The pro-government English language Gulf Daily News last Sunday gave prominence to a reader's letter that compared Shiites to "termites" that should be exterminated.
"The moral is: to get rid of the white ants so they don't come back . . . " said the letter, signed only, "Sana P S."
Bahrain television has carried the canard that the Shiite sect allows its followers to lie, implying that what they say can't be trusted.
The crackdown also threatens to turn what had been an internal conflict into an international one.
Shiite led-Iran, which lies across the Gulf, is actively vying for influence in this predominantly Shiite state and has condemned the organized destruction of Shiite culture. The upheaval also has stirred passions in Shiite-ruled Iraq.
But Arab language television channels, including Al Jazeera, which is owned by the emir of Qatar, and Al Arabiya, which is Saudi owned, have been mostly silent about the wanton destruction.
Interviewed Monday, Sheikh Khalid, the justice minister, brought Arabic language spreadsheets stating the reasons for destruction as well as a book of records of the demolition program, complete with photographs. But he couldn't locate a reference to or photographs of Nwaidrat's Mo'men mosque in his briefing book, which listed all structures by number, not name.
He declined to provide a copy of the briefing book or the spreadsheet to McClatchy, saying they were "internal correspondence," and asked that no photograph be taken of him holding the briefing book.
Asked whether tearing down a long-standing, functioning place of worship would be viewed as a criminal offense in Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid appeared taken aback.
"If there is a fault or a mistake and (they) can prove it, the same place will be rebuilt in a much, much better shape," he later said.
And if they were operating under the law, why did the state demolition crews destroy the building after dark, when residents couldn't photograph the action?
"It is very difficult to do it in the morning. It is a kind of respect for people's psychology," Sheikh Khalid replied. "We were trying to put it in a way that it will not hurt he people. At least they do not see it while it is being demolished."
Because the material he was provided didn't list mosques by name, the justice minister also couldn't say for sure whether other religious structures visited by McClatchy were old construction, new construction, legal or illegal, or on private or public land.
He said there'd been 41 "procedures" against religious structures in Bahrain's capital, Manama, but in many instances, those taken down were just temporary structures. He could only point to two Sunni religious structures that had been taken down.
Sheikh Khalid himself had earlier stated publicly that Bahrain had approximately 600 religious structures, and only 10 percent had been demolished. But he declined to confirm that figure.
Every foreign resident and most Bahrainis contacted by McClatchy seemed deeply discouraged about the future of communal relations on this once-promising island, but Justice Minister Khalid disagreed.
"I think we've reached the maximum bottom we can reach," he said. "My conviction is that things will not get much worse." One day later, he chaired a press conference where he announced plans for the trial of 47 doctors and other medical personnel.
Asked Monday if the trial might not remind many abroad of the show-trials that dictators such as Joseph Stalin had held, Sheikh Khalid said quietly, "There were also trials of doctors at Nuremberg."
He was referring to the trials of 21 physicians who took part in the Nazi program to euthanize the mentally ill, retarded and physically disabled or in medical experiments on patients without their permission.
(Hannah Allam in Cairo contributed to this story.)

Source URL: http://truthout.org/while-bahrain-demolishes-mosques-us-stays-silent/1304864370

Links:

[1] http://truthout.org/print/1953

[2] http://truthout.org/printmail/1953

[3] http://www.flickr.com/photos/daoro/3858688915/

[4] http://twitter.com/share

[5] http://truthout.org/roy-gutman/1304864196

[6] http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6694/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=2160

[7] http://truthout.org/user

[8] http://truthout.org/user/register

[9] http://truthout.org/?q=content/women-frontlines-bahrain

[10] http://truthout.org/?q=bahraini-protests-life-support/1304530733

Detainees appearing in military court on Sunday are named

Posted: 07 May 2011 03:13 PM PDT

Emergency UK briefing on the human rights situation in Bahrain

Posted: 07 May 2011 10:44 AM PDT

Islamic Human Rights Commission and the Lord Avebury hold an emergency briefing on the human rights situation in Bahrain.

Campaign to try Bahrain Royal Family for War Crimes

Posted: 07 May 2011 09:35 AM PDT

Bahraini's take torture evidence to UN

Posted: 07 May 2011 09:32 AM PDT

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will decide this week as to whether it plans to accept a case of war crimes against Bahrain's government. A group of Bahrainis living in Britain, with a team of international lawyers, travelled to The Hague last week to present their report to the prosecutor.

U.S. labor urges trade pact with Bahrain be suspended

Posted: 07 May 2011 09:31 AM PDT

The largest U.S. labor group wants President Barack Obama's administration to suspend a free trade pact with Bahrain over human rights abuses in the kingdom's crackdown on anti-government protests.

Bahrain's rulers cast net for loyalty oaths online

Posted: 07 May 2011 09:30 AM PDT

While Bahrain's justice minister was making the latest accusations against alleged enemies of the state - this time medical staff - other officials were busy organizing a patriotic blitz that encourages pledges of loyalty on Facebook and Twitter. Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/06/3609239/bahrains-rulers-cast-net-for-loyalty.html#ixzz1LgWQBYgH

Free Ebrahim Sharif, a Political Prisoner in Bahrain

Posted: 07 May 2011 05:49 AM PDT

Ebrahim Sharif is a 53-year-old Bahraini politician, businessman, husband, father -- and now, a political prisoner. He serves as the secretary general of the National Democratic Action Society (also known as Waad), a secular, moderate, and peaceful political opposition group in Bahrain.

University of Bahrain and attacks on the university students – Chronology of events

Posted: 07 May 2011 04:32 AM PDT

Ongoing incommunicado and arbitrary detention of Mr. Abdulhadi Al Khawaja

Posted: 07 May 2011 04:30 AM PDT

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ongoing incommunicado and arbitrary detention of Mr. Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, former MENA Director at Front Line and former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).

Shooting from passing car at university (video)

Posted: 07 May 2011 04:28 AM PDT

Arab Spring Comes in Western Arms

Saturday 7 May 2011

by: Simba Russeau, Inter Press Service [3]

Tear gas is fired on Egyptian protesters marching during demonstrations in Cairo on Jan. 28, 2011. (Photo: Scott Nelson / The New York Times)

Cairo - Global spending on arms in 2010 were an estimated 1.6 trillion dollars, with governments in the Middle East dishing out more than 111 billion for weapons - raising questions as to whether Western arms suppliers circumvented international treaties by exporting to repressive regimes.
Last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt accounted for over 75 percent of U.S. arms sales - with Saudi Arabia ordering more than 60 billion dollars in weaponry, making it the leading buyer.
"There is no doubt that the intersection of arms sales and human rights is a sticky one, and late last year the [Government Accountability Office] GAO reported that the U.S. Defence and State Departments haven't always documented their reasons for such sales consistently," Laicie Olson, senior policy analyst with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington told IPS.
According to reports, the U.S. is the leading supplier of conventional arms to the Middle East, surpassing Russia - which is the world's second largest arms supplier - by nearly 20 percent.
Large defence contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are some of the major profiteers - these companies and their employees depend on arms sales for a significant portion of their revenue.
However, in a region that is said to be one of the most militarised in the world, human rights advocates claim that the U.S. continues to circumvent legislation like the Leahy Amendment, which prohibits U.S. arms sales to governments that fail to curb grave human rights violations.
Countries like Saudi Arabia whose human rights record in regards to migrant domestic worker abuse, women's rights and upholding a juvenile death penalty have come under particular scrutiny.
"There does seem to be a level of reform there that needs to be undertaken. However, there are also cases in which U.S. arms sales have provided an inroad for upholding human rights," Olson said.
"In Egypt, the U.S. was able to exert a fair amount influence due to its long-time support of the military. There were a few small breaks in this trend but, ultimately, Egypt did not go the way of so many other countries in the Middle East who seem to have decided the only way to quell a revolution is to [literally] kill it."
Critics argue that the Egyptian military was right in line with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in their use of U.S.-made tear gas, tanks and other types of equipment to brutally crack down on anti-regime rebellions.
"In the Middle East you're seeing tear gas, water cannons, shotguns, firearms and armoured vehicles being used to disperse protests and for law enforcement or internal security operations that in some cases have involved lethal force," Helen Hughes, a researcher with the UK-based Amnesty International told IPS.
Arms export licences from European Union (EU) member states such as France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Malta, Bulgaria, Spain, Belgium and Poland to Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia doubled from 985 million euros in 2008 to 2 billion euros in 2009.
In February of this year, the UK government revoked 52 licences for Bahrain and Libya due to their brutal crackdown on dissent. They also implemented an arms embargo on Libya in response to U.N. Resolution 1973. A fourth quarter listing in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Strategic Export Control Reports revealed that in 2010 combat aircraft and small arms totalling 3.76 million pounds were licensed by the UK to Libya.
"With the EU, which actually already has an export control regime that is called the EU Common Position on Export Controls you have a criteria on human rights that relates to internal repression and serious human rights violations as well as also international humanitarian law," explained Hughes.
"But it seems that from the transfers that we've been monitoring over the last five years - in relation to say for example Libya, Bahrain or elsewhere in the region - that the governments haven't been rigorously complying with that criteria."
The hope is that "with the international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) there would be a much clearer and stricter obligation on states to prohibit arms transfers where a potential risk exists and also a methodology to assist in regulating this international law," Hughes added.
According to Olson, the ATT - which was created to curb the irresponsible trade and transfer of arms - raises some important questions about the limitations of arms sales, what they currently are, and maybe what they should be.
But there are problems. "Under the ATT the U.S. and UK would be able to arm Muammar Gaddafi, but not Libya's rebels, since Gaddafi is still the head of an internationally recognised government and the rebels, well… are not," Olson said.
Some analysts are arguing that the NATO intervention in Libya is a platform for arms dealers to showcase their weaponry to potential buyers.
"For example, even to get membership into NATO some countries have to in effect upgrade their military to a certain level," Anup Shah, creator of the website Global Issues told IPS. "So for some Eastern European countries who are joining NATO from a pure economic perspective it's like a boom to the military industrial complex as they'll have a new source of nations to sell arms to."

Source URL: http://www.truthout.org/arab-spring-comes-western-arms/1304775229

Links:

[1] http://www.truthout.org/print/1934

[2] http://www.truthout.org/printmail/1934

[3] http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55513

[4] http://www.ipsnews.net/

[5] http://twitter.com/share

[6] http://www.truthout.org/content/simba-russeau

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[8] http://www.truthout.org/user

[9] http://www.truthout.org/user/register

[10] http://www.truthout.org/?q=weapons-will-never-die-we-need-stop-expensive-reincarnations/1304527389

[11] http://www.truthout.org/?q=right-possess-firearms-strong-money-behind-weak-argument

Updates on the trial, National Safety to be lifted on June 1

2011-05-09T02:13:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

To update you on the outcome of today's trial, the hearing was adjourned until Thursday, 12^th May. The detainees were brought in all wearing the same outfit, grey clothes that covered the arms and legs despite the increasingly warm weather in Bahrain. They all appeared to have lost weight during their time in detention. Mr. Mohammed Hassan Jawad Parweez had lost all hearing ability. At the time of his detention he was hard of hearing and used a device to hear. At the hearing he could not hear at all and did not respond when his name was called by the judge until he was nudged by the detainee standing next to him. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja had the most obvious wounds and injuries on him. He had stitches under his left eye and the left side of his face was swollen. At the end of the hearing as the judge was bringing the hearing to a close the detainees demanded they be given a chance to speak as they said they were being kept in solitary confinement and wanted a guarantee that the ongoing and continuous torture would be stopped. The security forces started shouting at them and removed them from the court room.

The families of the detainees were able to speak to them for approximately 10 minutes. Some of the families were not present as they had not been informed of the hearing. Despite it being broadcasted in local newspapers that families had been informed of the trial, all families at the hearing confirmed they knew only because they were following the news the night before.

Ebrahim Sharif told his family that he was not aware of the charges against him until the time of the hearing.He seemed to have lost approximately 15 kilos due to ill treatment.

Mr. Alkhawaja's family were able to confirm today, after meeting with him briefly after the court session, that he had sustained 4 fractures to the left side of his face, including one in his jaw. He consequently had to undergo a major 4 hour surgery where they had to take bone from his skull to replace the broken bones in his face. He also had stitches above his left eye. They say that as a result of this he can barely eat and cannot smile due to the pain. The healing process has been slow because he had been on a hunger strike because he did not have a lawyer.Again, I urge all parties to send international observers to the next hearing on Thursday.

In other news, the King of Bahrain has announced that State of National Safety is to be lifted on the 1^st of June. http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/455725

The Bahrain petroleum company today fired 55 of it's Shia'a employees, making the number now 350 employees fired.

Regards,

--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Important information about the trial of prominent Bahraini's on Sunday (today)

2011-05-08T03:24:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

To give you a quick overview on tomorrows case:

There are several things worth mentioning. The people going on trial are of very diverse backgrounds and from different political societies and/or organizations. Some of these detainees were in detention during the beginning of the mass pro-democracy protests after they were arrested during the previous crackdown in August and then released in late February with amnesty from the King.

The way in which these arrests and detentions have been carried out have lacked the most basic of legal and human rights. The detainees were not allowed conversations with their lawyers, and those allowed to call their families, were allowed one phone call which would always be less than a minute after approximately 10 days of arrest. During those 10 days they were not allowed any type of contact with anyone. None were allowed to meet their families. Most of the arrests took place in night raids between 1 and 4am. No warrants were provided at the time of the arrest, many were beaten during the arrest, and we have received information from reliable sources that many were subjected to severe torture during their detention. None of the detention locations of these detainees were known.

The detainees:

Abdulwahab Hussain Ali is the official spokesman of AlWafa' society. He is well known and respected in Bahrain as a philosopher and a writer. He spoke to international media about the situation in Bahrain.

Ibrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa is the president of the National Action Democrat Society (Waad). He is a liberal Sunni and Waad was the first society to be shut down by the government after the protests. He spoke to international media about the situation in Bahrain.

Hassan Ali Mushaima is the president of the Haq movement and is also a respected religious scholar. He was tried in absentia during the crackdown that started last August. Mushaima reported to the UN and also spoke at the House of Lords in the United Kingdom about violations in Bahrain. His son Mohammed Mushaima was sentenced during the August crackdown to one year imprisonment for taking pictures of unrest in Bahrain and broadcasting them internationally.

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja is an internationally prominent human rights defender. He was one of the founders of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and recently worked as the Middle East and North Africa Region regional director at Frontline Defenders. He has been arrested several times previously and beaten by security forces when participating in peaceful protests. He is also a Danish citizen. His two sons-in-law were arrested during the raid in which he was arrested. They remain in detention today.

Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singace is head of the human rights office at Haq movement. He was arrested in mid-august during the previous crackdown and released in late February after the mass protests. He has been a prominent figure in speaking internationally about human rights violations in Bahrain. He is also a blogger. He suffers from child's paralysis and relies on his wheelchair for movement. His eldest son Hussain Al Singace is in detention and his other son Hassan is in hiding as they are looking for him. His daughter Zahra was arrested and interrogated for several hours then released.

Mohammed Habib Al Safaf (AlMuqdad) is a prominent religious figure in Bahrain, head AlZahraa Society for Orphans and is also an activist. He has been known to speak out and criticize the government on human rights violations. He was arrested during the crackdown last August, and when released in late February, the centre was able to document the severity of the torture he had been subjected to. He previously had filed a case against the Minister of Interior for the use of the illegal bird shotgun against civilians. He is also a Swedish citizen. AlMuqdad spoke at the House of Lords in the United Kingdom about violations in Bahrain.

Saeed Mirza Ahmed AlNouri is a prominent religious figure in Bahrain as well as an active member of AlWafa'. He has been known to speak out and criticize the government on human rights violations. He was arrested during the crackdown last August, and when released in late February, the centre was able to document the severity of the torture he had been subjected to. His brother was also arrested, Maytham AlNouri.

Abduljalil Mansoor Makki AlMuqdad: is a prominent religious figure and head of AlWafa'. He is known to speak about violations in Bahrain during Friday prayer sermons. He is Mohammed Habib AlMuqdad's cousin. His brother was also arrested, Ahmed Radhi AlMuqdad. He spoke in international media outlets about violations in Bahrain.

AlHurr Yousif Mohammed AlSumaikh is a member of the Haq movement. He was arrested during the crackdown last August and subjected to torture then released in late February.

Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos is a prominent religious figure in Bahrain. He is the vice president of the AlZahraa Scoeity for Orphans. He has been known to speak out and criticize the government on human rights violations. He was arrested during the crackdown last August, and when released in late February, the centre was able to document the severity of the torture he had been subjected to.

Salah Hubail Al Khawaja is a former member of the Amal Society. During the recent mass pro-democracy protests he documented human rights violations and reported them through the international media. He is also Abdulhadi's younger brother. His wife was subjected to sexual harassment during the arrest.

Mohammed Hassan Jawad Parweez is a human rights defender who was also arrested then released during the crackdown last August. He is well known for speaking out against violations in Bahrain and he was the oldest detainee during the previous crackdown.

Mohammed Ali Ismael is a social activist.

Being tried in absentia:

Aqeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh is an independent political activist. He was arrested during the crackdown in August and was subjected to the most severe forms of torture. He headed the media tent during the mass pro-democracy protests at the Pearl Roundabout and spoke to the international media about violations in Bahrain. His two sons, Ahmed AlMahfoodh and Mahmood AlMahfoodh, as well as his brother, Fadhel AlMahfoodh, were arrested to force him to hand himself in.

Ali Hassan Abdullah AbdulEmam is a prominent blogger and founder of popular BahrainOnline Forum. He was arrested during the previous crackdown in August and he spoke about the torture he had been subjected to after his release in late February. He did interviews with international media and participated in international conferences for bloggers.

Abdulghani Ali Khanjar is the head of the Anti-Torture committee and is an activist who was arrested during the crackdown in August and subjected to severe torture. AlKhanjar participated in public events internationally about the human rights violations in Bahrain. AlKhanjar spoke at the House of Lords and to international media about violations in Bahrain.

Saeed Abdulnabi AlShehabi is the president of the Bahrain Freedom Movement and has lived most of his life in the United Kingdom. He is known to be vocal about human rights abuses in Bahrain and was tried in absentia during the crackdown last August.

Abdulraoof Al Shayeb is the head of AlKhalas Movement in the United Kingdom and he had moved to the UK to seek political asylum a few years back after being tortured by Bahraini authorities. He was also an active member of the Torture Victims Committee. Al Shayeb spoke to the international media about violations in Bahrain. Last night security forces raided his wife's kindergarten and vandalized it. They also arrested his son, Taleb AlShayeb, then released him a few hours later.

Abbas Al Omran is an active member of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and moved to the United Kingdom seeking political asylum after he was arrested and tortured a few years back. AlOmran speaks to international media about violations in Bahrain.

Ali Hassan Mushaima is outspoken critic of the Bahraini government and a member of the Committee for the Unemployed. He sought political asylum in the United Kingdom after being arrested and tortured by the Bahraini Authorities. He is above mentioned Hassan Mushaima's son. He speaks to international media about violations in Bahrain.

The announcement of the trial on the Bahrain News Agency: http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/455661.

The Charges:

In regards to the charges brought against the detainees that are based upon articles of Bahrain Penal Code 1976, the law no. 58 for 2006 related to the protection of society against terrorist acts, law related to money laundering and financing terrorism for the year 2001 and the law related to meetings and processions for 2006, all of the accusations are expressed in a very vague and imprecise manner. In fact, the law that the allegations derive from is of a very ambiguous nature itself. This in practice allows the prosecution to decide its extensive interpretation and application. In accordance with the international standards, the prosecution would have to provide a very strong and unequivocal evidence in order to be successful as most of the alleged charges carry the sentence of life imprisonment. Moreover, one of the allegations based upon article 122 of the Penal Code 1976, that alleges spying and communicating on behalf of a foreign country against the State of Bahrain, if proven, will mandate a penalty as extreme as capital punishment. The lightest possible sentence for the detainees in this case is a prison sentence of no less than five years. This can only be in the situation if the accused is proven to be only guilty of one of the twelve of the allegations; namely joining any society which actions are deemed to be of a „terrorist" nature as defined in Article 1 of the law no. 58 for 2006 related to the protection of society against terrorist acts.

Regards,

--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

URGENT: 21 prominent Bahraini's to go on trial tomorrow morning.

2011-05-08T01:13:00.002+03:00

Dear Friends,

Bahraini authorities have announced that 21 one people are to be put on trial tomorrow at 8am (Bahrain time). Lawyers were informed less than 12 hours before the trial. This is an urgent call to send international observers, lawyers and human rights defenders as well as country officials to attend the hearing.

As taken from the Bahrain News Agency:

Twenty-one suspects referred to National Safety Court

Manama, May 7 (BNA) Military Public Prosecutor at the BDF stated that the military prosecution had referred 21 suspects to the National Safety Court involved in the case of the terrorist organization related to the attempt to overthrow the government by force and in liaison with a terrorist organization working for a foreign country. The military public prosecutor had formed an investigation team for the case comprising several public prosecutors and 14 suspects were questioned.
Those questioned included Abdulwahab Hussain Ali, Ibrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa, Hassan Ali Mushaima, Abdulhadi Al Khawaj, Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singas, Mohammed Habib Al Safaf, Saeed Mirza Ahmed, Abduljalil Mansoor Makki, Al Hurra Yousif Mohammed, Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos, Salah Hubail Al Khawaj, Mohammed Hassan Jawad and Mohammed Ali Ismael.
Meanwhile, the rest of the suspects were referred to the court in the same case in absentia due to them not being arrested yet warrants were sent for their arrest via the Interpol for those abroad. These included Akeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh, Ali Hassan Abdullah, Abdulghani Ali Khanjar, Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab, Abdulraoof Al Shayeb, Abbas Al Umran and Ali Hassan Mushaima.
Meanwhile, the military public prosecutor affirmed that the suspects are accused of the following:
1. Organising and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country's constitution and the royal rule in accordance with article (1,6) of the law no. 58 for 2006 related to the protection of society against terrorist acts.
2. The seeking and correspondence with a terrorist organization abroad working for a foreign country to conduct heinous acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain in accordance with article (122) of the criminal law for the 1976.
3. An attempt to overthrow and change the country's constitution and Royal rule by force in accordance with article (148) of the criminal law for 1976.
4. An attempt to incite and solicit the overthrow and change the country's constitution and Royal rule by force in accordance with article (160) of the criminal law for 1976.
5. The collection and providing of money for the terrorist group with the knowledge of its practices and terrorist activities in accordance with law related to money laundering and financing terrorism for the year 2001.
6. The obtaining of publications that contain content inciting the overthrow of the governing law in the country by force in accordance with article (161) of the same law.
7. Insult the army according to the article (216) of the same law.
8. Inciting publicly towards the hatred of the governing law of the country in accordance to article no (165) of the same law.
9. Broadcasting false news and rumours that caused the threatening of public security and inflecting damage to public interest in accordance to article (168) of the same law.
10. Inciting the hatred of a certain sect of people in accordance to article (172) of the same law.
11. Inciting incompliance with the law that is considered a crime in accordance with article (173) of the same law.
12. Organising and participating in rallies without the permission of the specialized body according to article (1,2,3,9,13) of the law related to meetings and processions for 2006.
The military public prosecutor affirmed that the military prosecution had maintained all the judiciary assurances for suspects arrested in accordance to the laws especially that related to contacting their relatives and enabling their attorneys to attend the questioning sessions.

h.s

BNA 2113 GMT 2011/05/07 I will update you about the trial tomorrow as soon as any information is provided.
--
Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Attacking and burning down of Saeed Ayyad's home, torture of Alkhawaja, activist at high risk

2011-05-07T00:32:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

In an alarming update, Saeed Ayyad's house was fired upon by security forces using teargas which carries a flame. As a result his home caught on fire and you can see the fire and the result in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkEKPsI1Dzk. Saeed fled his room as the shot was directed at his bedroom window and he managed to get out of the house..

Saeed Ayyad is an activist who has been taking international visitors around to speak to witnesses and document violations. We have reason to believe that his house was targeted due to his activism.

In regards to Alkhawaja's case, Abdulhadi was seen at the Bahrain Defense Force hospital. According to sources his face was unrecognizable due to the severity of the torture he had been subjected to, as he had several fractures to the jaw and to the skull. His arms and legs were black and it is believed to be the result of hanging for long periods of time. Parts of his face and head had to be stitched due to the injuries. Abdulhadi is a Danish citizen and was arrested on the 8^th of April after being beaten unconscious along with his two sons-in-law. His wife, Khadija AlMousawi was fired from her job as Head of Guidance and Administrative Manager at Kanoo International School after working there for 10 years by order of the Ministry of Interior.

All detainees remain at very high risk of torture and their lives may be at risk.

Naji Fateel, member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is at high risk as security forces raided his house again in search for him, but he has already gone into hiding. Fateel was previously arrested and tortured.

Regards,

--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Events of University of Bahrain and attacks on the university students

2011-05-06T21:50:00.000+03:00

Events of University of Bahrain and attacks on the university students

Intro

On Feb 14^th pro-democracy people in Bahrain protest peacefully in their areas asking for more rights and better living. Police brutally cracked down on them and killed 1 protester and injured many.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpIdd0Hauf4

On feb15th police attacked the funeral and killed a second protester. Bahrain king came on Tv and showed sympathy with the families and asked for investigations. Pro-democracy took the lulu roundabout as a tahrir square in Egypt. They felt they were safe after the king speech. On feb 17^th around 3am while people were sleeping in lulu police attacked them again. At least 4 were killed and many wounded. Among the deaths was Ali Almomen an engineering student in University of Bahrain. This was his last semester.

Ali is a smart, helpful and active student in the society. In the video below (ARABIC) he talks how people can manage their differences? And how can countries evolves?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4or5c2cCto

Unfortunately he couldn't achieve his dreams as they murder him on February 17th.

His father crying in the hospital

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OObZW3TG_us

On March 3^rd university of Bahrain students showed their solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain and the cause that Almomen died for. So they marched peacefully on campus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPi2pVm9Y0

March 13 Events

On march 13^th the students heard about the attack on protesters near lulu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trM3WBfg1DU

So the students protest again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQI-8V5bG9I

Similar to what happened in other places, the government thugs which some were masked and armed arrived in the university and start attacking the protesters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUWV6Cu2XnU

Students went inside the buildings and closed the doors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_6V5pJH6w8

Thugs carrying sticks kept threating them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMvHE9Z3bko

Thugs and govt supporters entered a building and start doing damage - You can see that some are wearing the white cloth/dress which most protesters don't

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySY7BNeVzME

Some protesters at lulu and the near villages heard that pro-democracy in university are being attacked so they went to the university and clashes started.

Government thugs attack nurses as they claimed that medical staff were helping pro-democracy during the country events . You can see that the thugs are coming from the side of riot police that wear blue and were protecting them and not stopping their chaos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fYiCdOkRP4

Same as above with eyewitness Dr Alaa talking more on how pro-govt thugs attacked and threat them of being killed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0uY9YfOoi0

Doctors and nurses that witness Bahrain events are threatened, arrested or tortured so govt can hide the crimes.

http://bahrain.phrblog.org/

At the end of this video you can see the police at the back of the thugs watching them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1sIIpUB43Y

A student that was recording what is happening outside the university gate got fired by the police!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s364NU7S4Q4

Armed masked civilian give a thug a weapon inside the university – minute 1:25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m0GC4_yPs0

Damage was caused to some cars and when a pro-democracy student tried to go near they throw stones on him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klkN8_LqzAI

After the attacks from pro-govt thugs there were some clashes between them and some students and other protesters from outside the university. Damages was done to the English department building

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMaDcwLXRNY

Some eyewitness from students, staff and nurses that were attacked – WARNING GRAPHIC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TliKxdYhGps

Boys are trying to protect girls from thugs attacks . The one who is carrying white rose get injured if you notice in the above video.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.150188371711147.32944.149700128426638

More photos from the university

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.150189521711032.32945.149700128426638

ARABIC – another eyewitness calling Bahrain TV and accusing riot police of the events. The guy in the TV changed the story and said that students are not allowed to protest on campus and decide to end the call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgQF0obXlzI

A student eyewitness in Arabic – was asking a police man on-campus how the thugs entered from the gate? No one can enter the campus without a card. The police man didn't do anything and was watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niel6a5mphI

CNN: Witnesses: King's supporters confront Bahrain students

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/13/bahrain.protests/index.html

Students demonstrating for democracy at the University of Bahrain in Sakheer in the south said they were attacked by what appeared to be about 150 pro-government thugs.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-13-Bahrain-political-clashes_N.htm

An Arabic BBC report

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/03/110313_bahrain_new.shtml

Bahrain media as usual accused the pro-democracy movement of the events. Bahrain TV showed some protesters mainly from outside the university throwing stones without showing how the story evolved. Furthermore students were interrogated, fired and arrested while govt-thugs are celebrating the victory!

Dismissing Academics and interrogating and arresting students

According to BNA, UOB Dismisses 200 of Its Affiliates

http://bna.bh/portal/en/news/453458

Bahrain University Fires College Dean, 7 Teachers, 25 Administrators and 62 Students

http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/451947

On Bahrain TV , an official from UOB said they are ready to fire hundreds.

Students and people are afraid to write on Facebook and twitter as many were arrested after following their IP address.

The state-run University of Bahrain has formed an investigative committee to probe students' online postings relating to a violent confrontation on March 13 between student protesters and government supporters, vowing punishment for those "found guilty."

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Crime-and-Punishment-in-Ba-by-Justin-Gengler-110401-850.html

Bahrain University criticizes students for posting online content about unrest

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2011/03/27/5405005.htm

University of Bahrain comes under the ministry of education which dismissed and arrested many students. Some are in the age between 10-15. They also arrested many students and teachers. Professors are expecting to be arrested after arresting teachers, medical doctors, lawyers, bloggers, athletes and others.

University of Bahrain is closed since march 13^th with no clear reason as not all buildings were affected. It was supposed to open on Monday May 2^nd but again they postpone it saying that the interrogations are not complete and there may be a big plot that many students and staff joined in.

Concern about fate of medical staff as authorities build numerous charges against them...

2011-05-04T03:26:00.000+03:00

Dear Friends,

As taken from the Bahrain News Agency:

"The number of defendants who have been questioned is now 47, including 24 doctors and 23 nurses and paramedics. The military prosecution has leveled the following charges against them:

Refusal to extend assistance to a person in need, embezzlement of public funds, assault that resulted in death, unauthorized possession of weapons and ammunition, refusal to perform duties and putting people's lives and health at risk, illegal detention, abuse of authority to suspend and stall laws and regulations, attempt to occupy buildings by force, incitement to the forceful overthrow of a political regime, incitement to the hatred of a regime, incitement to the hatred of a segment of society, dissemination of false news and malicious rumors that could harm public interest and participation in unauthorized rallies and meetings. The investigations are continuing."

http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/455193

There is concern that the aforementioned were tortured to stage "confessions" and that they may face severe sentences.

--

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Arrest of two resigned members of parliament, two Swedish citizens and president of Medical Society. AlKhawajas wife fired from her job.

2011-05-03T13:55:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

In recent developments, Bahraini authorities arrested two former members of Parliament from AlWefaq political party: Matar Matar and Jawad Fairouz. MP Jawad Fairuz is known for highlighting government corruption and unfair distribution of lands as he attempted to bring the case to parliament. Matar Matar has been documenting violations and cases of disappearances and arrests through the AlWefaq office and you can watch an interview he did with the BBC here: http://bit.ly/kGfkWM

Journalists in Bahrain: The Murder of Free Speech and the Siege of Freedom (click to read)

Four protesters sentenced to death and three given life imprisonment (click to read)

Bahraini authorities announce charges against the medical staff

Defendants:

23 Doctors.
24 Nurses.

The following list of accusations has been made against the medical staff:

1. The inexcusable refrain from aiding people.
2. The embezzlement of public funds.
3. Physical assault on civilians.
4. Assault leading to death.
5. The possession of unlicensed weapons and ammunition.
6. Refraining from carrying out their employment duties, in aims of hindering medical work, consequently endangering people's health and lives.
7. The attempt of forcefully occupying a public building.
8. Promotion to bring down and change the regime by illegal means.
9. Inciting hatred against the governing regime.
10.Promoting sectarian hate.
11.Spreading false news and rumors that harm public interest.
12.Participating in unlicensed protests and rallies.

Note: These charges have been translated from Arabic to English and may not be in legal terms.

In other developments, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's wife, Khadija AlMousawi was fired from her job on Sunday 2nd May. AlMousawi was Head of Guidance and Administrative Manager at Abdulrahman Kanoo International School where she has worked for the past 10 years. According to family members, AlMousawi was informed that the order for her layoff came from the Ministry of Interior. Five other employees at the same school were also fired.

Shaikh Mohammed Habib AlMuqdad (Swedish citizen) called his family yesterday asking for clothes. This is the first time his family know that he is being held by the authorities. AlMuqdad was recently released from prison (late February) after being accused of being part of a terrorist cell. After his release AlMuqdad spoke about the torture that he had been subjected to and showed marks left on his body due to electric shocks and other types of torture.

Dr. Ahmed Jamal, president of the Bahrain Medical Society was arrested from his clinic yesterday.

Swedish citizen, Khalil AlHalwachi, has gone missing after his daughter found their home vandalized (pictures attached)

Tunisian award winning blog, Nawaat, declines the Arab eContent Award 2011 awarded by Bahraini government: http://nawaat.org/portail/2011/05/02/nawaat-declines-the-arab-econtent-award-2011/#comment-30964.

US union group: End trade pact with Bahrain: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/02/general-ml-bahrain-us-trade_8444701.html

Maryam Al-Khawaja
Contact: +44-7587303080 / +1(401)572-6597
Head of Foreign Relations Office
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

URGENT: 4 protesters sentenced to death, 3 to life imprisonment

2011-04-28T19:26:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

Death Sentence:
Ali Hassan AlSingace: 19 years old
Qasim Hasan Matar: 20 years old
Saeed Abduljalil Saeed: 19 years old
AbdulAziz AbdulRidha: 24 years old

Life Sentences:
Isa Abdulla Kadhem: 19 years old
Sayed Sadiq Ali: 19 years old
Hussain Jaffar: 19 years old

(For pictures of the sentenced) AlJazeera coverage: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201142881322769709.html

As taken from the Bahrain News Agency: http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/454568
On the website (video 2) the "confessions" have been broad casted, which seem to be the only "evidence" provided by the prosecution.
Manama, April 28 (BNA) -- The National Safety Lower Court on Thursday condemned Ali Abdullah Hassan Al Singees, Qasim Hasan Matar Ahmad, Saeed Abduljalil Saeed and Abdulaziz Abdulridha Ibrahim Husain to death for their role in the killing of Policemen Kashef Ahmed Madhoor and Mohammed Farooq Abdulsamad.
The court also condemned Isa Abdullah Kadhem Ali, Sayyed Sadiq Ali Mahdi and Husain Jaafar Abdulkareem to life in prison for their role in the twin murders.The case of the murders by the seven men was referred to the court following an intensive investigation by the competent authorities.Lawyers have the right to appeal the verdict before the National Safety Court of Appeals.Present at the session during which the verdict was pronounced were journalists from the local media, representative from human rights organisations, relatives of the defendants, lawyers and the defendants.Kashef Ahmed Mandhoor and Mohammed Farooq Abdulsamad were murdered last month when they were deliberately hit by vans and run over in one of the most gruesome murders in Bahrain. The killing was captured on camera and displayed on TV networks and on social networks Facebook and You Tube.The defendants had all their legal rights in line with human rights standards and had lawyers representing them during the trial. They were also allowed to contact their families. The trial sessions were attended by representative from human rights organisations and relatives of the defendants.

European Parliament condemns death sentence: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/president/view/en/press/press_release/2011/2011-April/press_release-2011-April-19.html

As a Punishment for his Trade Union and Environmental Activism: Dismissal of the Recognized Unionist Ghazi Al-Mirbati

2010-06-14T23:14:00.000+03:00

Mr. Ghazi Al-Mirbati
13 June 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its deep concern regarding the Gulf Air company's dismissal of the vice-president of its trade union Mr. Ghazi Al-Mirbati in May 2010, allegedly due to inciting the employees against the company, and leaking the company's private information to the press.
One of the local newspapers[1] ran a story on April 13 about two senior managers in Gulf Air's receiving a total of 440,000 BHD in conciliation for their resignation. The management took advantage of this news to accuse Mr. Al-Mirbati of leaking confidential information to the press. The management handed over the dismissal order to Mr. Al-Mirbati after 5 minutes of ending a meeting held between the union and the company's management; to look into the workers' retirement.
Al-Mirbati is considered to be a known defender of the rights of workers in the company which has been facing heavy losses for several years, believed to be due to consecutive corruption and losses which the company could not reduce because of its connection with some of the influential people in the country.
Besides his labour activism in the union, Al-Mirbati is considered to be one of the prominent environmental activists in Bahrain, who have worked on highlighting many environmental files over the last years especially the ones related to the industrial area surrounding Al-Ma'ameer village and the gases emitting from it, as well as shedding light on the drawbacks of land reclamation on the environment and its negative impact on village life and the Bahraini areas. His movements and defence of environmental rights caused embarrassment to the authorities over the years, due to revealing a lot of matters which the regular citizen overlooks.
This was not the first time where a unionist is targeted; Mrs. Najiya Abdul-Ghaffar – vice-president of the post union – was suspended from work in a similar incident. Charges were also fabricated against some unionists in the Bahrain Nursing Society, mainly against Mr. Ibrahim Al-Dimistani and Rola Al-Saffar. Ibrahim Al-Dimistani was cast into prison two months ago for curing a young man who was injured in the demonstrations in the country.
The BCHR believes that the decision to suspend Al-Mirbati from work, was made to silence him from his activity in demanding the rights of the workers in Gulf Air company and to prevent other activists from taking the same path, especially in the issue of Al-Ma'ameer's contamination – a residential area surrounded with factories – where the activist Ghazi Al-Mirbati and others attempted to bring the case to international organizations, after the local attempts to solve the case failed.
This dismissal decision is considered a blatant violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and of local legislations. This decision also gives a clear picture of the attempts to systematically suppress all forms of expression of opinion in Bahrain.
Based on all the above, the BCHR demands the following:
1. Allow Mr. Ghazi Al-Mirbati to practice his work in Gulf Air company;
2. Not to carry out any arbitrary measures against Al-Mirbati and to allow him to express his opinion freely;
3. Carry out legislative amendments to secure citizens' rights working n the public and private sector to practice their right in expressing their opinion.
[1]Al-wasat newspaper

2010-06-12T13:05:00.001+03:00

Head of National Security Apparatus Shaikh Khalifa Bin Abduallah6 June 2010
A 64-year-old Bahraini human rights defender with heart condition, Mr. Abdul-Redha Mohammed, was prevented from leaving Bahrain to London on June 1st, 2010 to rejoin his children. Mr. Abdul-Redha was told by immigration officers at Bahrain Airport that he is under no travel ban, but he will not be able to proceed to his flight pending his reporting to the National Security apparatus (NSA). Upon enquiry, the Ministry of Justice and the Chief Prosecutor Office have both told BCHR lawyer on June 2nd, 2010 that there is no official travel ban order against Mr. Abdul-Redha.
Over the last four months, Mr. Abdul-Redha has been under mounting pressure and constant movement surveillance by intelligence patrols as a means to acquiesce to a meeting with the Head of National Security apparatus, Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdulalh Al Khalife, at a place and time of the latter's choosing. Other pressure and harassment tactics included threatening phone calls but most importantly the sacking of his brother Ali Mohammed from his duties as a consultant at the Ministry of Information.
On May 1st, 2010, secret agents dressed as civilians came to Mr. Abdul-Redha's family house to seize him by force but he was not home. On May 12th, 2010, his brother Ali was summoned by the Security Minister, and was personally held responsible for not being able to persuade his brother Abdul-Redha to “cooperate” with the NSA. Two days later, Mr. Ali received a phone call from the Ministry of Information dismissing him from his duties there.
Background:
As a well-known political dissident in the early eighties, Mr. Abdul-Redha was targeted by the security authorities but managed to flee the country and escape arrest. However, his house was searched and members of his family were under continued harassment and reprisals in the years that followed, specially his wife (Rabab) who was subject to maltreatment and in one case was beaten on the head by a frying-pan. While in exile, Mr. Abdul-Redha was a co-founder and active member of the Committee to Defend Political Prisoners in Bahrain and later a co-founder and the Secretary General of the Denmark-based Bahrain Human Rights Organization. Since 2002, after the general amnesty in Bahrain Mr. Abdul-Redha has been visiting Bahrain regularly but continued to reside in Copenhagen. Since 2002 Mr. Abdul-Redha, has worked closely with the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights which, despite being officially banned in September 2004, remained active in Bahrain. Apparently, the authorities in Bahrain suspect Mr. Abdul-Redha of being behind BCHR activities at the international level.
Mr. Abdul-Redha told BCHR that the current situation has its antecedents in receiving numerous phone calls on behalf of the then Head of NSA, currently Head of National Security, to agree to meeting with them. About a year ago, the Head of NSA flew to Copenhagen to meet with Mr. Abdul-Redha in a futile attempt to buy him off through a bribery offer that will see him settling in Bahrain. Shocked and insulted, Mr. Abdul-Redha turned the offer down. Upon his most recent visit to his home country on February 5th, 2010, Mr. Abdul-Redha has been subjected to mounting pressure and severe and harassment for once again turning down the Security Minister’s offer of a private meeting at a private location at the upscale Amwaj Islands. Mr. Abdul-Redha remained unwavering in not accepting to meet with security officials in private, and that he would only agree to such meeting if it were in a public place or through an official summon should he be accused of any breach of law.
For more information please call:Nabeel Rajab At +97339633399Mr. Abdul-Redha Mohammed at +97339122020

FIDH: Open letter in view of the EU-GCC Joint Co-operation Council

2010-06-12T13:02:00.000+03:00

nternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
OPEN LETTER
Open letter in view of the EU-GCC Joint Co-operation Council
Paris-Brussels, 11 June 2010
On the eve of the EU-GCC Joint Co-operation Council to be held on the 14th of June 2010, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) calls upon the EU and GCC Ministers to put human rights at the centre of their relations in all fields and at all levels.FIDH takes note of the recent developments in the negotiations of an EU-GCC Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) and particularly welcomes the announcement of the inclusion of a reference to human rights in the FTA. In this regard, FIDH insists on the essential inclusion of a « human rights clause » in the negotiated Free Trade Agreement and recalls that the European Parliament adopted a Resolution in April 2008 pertaining to the EU-GCC FTA in which it « stresses that enforceable human rights clauses are an essential part of an FTA with any country or region and should be included in the agreements as a suspension clause ».At the end of the last EU-GCC Joint Co-operation Council held in April 2009, both parties “reaffirmed that they share the universal values of respect for human rights and democratic principles, which form an essential element of their relations.(...) [and] reiterated their continued commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”. HoweverFIDH remains concerned about the general pattern of human rights violations in the GCC countries. Since the last EU-GCC Joint Co-operation Council held in April 2009, few steps were taken by the authorities of the GCC countries to improve the enjoyment of human rights on their territory.FIDH therefore urges once more both parties to give specific attention to the following priorities:• Inclusion of a human rights clause in the negotiated EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement• Adopting concrete measures to protect the rights of migrant workers;• Adopting concrete measures to protect women's rights and to promote equality between men and women;• Taking effective measures to improve the enjoyment of the freedom of association and the situation of Human Rights Defenders in GCC countries;• Taking action to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression;• Taking effective measures to guarantee non-discrimination on a religious or sectarian basis• Committing to improve the overall situation of human rights in GCC countries.Inclusion of a human rights clause in the negotiated EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement
Both parties should comply with their previous commitments and insert a human rights clause in the agreement as an essential element. This human rights clause should be implemented at all stages of the EU-GCC political dialogue. As a first step, the parties should set up a common strategy for the practical implementation of their joint commitments in this field.Taking into account that the human rights situation differs significantly from one GCC country to another, FIDH recommends that the EU set up concrete tools for monitoring the human rights situation and its evolution within the EU-GCC political dialogue and in particular,• Systematically puts human rights concerns on the agenda of bilateral political dialogues at all levels;• Systematically assesses the situation of human rights on the basis of UN special procedures and human rights NGOs reports;• Establishes concrete benchmarks in order to monitor regularly the implementation of commitments and efforts undertaken by both parties;• Holds systematic consultations with EU and GCC independent human rights NGOs ahead of official meetings in order to take into account their assessment of the human rights’ situation in situ and thus update the monitoring process.Protecting migrant workers' rights, especially domestic workers
The GCC States remain an important magnet for migrant workers and these categories continue to suffer from specific discrimination. FIDH is concerned about the challenges faced by migrant workers in the GCC countries, such as the substitution of employment contracts, premature termination, excessive working hours, poor working conditions, and so on. They also face trafficking and forced labour, and sometimes visa trafficking. The right to organize and join trade unions and other associations is generally not recognized for migrants.Furthermore, despite several improvements in particular in Bahrain and Kuwait and announcements in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, there is generally no legislation protecting the rights of migrant domestic workers, although domestic work is one of the most important categories of employment for migrants.Shocking rates of suicide of migrant workers have been reported in the last months, most of these cases concerned foreign domestic workers. Their situation has to be addressed urgently in all GCC countries to improve their working and living conditions, and to prohibit any discrimination against them.→ FIDH calls upon the GCC to better protect labour rights for all by amending labour laws and making them consistent with international human rights standards, to adopt legislation on domestic workers, in accordance with international standards and to reform the sponsorship system. In this regard, FIDH urges the EU and the GCC States to ratify and implement the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families.Promoting equality between men and women
Despite significant progress, in particular in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment and political participation, a substantial lack of women’s rights persists in every country in the Gulf region.Even though women usually have political rights, they still face discrimination under the law. Islamic law and traditions have discriminating aspects towards women. Indeed they do not enjoy same rights as men under family law, property law and in the judicial system (e.g. Inheritance or transmission of nationality to spouse or children).In all GCC countries, spousal rape is not criminalised. In Qatar, women victim of rape are also punished along with the perpetrator because they are considered as being at fault. But even if in other GCC countries rape is criminalised, under-reporting is systematic due to fear of social stigma considering the cultural and societal influences. Also, in cases of rape or other crimes against women reported to the police, the perpetrators commonly enjoy impunity.Domestic violence is often not addressed as such by law in GCC countries, as well as sexual harassment which is not prohibited in most GCC countries.→ FIDH calls upon the GCC countries to promote equality between men and women in all fields. As equality between men and women is an essential issue promoted by and within the EU, the EU should also discuss this important question in its relations with third countries in order to increase the coherence of its internal and external policies.Improving the situation of Human Rights Defenders and their right to freedom of association
The role of an independent civil society in assessing and monitoring the human rights situation at national level is essential. Restrictions on the right to freedom of association constitute a major obstacle to an independent civil society and put civil society representatives at risk of repression and arbitrary measures. In the GCC countries, freedom of association often remains limited and sometimes, such as in Saudi Arabia, forbidden.→ Promoting the right to freedom of association and ensuring the compatibility of national laws and practice with international human rights and labour standards should be a key issue of the EU-GCC political dialogue.Also, Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) continue to be victims of harassment, travel bans, detention, prosecution under false charges and even in some cases torture under interrogation. Cases of excessive use of force by the authorities have been reported during demonstrations and peaceful protests in various GCC countries.Furthermore, restrictions to freedom of assembly are also imposed on human rights organisations as they are prevented from organising conferences and workshops.The authorities of various GCC countries also used the obligation for NGOs to register as a tool to control the organisations' activities as well as to impede them from carrying out their activities due to long bureaucratic registration procedures. Any organisation not registered is considered as carrying out illegal activities. In some GCC countries (e.g. Oman and Saudi Arabia), independent human rights organisations are even not allowed to operate within the country.→ HRDs are key actors for an independent monitoring of the human rights situation. Repressive measures against them are widespread in several GCC countries. Therefore, the EU must increase its support for Human Rights Defenders in GCC countries, in accordance with the operational chapter of the Council Guidelines on HRDs.Taking action to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression
Freedom of expression, especially of the media, is the basis for democracy. It is essential for citizens to have access to free and pluralistic information. Nevertheless, freedom of expression is very much restricted in most of the GCC countries.The Constitutions and press laws in GCC countries and their interpretation by courts restrict freedom of speech and the press. Criticising Islam or the government is easily considered as being a criminal offence for which people can be fined and imprisoned. Almost all press (written press, radio, tv) is directly or indirectly controlled by the authorities. In various GCC countries, the government actually owns radio and television stations to control the information disclosed.Harassment, censorship, prosecution, fining and imprisonment of news media professionals in order to control the information is systematic. Internet, as all other forms of media, is monitored by the authorities, and controversial websites are blocked. Many bloggers run the risk of being arrested and having their websites banned.→ FIDH calls upon the GCC countries to take steps to put their legislation on freedom of speech and press in line with international standards and to stop harassing journalists and other news media professionals.Putting an end to religious and sectarian discriminations
Discrimination based on religion or belief has an important impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, particularly with regard to members of religious minorities and other persons in vulnerable situations. Indeed, everyone should have the right to education, to work or to take part in cultural life without any discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.Most of GCC States often try to put a disadvantage or to ban other religions in practice or in their legislation. In some GCC countries, the fact to believe in another religion is punished by severe sanctions, up to death penalty. For instance in Saudi Arabia: the fact for an ancient muslim to declare himself atheist is punishable of death penalty by beheading.→ FIDH calls upon the GCC countries to take steps to guarantee non-discrimination on grounds of religion, belief and ethnicity, and to achieve effective implementation of the relevant international standards and in particular, the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ratified by all GCC states.Committing to improve the general situation of human rights in GCC countriesIn addition to these specific concerns, FIDH remains concerned about the general pattern of human rights violations. The non-ratification by four of the six GCC member States of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and a generally weak cooperation with the United Nations mechanisms do not show a strong commitment towards the protection and respect of human rights. FIDH considers that the ratification of the international human rights instruments should be a key issue in the EU-GCC dialogue taking place next week.As the human rights situation varies strongly from one GCC member State to another, FIDH insists on the imperative need to systematically assess the situation of human rights and put human rights concerns on the agenda of bilateral political dialogues at all levels.
Press Contacts :FIDH : Karine Appy/Fabien Maitre + 33 1 43 55 14 12 / + 33 1 43 55 90 19Submitted by admin3 on 11. June 2010 - 19:58.
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Amnesty International Report 2010 - Bahrain

2010-06-12T13:00:00.000+03:00

BAHRAIN
KINGDOM OF BAHRAINHead of state: King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al KhalifaHead of government: Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al KhalifaDeath penalty: retentionistPopulation: 0.8 millionLife expectancy: 75.6 yearsUnder-5 mortality (m/f): 13/13 per 1,000Adult literacy: 88.8 per cent
The government took steps to promote human rights and to improve conditions for some migrant workers. However, it continued to penalize criticism of the royal family and failed to investigate allegations of torture in 2008. One person remained at risk of execution.
Background
In November, a royal decree established a national human rights institution. Its mandate includes promoting awareness of human rights in Bahrain and proposing legal reforms. The government said it was considering withdrawing some reservations entered by Bahrain when ratifying key international human rights treaties. It also said it would introduce various legal reforms and provide human rights training to judicial and other officials.In March, the security forces shot and injured demonstrators in Sitra and al-Duraz who were protesting against alleged land seizures and for the release of prisoners sentenced after violent protests in 2007 and 2008. The authorities denied the use of excessive force and said the security forces had intervened when the protests became violent.
Justice system – trials and prisoner releases
Three Shi’a activists – Hassan Meshaima’, ‘Abd al-Jalil al-Singace and Mohammad Habib al-Muqdad – appeared before the High Criminal Court in March. They and 32 other defendants, some of whom were being tried in their absence, were accused of financing and planning acts of violence with the aim of overthrowing the government. Thirteen of the accused, who had been arrested on 15 December 2008 and later shown on television “confessing”, alleged that they had been detained incommunicado and tortured. They said they had been subjected to electric shocks, beaten while suspended by their arms, and held for prolonged periods with their hands and feet bound. Before the trial concluded, all the defendants were released in April under a royal pardon. A total of 178 prisoners, including political prisoners, were released under the pardon. The authorities failed to investigate alleged torture of detainees in late 2008.
Freedom of expression
The government remained especially sensitive to criticism of the monarchy. Amendments to the 2002 Press and Publications Law, proposed in 2008, remained pending before the House of Representatives. If implemented, the amendments would remove imprisonment as a penalty for those convicted of criticizing the King or “inciting hatred of the regime”.In January, the Ministry of Information and Culture blocked a number of websites, blogs and discussion forums, including some deemed to “incite hatred and sectarian violence”. Hundreds of websites were said to remain blocked at the end of the year.# ‘Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, a human rights defender, was charged under Articles 92, 160, 165 and 168 of the Penal Code in January after he criticized the royal family. He was accused of calling for the use of force to change the political system, inciting hatred against the country’s rulers and inciting unrest by deliberately spreading rumours. He was also banned from travelling abroad. He denied the accusations. The charges were dropped in accordance with the royal pardon in April.
# In February, Lamees Dhaif was charged under the Penal Code after she published several articles on alleged judicial corruption in al-Waqt daily newspaper. She faced possible imprisonment or a fine if convicted of insulting a public authority. At the end of the year, the case was still being investigated.
Migrants’ rights
In May, the government announced a revision of the sponsorship system – known as kafala – through which foreign migrant workers obtain employment. The new system, which came into force on 1 August, permits foreign workers to change their employment without obtaining their current employer’s consent.The kafala had previously prevented workers from changing their employers or leaving the country, facilitating exploitation and abuse of workers’ rights by employers, including non-payment of wages. The reform does not apply to migrant domestic workers, mostly women, who remain particularly vulnerable to abuse by employers.
Death penalty
In November, the Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence against Jassim Abdulmanan, a Bangladeshi national. He was sentenced to death in 2007 for premeditated murder. The execution was pending ratification by the King.
Amnesty International visits
In March, Amnesty International observed the trial of the 35 people accused of terrorism-related offences. The same month, an Amnesty International delegate participated in an international conference on human trafficking.
Full report (PDF)

WAN-IFRA World Press Freedom Review, January-May 2010

2010-06-12T00:21:00.000+03:00

WAN-IFRA review of the last six months of 2010, has reported that press freedom is under

attack on every continent. On Middle East and North Africa the report mentioned that:
“Those in power throughout the Middle East and North Africa continue to resort to harassment, censorship, prosecution, fining and imprisonment of news media professionals in order to control information. Their hostility toward independent and opposition media has often proven to be ruthless.”
The report also noted Bahrain Ban on Al-Jazeera:
On 18 May, Bahrain’s Ministry of Culture and Information decided to “temporarily freeze the activities of the Bahrain bureau of the Qatari satellite news channel Al-Jazeera for having violated professional norms and for failing to observe laws and procedures regulating journalism, printing and publishing.” The ministry’s decision came just one day after Al-Jazeera broadcast a programme about poverty in Bahrain.
Today (Monday) the report was due to be presented to the WAN-IFRA board which is currently meeting in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Read the full report
Source: journalism.co.uk

Bahrain Center Honors Human Rights Watch

2010-06-11T16:31:00.000+03:00

Bahrain Center for Human Rights has hosted a dinner in honor of the staff of the Middle East

and North Africa division of the Human Rights Watch. A plaque was given to the organization in tribute of their big role in shedding light on violations of human rights in Bahrain, particularly their recent report - Torture Redux - which supports the allegations of torture raised earlier by many victims during period of their detention. The honor ceremony held at the house of Nabeel Rajab – President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights– in the presence of the Head of Middle East and North Africa division, Ms.Sarah Lee, her assistant Mr.Joe Stork, and a group of experts and consultants in the same organization. In addition a group of members of the center and another group of lawyers interested in rights issues in Bahrain have attended the honor ceremony.

Social Watch Report 2009: Bahrain: Increasing numbers of millionaires, and impoverished lower class

2010-06-11T16:28:00.000+03:00

The impact of globalization on Bahraini people
The Bahrain’s economy is growing, along with per capita income. However, along with the increasing numbers of millionaires the middle class is shrinking and the lower class is becoming impoverished. There are increasing confrontations and tension between the impoverished groups and security forces. A strategy to shield society from the negative impacts of globalization is urgently needed.
Social Watch Bahrain
Bahrain traditionally has had an open economy for trade, investment and exchange. Since its independence in 1971, the country has been a financial hub for international banks and financial Institutions, joint Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ventures and a transit spot for trade and commodities.
It has been a member of the World Trade Organisation since 1997, removing barriers to trade and investment and the movement of labour. Bahrain signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US which facilitates trade, investment and labour movement between the two countries. As a member of the GCC, Bahrain is negotiating with the European Union (EU) regarding a FTA and recently hosted an ASEAN-GCC conference which debated the prospects of concluding an FTA between the two economic groups.Like many other countries, Bahrain has been influenced positively and negatively by globalization.
This report will concentrate on the impact of globalization on the well-being of Bahraini residents and consider this from a number of angles:
Liberalization of the economy
The Government has been steadily pursuing economic liberalization, which means less and less state involvement in running the economy. This has in inevitably led to the State abandoning certain essential services it previously rendered to its citizens. It has also led to the opening of the market to competition between local and foreign companies. Furthermore, the reduction of restrictions on foreign residents has resulted in their occupying jobs traditionally limited to Bahrainis, such as legal counselors and auditors.
Privatization
In attempting to maintain pace with globalization and to be able to compete in an open market, the Government has resorted to privatizing a number of state institutions and services, including electricity and public transport. In addition, it has increasingly opened other sectors to private control, such as education, health care services, municipal services, administration of ports and air transportation.
Housing
The Government has increasingly lifted restrictions on the acquisition of real estate by foreign residents, especially for GCC citizens, which has led to a rise in ownership of land and property in residential areas. Bahrainis now find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of purchasing power compared to other GCC citizens. This has led to an acute housing crisis: the demand for state-subsidized housing is surpassing supply and there is currently a backlog of some 60,000 applications. As a result, many families have been obliged to move back into extended family accommodations, many of them congested and poorly equipped to deal with overcrowding.
Employment
Due to the lax policy control on the flow of foreign workers, especially cheap labour, Bahraini job seekers are in a weak position when competing for jobs that require specific educational backgrounds and skills. Foreign workers are also more willing to accept lower salaries and tougher working conditions. So, despite increased employment opportunities generated by a growing economy, unemployment is growing among Bahraini citizens, especially among women and those whose educational qualifications (e.g., liberal arts or sociology degrees) are not well matched with the new jobs.
Inflation
The inflation rate has increased steadily, exceeding 7% annually for the last few years. There has been no substantial concurrent increase in salaries, especially in the public sector. In view of this, Parliament agreed in December 2008 to a BD50 (USD 133) allowance/bonus to Bahraini families annualy, for the next two years. However, this does little to alleviate the impact of inflation for most workers, including the low-income foreign residents who are in the same situation, with wages failing to keep pace with inflation. The disparity between a minority with very high incomes and a majority with very low incomes is increasing. There are some Bahraini families who are living on BD 120 per month (USD 319). Although the Government denies that this kind of relative poverty exists in Bahrain, it has been identified by independent researchers as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).2
Changing social fabric
The steady increase in foreign workers, especially from Asia, over the last decade has resulted in the growth of the expatriate population from 37% of the total in 2001 to 50% in 2007, altering the fabric of society. Foreign workers tend to live in work camps, isolated from indigenous communities, in derelict areas of town and in small groups adjacent to indigenous communities. There is, in general, little integration of these workers into the public arena, in social activities and in NGOs. Moreover, the majority of these workers live alone, with no family, which is viewed as a departure from the social norm and has caused friction between the two communities, especially those adjacent to each other. In general, the lower standard of living and lack of social life among these workers generates an environment conducive to crime, especially sexual assault, burglary, theft and physical abuse/assaults. Poor living conditions, mistreatment from employers, such as the withholding of payment, often for months, has led many foreign workers to suicide, since they find themselves in debt and unable to send money back to families in their countries of origin.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the Bahraini economy is booming with a high growth rate and increasing per capita income, the benefits of globalization have not extended to the population as a whole. There are increasing numbers of millionaires, and a shrinking middle class and impoverished lower class. The country has been witnessing repeated confrontations and tension between impoverished communities and security forces, especially in the villages, which is why the World Bank now ranks Bahrain low in political stability.3 There is need for a strategy to shield society from the negative impacts of globalization.
Source: Social Watch Report 2009
----1 Bahrain Social Watch Coalition is composed of Bahrain Transparency, Bahrain Human Rights Society, Bahraini Women Renaiscence Society, Awal Women Society, Sociologists Society Best.
2 UNDP’s Human Development Report 2007-2008 gives Bahrain 0.88 points on the Human Development Index, despite its impressive per capita income of 20,800.
3 World Bank, Governance Matters 2009: Worldwide Governance Indicators, 1996-2008 shows that Bahrain’s ranking rose above .50 only in 2003, after which it declined steadily until 2007, improving only slightly in 2008 to about .36. Available at: World Bank.Submitted by admin3 on 6. June 2010 - 20:10.
Discrimination
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In order to Stop the Protests against the Policy of Discrimination and Naturalization and an Increase in Arrests

2010-06-11T16:25:00.000+03:00

30 May 2010The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses it great concern for the continuous escalation pursued by the security authorities in Bahrain represented in the violence and bloodiness of the authorities in confronting the growing public protests that prevail the Bahraini villages and areas opposing the authority's policy.The BCHR received several complaints from sufferers and victims of this policy, the last which was the young Hasan Ali Darwish (20 years old) suffering severe injuries in the village of Karzakan, last Monday 17 May 2010, due to being shot by the Special Forces live ammo "shotgun" when he was leaving his grandmother's house and heading towards his house. The village of Karzakan had witnessed a protest demonstration that led to the intervention of the Special Forces which used live ammo to disperse the protestors. The shooting, which the youth faced, caused a punctured lung which led to internal bleeding. The 12 splinters he faced have not yet been removed. The local newspapers published a news piece stating that the Public Prosecution ordered the imprisonment of the accused for 30 days in custody[i][1].
Two youth from the village of Malkiya suffered from injuries due to firing live ammo "shotgun"[ii][2] at them on Tuesday 13 April 2010, when the youth Abdullah Hasan (18 years old) and Sadiq Ali Abdullah (18 years old) where walking to the baker in the same area, and were startled by the firing of live ammo at them which led to scattered injuries on the bodies of the two youth. Abdullah Hasan was injured with shotgun splinters on his hand, leg and chest, while Sadiq Ali was injured in the head and other parts of his body. When they turned to the hospital, the security forces were contacted and who interrogated them and kept them under security surveillance, then they were pulled out of hospital by force and taken to prison to face the charge of assembling.The shotgun fires a bullet that explodes directly after firing it, only to offload dozens of solid balls that get scattered over a wide area in aim of hitting the largest number possible of targets, and this normally leads to the downfall of several wounded amidst the demonstrators. These solid blocks penetrate the human skin and stop at the bone, and it is difficult to later extract those blocs from the body, as there are still dozens of Bahraini citizens whose bodies suffer from the remains of these metal blocs since the nineties. It is also difficult to cure or remove these blocs due their small size, and there are many who got killed in the incidents of the nineties due to the indulgence in using this weapon which is intended at hunting small animals and birds.
In another case received by the BCHR which proved the excessive use of force by the Special Forces when dealing with the inhabitants of the Bahraini villages, two students from the Al-Jabriya Industrial School, and they are Mohammed Ammar Ahmed and Sayed Abbas Habib (17 year-olds), were arrested on 14 April. The bus carrying the students back to their village was driving near the concentration of the Special Forces stationed at the village of Karzakan, and it was filled with the sounds of clapping and singing, which angered the Special Forces and pushed them stop the bus and beat everyone inside and arrest the earlier mentioned students without any legal justification.Some of the Bahraini village and areas are being besieged with Special Forces for several months, and these forces and the civilian militias belonging to them of foreign individuals brought by the security apparatuses as mercenary forces from several tribes in Syria, Jordan, Yemen or the province of Balochistan in Pakistan. These forces raid the residents of the Shiite villages and abuse them in a systematic manner, where the villages are stormed and live ammo, rubber bullets and tear gas is used, which leads to the injury of hundreds of people among them elders, women and children. Several properties, houses and mosques are damaged. The mercenary forces are used to prevent the political seminars and to attack the peaceful protests and demonstrations. The Special Security Forces use armed civilian militias wearing, in some cases, black masks and attack the villages. The description "mercenary" can be applied to these Special Forces that are selected in a structured manner, and from certain countries; to be used security and military wise outside the usual framework of the security and military apparatuses of the country. These "mercenaries" are granted materialistic and job privileges that the citizens working in the same unit and same jobs do not get. They are given housing, travel tickets and are thrown into political disagreements which they are not a part of, and they are trained in a special manner to raid the villages and humiliate the residents. The votes of these mercenaries were also used, after actively granting them the Bahraini citizenship, to marginalize the parliamentary elections of 2006, which is a matter that is expected to be repeated in the coming elections. The BCHR believes that targeting the Shiite villages on a regular daily basis by using foreign forces from a Sunni sectarian background, aims at creating sedition between the people of the country of the two sects, and to deepen the differences and sectarian tensions. This policy was met with utter rejection by the civil society institutions and human rights organizations in Bahrain.In a fourth incident that happened in Sitra area, north of the capital, a car carrying two youth who are Yousif Ahmed Hubail (28 years old) and Hasan Ahmed Hubail (21 years old) – the brothers of one of the wanted – was stopped by civilians in order to arrest them without knowing the reason behind that. When the two youth refused to obey these civilians due to them being unaware of their identities, the civilians severely beat the two youth. It later turned out that these civilian forces had come to arrest their brother (Hubail), and who was not in the car they were driving.
Yousif Hubail and the Bruises Caused by Beating
On the same day, the two youth submitted a notification to the Sitra district police station; however they were surprised that the nature of categorizing this case changed from them being plaintiffs to defendants, on the charge of attacking security men while carrying out their official duty.The majority of the villages and areas of Bahrain witness rising public tensions, and semi-daily confrontations with the Special Forces. The demands of the protestors are usually presented in stopping the systematic sectarian discrimination against the Shiite sect, whose pace increased since the arrival of the current King to the throne, and to stop the policy of the political naturalization in aim of changing the demography to manipulate the results of the elections, and to stop the continuous arrests of the people of these villages, and to end the established torture in the Bahraini prisons, and to stop bringing, funding and training foreign mercenary forces. Also, of the reasons for protests is the increase of poverty level among the citizens and the pervading corruption amidst the ruling class and the class surrounding it, and the authority being a party in inflaming sectarian disputes between the Shiites and Sunnis, and marginalizing the role of the Parliament and excelling in humiliating the loyal representatives of people in it.The Bahrain Center for Human Rights recommends:
1. Stop bringing firearms of all kinds, and to refrain from the use of excessive violence against the demonstrators;2. Stop bringing and exploiting the non-Bahraini mercenaries with a sectarian agenda in the various security apparatuses.3. Set up an independent commission of inquiry, to investigate the issue of using excessive force, and the illegal exploitation of foreigners, and to bring the ones responsible for it to trial;4. Initiate an actual dialogue process with the pillars of society to resolve the crisis the country is going through, and to stop resorting to security solutions.
[i][1] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2813/news/read/430319/1.html[ii][2] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2778/news/read/403243/1.htmlSubmitted by admin3 on 30. May 2010 - 16:42.
Attacks on activists
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Re-criminating the Innocents of Karzakan to Acquit the Criminals of the Security Apparatuses

2010-06-11T16:12:00.000+03:00

In a political sentence issued by the Supreme Appeal Court on 28 March 2010[i][1] to convict 19 defendants of killing a policeman from the Special Forces, the Pakistani Majid Asghar Ali, and imprisoning them all for 3 years, after annulling the acquittal issued in their favour on 13 October 2009.All of the following: Kumail Ahmed Ali Mohammed, Fadhel Abbas Ali Ahmed, Mohammed Maki Ali Mansoor, Hussein Abbas Ali Ahmed, Fadhel Abbas Mohammed Ashoor, Abdullah Juma Abdullah Ali, Sayed Ahmed Hameed Adnan Alawi, Sayed Sadiq Ibrahim Juma, Sadiq Jawad Ahmed Jawad, Hussein Ali Mohammed Dhaif, Habib Mohammed Ashoor, Ibrahim Saleh Jaffar, Hussein Abdul-Kareem Maki Eid, Sayed Omran Hameed Adnan Alawi, Hussein Mohammed Ali Khatam, Habib Ahmed Habib Ashoor, Qassim Mohammed Khalil Ibrahim, Sayed Jaway Hameed Adnan Alawi and Hamed Ibrahim Al-Fardan were arrested at different periods after the Ministry of Interior announced in the newspapers on 10 April 2008, that a security patrol has been attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails by masked people, and which resulted in the death of one the patrol men and the injury of the others on 9 April 2008 in the area of Karzakan. On the next day, the same source announces that it was able to arrest the perpetrators. This was followed by a visit by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, to the Ministry of Interior where he met the Minister of Interior, the head of the National Security Apparatus and senior leading officials in the country, and declares that there will be no tolerance for the offenders. The Public Prosecution announces that the offenders were arrested according to the findings of the inquiries of the General Directorate of Investigations and that it had initiated their interrogation and declared that they confessed committing the crime. Quickly after that, the Bahrain News Agency and the Department of Foreign Media at the Ministry of Information, and the newspapers allied with the authority released the news and distributed it to all news agencies and world newspapers, and along with that suggested to those media institutes that the crime was committed by a group of youth from one of the Shiite villages. However, after the arrest that lasted more than 17 months, and under cruel detention conditions suffered by the defendants and wide violations and systematic torture practiced against them, and arbitrary detention in solitary cells for extended periods, and torture that was installed to the sentence, the High Criminal Court issued its ruling of acquitting all the defendants of killing the security man and which is a ruling that was later appealed by the Public Prosecution.According to the sentence, the court was not satisfied with the prosecution witnesses statements – who are members of the Special Forces – and who did not show how the injury which had led to the death of the policeman had happened, especially that the forensic report who inspected the victim proved that the wounds on the victim's body was unrelated to the death, and that the chief medical examiner had said the cause of the injury was most likely due to the victim's fall out of the car after it had flipped over and his head hit the ground. Moreover, there is no physical evidence that proves the involvement of any of the defendants in that crime. The forensic report proved that the confessions made by the 19 defendants were extracted under torture and harsh detention conditions. The court ended its ruling by it not being assured that the incident, in place of the accusation, can be proven against any of the defendants, which is something that requires releasing them according to article 255 of the Code of Criminal Procedures[ii][2], which means they are not guilty of any of the charges against them.
Defendants Convicted Retroactively
The earlier acquittal sentence placed many of the ones accounted for the authority or the ones close to them in a great embarrassment, and some of their reactions even seemed troubled or rejecting the acquittal sentence due its rush, initially, in announcing its opinion and being influenced by the misleading media campaign carried out by the authority and the fake scare of the security apparatuses in the arbitrary prior conviction of the defendants, even before the court instigated the case. The hasty statements of those included apparent incitement against the defendants and a prejudgment, which created a hostile and negative atmosphere towards the defendants and which greatly affected them and their families and their areas of residence. Yet, this campaign contributed in restricting some of the articles of the Penal Code issued with decree no. 15 of 1976, and especially law no. 14 known for the Molotov law which was quickly passed with no review, taking advantage of the negative atmosphere and the charge and incitement accompanying the arrest. As a result of this tense atmosphere created by the authority since day one of arresting the defendants, it launched a violent security campaign against the village of Karzakan and the villages near it, the residents of these areas were collectively punished by using excessive force against them and which led to the injury or arrest of dozens of detainees since the arrest of the defendants and up to this day. In correspondence with this security campaign against the village, there was a press and media scare to incite against the defendants and their areas, or by rallying in a sectarian manner in the Juma Prayers, and a race between the Shura members and the loyal MPs or the societies close to the authority to convict them and seek justice. This campaign had a provocative and hate aggravating nature, and it lacked moral and human standards in most cases.[iii][3]
A few weeks after their first acquittal, the Human Rights Watch issued a report about torture in Bahrain "Torture Resurrected", and which is a summary of the work of several months of two experts, who carried out an accurate investigation in the torture allegations in Bahrain, and which concluded that torture in the Bahraini prisons is a systematic practice. It indicated that the detainees in the Bahraini prisons faced torture on the hands of the ones detaining them during the interrogation in order to extract confessions from them. This matter was met with a wide reaction from the Bahraini authorities, especially due to the mention of a group of officials[iv][4] in the security apparatuses in this report, and the report's recommendations to the Bahraini authorities to question those officials regarding the allegations of their involvement in the torture crimes against the defendants, and which is a campaign that ended in convicting the defendants and sentencing them to three years in prison. The head of the team of lawyers, Lawyer Mohammed Al-Tajer appealed the sentence on 26 April 2010.
Criminating Innocents to Acquit the Criminals
The BCHR believes that annulling the acquittal sentence of the defendants and wiping out the entire past ruling, and then convicting and sentencing them to prison is a political call that lacks integrity, impartiality and independence, and was influenced by the report of the Human Rights Watch as a reaction to the recommendations, and in addition to remove all suspicions from those officials, or any possibility of prosecuting them locally or internationally. The conviction also comes as a preempt to the embarrassments that happened to many state officials, as well as those counted for them such as loyal MPs and societies and others, of drawing prior convictions against the defendants and before initiating the case, and away from the principle that the accused is innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial.Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the authorities the following:
1. Release all the ones arrested in this case, and consider all the defendants innocent of the charges against them and to compensate them for all the violations practiced against them;
2. Bring the perpetrators, officials and executors in the torture cases to neutral and impartial trails;
3. Reform the judicial institute, including the Public Prosecution, for it to become more neutral and fair, especially in the cases that have a political and human rights aspect.References
[i][1] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2761/news/read/388376/1.html
[ii][2] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2595/news/read/323456/1.html
[iii][3] Samples of statements that were released by some societies and political blocs or members in the Councils of Shura and Representatives, or some commercial or foreign institutes, and which were characterized by an arbitrary prior conviction or sectarian incitement, or by inciting hatred towards the victims or individuals
1. The Salafi Al-Asala Bloc: the criminal act comes as a connected link to the terrorist acts, and the last which was 30 people burning down the farm of Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Atyat Allah and destroying its facilities. It is clear that the person behind it is one in all these incidents, and that the security men are targeted. This criminal group wants to weaken them so that Bahrain drowns in violence and chaos. This incident is a betrayal of the homeland and people, and of the values and morals and is a blatant transgression of the human self. How is the forbidden and pure blood being shed in this savage manner?! And how do these terrorists deal with security men as if they are occupation soldiers?! We call on everyone to deal with the security issues in honesty and patriotism, and to call things by their proper names, the defendant who has been charged with a clear charge by the Public Prosecution is not called a detainee as was mentioned by some to mislead the people with these titles, and which is something that makes the ones tampering the security indulge in their transgressions when they find some one to support them with such manipulations.
2. The independent MP, Al-Asoomi (a former secretary in the office of the Prime Minister) – this appalling crime led to the death of a security man, and which is a criminal act that aims in first place at intimidating the safe people, and its perpetrators did not target breaching public order, but yet tampering the social and civil peace and to split the joint national front.
3. Al-Wefaq Islamic Society (opposition which has 17 MPs in the Council of Representatives): what happened of burning the Karzakan car and the killing of an element belonging to the Ministry of Interior contradicts the requirements of political differences which pushes it outside this circle, to a circle of suspicion and mistrust, which could suggest that the person responsible for it is seeking purposes other than political and national work which everyone seeks through political difference, and which does not invoke these rejected and condemned methods.
4. The Charter Society (close to the authority) – we at the Society express our condemnation and denunciation of this vicious assault which killed the citizen policeman Maijd Asghar ali. The National Action Charter Society stresses the danger of resorting to the methods of violence, terrorism and vandalism that are strange to the manners of the people of Bahrain.
5. The MP Abdulrahman BuMajid: we greatly regret what he had heard and saw in the media of grave escalation of insecurity in the country of setting fire to a security patrol, including the ones in it, and which led to the death of one security men who died of his wounds, after a patrol was attacked with Molotov Cocktails.
6. Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry: what happened is considered a blatant transgression of the law, and an unjustified security escalation. These unfortunate events are harmful to the reform process witnessed by the Kingdom of Bahrain and damages the economic development and the business environment and investment… indicating that we all support the words of the Prime Minister that taking lives and attacking properties is a red line that should never be transgressed… the Chamber and the entire commercial and business sector stress the need to stand firm in the face of this indifference and abuse to the security and stability of the country.
7. The Secretary-General of the GCC, Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Atya: the committer of these heinous acts targeted the loyal security men and committed a crime in which he betrayed his country and religion and intimidated the secure people and killed an innocent life. Al-Atya expressed his support for all the measures taken by Bahrain to face these criminal and outlaw acts, hailing the efficiency of the security apparatuses… and emphasizing that such acts are met with rejection by the entire GCC, as the security and safety of a country and its people is indivisible.
8. Al-Salafi MP, Al-Saidi (close to the Royal Court) – to what extent do these intend to drag the Bahraini street to… do they want a civil war that starts with a sectarian spark??... Do they want a new Iraq in Bahrain??... If they wanted that and which is something we do not wish for, by God they will not be safe and they will burn with their same fire, be wiser and more rational. We do not want an escalation and we do not want violence, we are trying not to be involved in it, and this is not out of fear or negligence by us, it is out of love to this country an in maintenance of its system and in obedience to the governors in command. These youth have been deceived and they have become criminals and murderers and an instrument of destruction in the eyes of everyone, and this dear country's achievements have been destroyed and its properties have been damaged, so where are the people of reason and logic and nationalism, where are the lovers of Bahrain.
Al-Saidi said that dragging the policeman from the car and being killed in cold-blood murder with stones… the blood of this poor fellow is hung in the neck of the ones that directed those murderers and terrorists… to become organized murder gangs, yes organized gangs that target each safe citizen in his country… do you accept that oh people of Bahrain? Where are the honorable of the country? Where are the defenders of the country? Have you nothing to say? Didn't God say in the Holy Koran: ((You are the best nation [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong)) Isn't this the vice? Wake up oh lovers of this country… we are questioned before our God and we are questioned also by our country.
[iv][4] From the criminal investigations: Colonel Yousif Al-Arabi, Major Fahad Al-Fadhala, Major Bassam Al-Miraj, Lieutenant Isa Al-Majali and from the National Security Apparatus Bader Al-Ghaith

Banning one of the Most Significant Historic Book in the History of Bahrain

2010-06-11T16:06:00.000+03:00

The Ministry of Information Bans the Entry of the Belgrave Diary
25 May 2010
The Bahraini authorities, represented in the Ministry of Culture and Information banned the import and sale of the diary of the British adviser of the Government of Bahrain, Charles Belgrave (1926 – 1957), which is considered one of the most significant historical books that document a major stage of the history of Bahrain for the information included in it and which is published for the first time.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights had translated selections from the diary and which cover the period since his arrival to Bahrain in 1926 until he left Bahrain in 1957. One of the Lebanese publishing houses printed it in Lebanon almost a month ago, and a small quantity of it was imported by the Bahraini Al-Isma House, the quantity however was later confiscated by the Ministry of Information. The owner of the publishing house was informed by Mr. Jamal Dawood, Director of the Department of Publications, that the government decided to ban the book and confiscate the existing quantity.
The book, which is made up of more than 600 pages, is a historical narration of events and details of a diary written by the former adviser, on a daily basis, during his work as an adviser of Bahrain's ruler at that time, and then as an adviser of Bahrain's government. He lists important details about the country's development on all administrative, educational, health-wise and judicial levels; as well as his relation with the governor and his role in running the country's affairs. The BCHR believes that the causes for banning is due to two main reasons, the first is that the Minister herself had translated and published selections of the diary in accordance to the authority's approach and concealed anything that criticizes the ruling authority at that time, and which is something the book avoided by conveying all significant historical, political and legal events indicated by the adviser in his diary. The other reason of banning the book is due to some precise details and testimonies which the authority is working on absenting from the people, especially those related to the distribution of wealth and the historical context of taking over lands and the practiced sectarian discrimination, as well as talking about the political opposition movements and the methods of dealing with them. It must be noted that the majority of these historical events stated by the adviser in his diary were re-written by the authority in a different manner than its origin, and away from historical integrity and honesty that is required by the process of codification and documentation. It is believed that the government of Bahrain is keeping the original copy of this diary; however it refrains from publishing it. The diary was later leaked and published in several electronic websites by anonymous institutes or people. The selections are considered to be some of the major documents in the modern history of Bahrain, and which have never been published before. They are only a sample of the selections of his diary, and not the entire diary[1] he wrote.
Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave was born in 1894, and he held the position of a private adviser and adviser of financial affairs of the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa in 1926. He learned Arabic in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and he arrived in Bahrain in March 1926 as an adviser to the governor of Bahrain, with an annual salary of £720, and he became an adviser to the Bahraini government in 1933, and which is a position he held until he left. He had vast contributions in the administrative reforms of the government, as he worked in organizing the health, education, customs, police and judiciary sectors; as well as the infrastructure of the country. The book is selections of his diary, and which cover the period from his arrival to Bahrain in 1926 until he left in 1957. These selections are considered some of the most significant documents in the modern history of Bahrain, and which have never been published before.
The BCHR also expressed it concern last February due to the Bahraini authority's banning 25 of the known Lebanese publishing houses from displaying their books in the annual book exhibition which was held on 17 March 2010, and this is something that has been repeated in the last years.
Based on all the above, the BCHR demands the Bahraini authorities to lift the ban imposed on the diary of Charles Belgrave, due to its importance and value in documenting the history of Bahrain, and to lift the ban imposed on the rest of the prohibited books and to stop the practiced restriction against publishing houses and libraries from importing books that do not correspond with the views of the authority.
Check the Arabic-English Belgrave Diary (PDF)Submitted by admin3 on 25. May 2010 - 23:34.
BCHR release
Freedom of expression
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To Conceal its Failure in Putting an End to the Spread of Poverty in Bahrain

2010-05-23T22:42:00.000+03:00

23 May 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its great concern regarding the extreme deterioration in freedom of opinion and expression, and which was lately represented in the Ministry of Culture and Information suspending the activities of Al-Jazeera Channel in Bahrain. The Ministry of Culture and Information justified this decision that the Qatari channel did not respect the professional rules and did not conform to laws governing the press sector, explaining that this decision will remain in force until a memorandum of understanding is reached that shall define the relation between the government of Bahrain and Al-Jazeera Channel.
A statement released by the Bahrain News Agency[i][1] on Tuesday 18 May 2010, confirmed that the Ministry of Culture and Information made a decision to temporarily freeze the activity of the office of the Qatari Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel in Bahrain, for the Channel's breach of the professional norm and not adhering to the laws and procedures governing the press, printing and publishing, and that suspending the activity of the Channel will continue until an agreement is reached on a memorandum of understanding defining the relation between the Ministry and the Channel, which maintains the rights of both parties according to the principle of reciprocity in the practice of journalism and media in two countries.
Al-Jazeera Channel had broadcasted at 5:30 pm on Monday 17 May 2010 an episode among the "economy and people" weekly program about poverty in the GCC countries and amid it a short documentary film about Bahrain, where the Minister of Social Development and a number of poor families in Bahrain were interviewed[ii][2]. The film shows the great inequality between the rich minority and poor majority.
While a large portion of Bahrain's population lives at or below poverty level, the topic of poverty is one of the matters that are considered forbidden to address, and the Bahraini authorities attempt to conceal it from the outside world, it is quite sensitive towards even mentioning it and refuses that any TV channel or civil institute discusses it. Bahrain had already expressed its resentment towards the American channel CNN due to it broadcasting a film about poverty in Bahrain[iii][3] in June 2007. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights was also closed down in September 2004 and its executive director was imprisoned as a result of holding a public symposium at Al-Aruba Club, where BCHR released a report and documentary about poverty in Bahrain[iv][4]. Bahrain's population is divided between an extremely rich minority and who are members of the ruling family or the ones surrounding them and between a poor majority which can hardly get food for a day from the assistance provided by the charitable funds or Ministry of Social Development.
The Bahraini authorities practice restricting the foreign channels and news agency and its correspondents in Bahrain through the Department of Foreign Media, and which is part of the Ministry of Information in terms of form only, while it really operates as part of the National Security Apparatus (Intelligence). This department is currently headed by Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, the former vice-president of this security apparatus, while its former president is Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa, the current president of the National Security Apparatus, both being from the ruling family.
The BCHR considers this ban decision or demanding Al-Jazeera Channel to discuss the memorandum of understanding with the government of Bahrain as lying down more stringent restrictions on this Channel just like the rest of the channels and agencies and their correspondents working in Bahrain, and which lead to the dominance of the Bahraini security authorities and maintaining its control over the media sector and excluding all the programs that do not coincide with its policy.
It is noted that while Bahrain is going through politically, economically and security-wise tense circumstances between the ruling regime and a wide spectrum of the Bahraini citizens and opposition forces, marked by human rights violations referred to by most news agencies or foreign channels and international organizations Al-Jazeera Channel, on the other hand rarely transmits any news about these tensions or human rights violations which are taking place on a daily basis in Bahrain and it has avoided mentioning it. It is believed, that this is due to the Channel's precautions from negatively affecting the relation of Qatar which is the host country of this channel with its neighbour, Bahrain. Whilst this Channel fails to convey issues of Bahrain, it has gained wide popularity among the citizens of Bahrain which exceeds the viewers of the national television of Bahrain, which has become a place of contempt and regret of people in the local newspapers.
The Bahraini authorities' persistence of restricting the media institutions contradicts its commitments as a member in the Human Rights Council and a party in numerous international conventions and covenants, on top of them the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights especially Article 19, which states, "Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice".
The BCHR recommends:
- Lifting the imposed ban from the activity of Al-Jazeera Channel and permit the channel's staff to enter Bahrain
- Adjust the laws regulating these foreign channels and news agencies in such manner that guarantees its neutrality and independence.
[i][1] Bahrain News Agency BNA[ii][2] Alwasat news[iii][3] Poverty in Bahrain on CNN [Video][iv][4] Poverty in Bahrain documentary (BCHR) [Video]Submitted by admin3 on 23. May 2010 - 0:18.
BCHR release
Freedom of expression
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CPJ: Bahrain suspends Al-Jazeera operations indefinitely

2010-05-23T22:39:00.000+03:00

New York, May 19, 2010—
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by the Bahraini government to indefinitely suspend Al-Jazeera from reporting from the Gulf kingdom
On Tuesday, Bahrain’s Ministry of Culture and Information decided to “temporarily freeze the activities of the Bahrain bureau of the Qatari satellite news channel Al-Jazeera for having violated professional norms and for failing to observe laws and procedures regulating journalism, printing and publishing,” according to the official Bahrain News Agency. The statement went on to say that the suspension would remain in place until a decision is reached that would ensure that Bahraini media can operate in Qatar.
The ministry’s decision comes just one day after Al-Jazeera aired a program about poverty in Bahrain. On Tuesday, the same day the ban was announced, Bahraini authorities denied entry into the country to an Al-Jazeera crew who had come to interview a former United Nations official who was visiting, the news channel reported. Al-Jazeera noted that the freeze includes both the station’s Arabic- and English-language channels as well as the activities of the station’s Bahrain-based online correspondent.
“We are dismayed to see Bahrain attempt to muzzle the media simply because it does not like what is being reported,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program ‎coordinator. “Citing a lack of reciprocity from Qatari authorities for Bahraini media is not justification for these disturbing actions.”
Bahrain has banned Al-Jazeera from reporting from the island kingdom in the past. In May 2002, Bahrain’s then-minister of information accused Al-Jazeera of “deliberately seeking to harm Bahrain” and banned it from reporting. The ban lasted for five years, until it was lifted in 2007.
Source: The Committee to Protect JournalistsSubmitted by admin3 on 22. May 2010 - 13:45.
Freedom of expression
NGO report
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Amnesty Int.:Bahrain authorities must investigate shooting of protester

2010-05-23T22:32:00.001+03:00

20 May 2010

Amnesty International has urged the Bahraini authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting of an anti-government protester in disputed circumstances on Monday.
Hassan ‘Ali, 20, is in hospital recovering from shotgun wounds he sustained when a member of Bahrain’s anti-riot police fired a shotgun at him in Karzakan, a predominantly Shi’a village on Bahrain’s west coast. He is reported to have been struck by 12 shotgun pellets, three of which struck him on the head.
According to a senior Bahraini police officer, Hassan ‘Ali was shot when he was among a group of masked youths who had thrown Molotov cocktails at anti-riot police stationed in the village.
However, according to a leading human rights activist, ‘Abdallah al-Derazi of the Bahrain Human Rights Society, Hassan ‘Ali says he was not involved in the violence by youths and was shot while he was outside his grandfather’s house.
"The Bahraini authorities must undertake a prompt and thorough independent investigation to establish the circumstances in which this young man was shot," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.
"In particular, the authorities need to establish whether he was the victim of excessive force, in which case the police officer who shot him and any others responsible for the use of excessive force should be held to account.
"Police are entitled to use force, including firearms, in certain, narrowly prescribed circumstances when their own or others’ lives are at risk, but the allegations here are that Hassan ‘Ali was shot while he was posing no threat."
Hassan ‘Ali is reported to have sustained a punctured lung, among other injuries, yet he was still interrogated by police while in hospital and charged with participating in riots and planning to burn a police patrol vehicle – which he denies.
Hassan ‘Ali’s shooting follows a recent wave of protests by members of Bahrain's Shi’a majority against the Sunni royal family and the government, which is dominated by the Sunni minority, who they accuse of discrimination against the Shi'a community.
Two months ago, after Shi’a demonstrators in Karzakan burnt tyres in protest against the government, the security forces shot and injured Hussain 'Ali Hassan al-Sahlawi on 14 March and left him lying unconscious. He was subsequently charged with participating in an illegal protest.
Source: Amnesty InternationalSubmitted by admin3 on 20. May 2010 - 21:00.
Attacks on activists
NGO report
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RSF: Government suspends Al Jazeera’s activities in Bahrain

2010-05-23T22:27:00.000+03:00

20 May 2010
Reporters Without Borders is very concerned to learn that the culture and information ministry announced yesterday that it was suspending the pan-Arab satellite TV station Al Jazeera’s activities in Bahrain until further notice.
“This announcement confirms that the government wants to maintain control over the media and eliminate programmes it dislikes,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We firmly condemn this ban on Al Jazeera and we urge the culture and information ministry to rescind this decision.”
In a communiqué published by the Bahrain News Agency, the culture and information ministry announced on 18 May that it had “temporarily frozen” the activities of the Al Jazeera office in Bahrain for “breaching professional media norms and flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing.”
The statement added that the suspension would remain in force until the ministry and Al Jazeera reached an agreement “protecting the rights of both sides on the basis of reciprocity in exercising press and media work in both countries.” Al Jazeera is based in nearby Qatar.
In a statement posted on its website yesterday, Al Jazeera said it was surprised by the measure because had not been notified officially and because it does not have a bureau in Bahrain. The station was, however, immediately affected as Bahraini authorities prevented an Al Jazeera team from entering the country on 18 May to interview a UN official
Reporters Without Borders has learned that the latest Al Jazeera programme in its series “Economy and Men,” which looks at the economic situation and its impact on the ordinary life of the inhabitants of various Arab countries, was about poverty in Bahrain. Broadcast on 17 May, the day before the suspension, the programme was described as “obscene” by the culture and information ministry, the online newspaper Al-Watan reported.
Refused permission to operate in Bahrain in 2002, Al Jazeera was allowed to resume its coverage of the country in 2007. The culture and information minister had nonetheless accused the station of pro-Israeli bias and deliberately trying to harm Bahrain.
Source: Reporters Without BordersSubmitted by admin3 on 20. May 2010 - 17:19.
Freedom of expression
International report
NGO report
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Preventing the Director of the NDI from entering Bahrain

2010-05-23T22:20:00.000+03:00

Raises Questions and Doubts about the Bahraini Government's Intention towards the Next Elections
12 May 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its great concern regarding the harassment practiced by the Bahraini authorities towards the local and international organizations or civil society institutions through administrative decisions. This harassment was recently represented in preventing the training officer at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) – from entering Bahrain to conduct some workshops and training the political and human rights associations.
One of the local newspapers published a news piece that the Director of the National Democratic Institute residing in the Gulf, Mrs. Stacey Hague, was prevented from entering Bahrain after the official authorities and some MPs closely related to the government sent a warning earlier due to the so-called "interference of an institute in the internal affairs" of the country. The National Democratic Institute – being close to the U.S. Democratic Party – is one of the largest specialized American institutes in training, educating and political empowerment, and has wide-ranging activities in many third world countries. NDI held, since 2002 and up to this day, numerous courses and training workshops to Bahraini civil society institutions and where a large number of more than 2500 people, among them MPs, municipals, human rights workers and members of political associations benefited from. The last of these workshops was held last month to train Bahrain civil society in how to monitor the election. It was held in coordination with Bahrain Human Rights Society.
The BCHR believes that the reason of prevention may be due to the Bahraini authorities' fear that the NDI would monitor the next municipal and parliamentary elections in October 2010, or that it would empower the civil society institutions to do so, especially after the institute initiated courses on monitoring elections to a group of human rights youth workers. The Bahraini authorities prevent any kind of independent international monitoring of the elections.
The government of the United States, and through the military, security, economic, judicial and commercial agreements with the government of Bahrain and its open relations with all the components of the State and society, is actually interfering in all affairs of Bahrain, therefore it is not convincing to prevent the institute from training or monitoring the elections on the grounds that it is interfering in internal affairs. The U.S administration work in double standards in dealing with the Bahraini government; on one hand it imposes its will on the government in all security and economic affairs related to its interest, while on the other hand it is oddly negligent when the matter is related to empowering the civil society institutions.
This is not the first time where the authorities prevent human rights and political organizations and institutions and its representatives from entering Bahrain. Where it prevented, in March 2010, the French "Kitson" organization from holding seminars on anti-terrorism. It also prevented, in April that followed, the Bahrain Human Rights Society from conducting workshops to train on the mechanisms of visiting prisons on the grounds that the topic of the workshop is considered political and that the society is not permitted to work with political topics.
In May 2006, several months before the previous parliamentary elections, the Bahraini authorities expelled the Director of the NDI, Fawzy Gouled, in belief that it is due to the role played by the institute in training and empowering the civil society institutions, which is something rejected by the Bahraini authorities under the pretext of interfering in internal affairs. The report of Dr. Salah Al-Bandar indicates the Bahraini authorities' fear from the role played by the NDI in empowering the opposition and supporting it.
The BCHR fears that preventing this official at the NDI from entering Bahrain or any other institute affiliated with it to do its work now before the next elections raises a lot of questions on the intentions of the Bahraini government from the next elections, and the increasing doubts about the ability of manipulating the procedures or changing the results, as had happened in the previous elections through opening general centers away from residential areas where it is believed that widespread manipulations have taken place, as well as bringing many Saudi tribes, who were naturalized illegally for this purpose.
Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the Bahraini authorities the following:
• Lift the ban from the National Democratic Institute and permit it to work on empowering the institutions wishing to do so, and to lift the ban from all international institutes who wish to monitor the upcoming elections or training the local institutes to do so.
• To stop targeting the international institutions or restricting them from carrying out their role in empowering the civil society institutions from carrying out theirs.
• To stop the procedures which increase the tension and space and which remove the remaining trust between the government and civil society institutions. Submitted by admin3 on 18. May 2010 - 11:37.
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Reuters: Bahrain sets up rights watchdog amid criticism

2010-05-23T22:13:00.000+03:00

Web posted at: 5/14/2010 8:19:22Source ::: Reuters
MANAMA: Bahrain, under pressure to improve its human rights record, is creating a national watchdog, but some activists cast doubt on its independence.
The Gulf Arab island kingdom said last year it would establish the organisation, which would draft a national rights strategy and advise on new laws as well as receive complaints.
Majority Shia Bahrain, a key Western ally that is home to the US Fifth Fleet, is ruled by a Sunni dynasty, and its Shia population complains of discrimination in jobs and services, accusations government officials deny.
Bahrain has also come under fire from international human rights groups for the abuse of detainees during interrogations, internet censorship and over the working conditions of thousands of Asian labourers.
Representatives to the watchdog, appointed by the king last month, were to meet to discuss steps to get the organisation off the ground amid criticism the members were too close to the government.
Seven independent Bahraini rights groups complained that over half of the watchdog's 20 members were either government officials or current or former members of Bahrain's upper house of parliament whose members are appointed by the king.
The remainder were mostly from government-backed rights groups or were linked to the state, they said in a statement.
Overall, the composition is neither independent nor pluralistic and the institution is expected to be biased towards its patron as time will certainly show, the rights groups said.
APPOINTED BY KING
The rights groups, including the human rights section of mostly Shia political movement Haq, said they considered the watchdog a government-backed body and would continue to call for an independent organisation.
The groups have said the government was backing a number of human rights organisations while ignoring concerns of independent groups with the purpose of countering what it sees as Shia criticism of the government.
Bahrain, which regularly sees night-time battles between young protesters in Shia villages and security forces, has been accused by rights groups of coercing confessions of involvement in violence from those detained during protests.
Government officials deny there is torture in Bahrain and have said the government would investigate the torture claims made by the US-based rights group.
Bahrain very much wants to portray itself as a strong advocate of human rights, but the behaviour on the ground leaves a whole lot to be desired, said Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Stork said it was too early to judge how independent the new body would be.
The fact that somebody is a shoura council member, or used to be, doesn't necessarily mean much. An official is in a different position, it seems to me, he said.
Source: The Peninsula QatarSubmitted by admin3 on 15. May 2010 - 22:29.
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Trialing the Human Rights Activist Mohammed Al-Maskati in Response to his Human Rights Work

2010-05-23T22:09:00.000+03:00

Suppressing Liberties with Laws
6 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its deep concern regarding sentencing the human rights defender and president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati to fine of B.D. 500 in the case of establishing a society and practicing human rights work without an official license.
News published in one of the local newspapers[i][1] spoke of the Lower Criminal Court issuing a ruling which fines Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati with B.D. 500 after it had charged him with working in an unlicensed association. The details of the case return to when Mr. Al-Maskati received a summon on Tuesday 27 November 2007 to appear before court on the background of practicing activities and holding events and training workshops in the field of human rights by the name of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights without a license from the Ministry of Development and Social Affairs. The opening arguments continued for three years until the Lower Criminal Court issued the abovementioned sentence. It justified that court sentence with the Law of Civil Associations issued in 1989 and which is one of the laws that restrict freedoms and which has long been criticized by the international institutions due to its incompatibility with international standards for establishing non-governmental institutions. Al-Maskati's request to establish the Society was met with a refusal in the past.
The lawyer Mohammed Al-Jishi and Fadhel Al-Medefea challenged the constitutionality of Articles (11) and (89/2) from law no. (21/89) regarding the societies, social and cultural clubs and private bodies working in the field of youth and sport, stressing that the articles – of the Law of Associations – contradicts Articles (27), (28 A and B), (23) and (31) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain issued in 2002, and that the articles of the Law of Associations are an apparent restriction of freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of assembling and joining civil organizations.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati is one of the known defenders in the field of human rights. In addition to his presidency of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, he contributed in establishing a regional network in collaboration with the Social Democratic Forum to train youth on the principles of human rights. Al-Maskati was also involved in several local, regional and international activities, and his Society was known for being found in the first place in the Middle East to train on the principles of strategies and struggling without violence. He recently participated in establishing a union that is concerned with the defenders of human rights in the Arab World. In acknowledgment of his continuous efforts in defending human rights, Mr. Al-Maskati received several local and regional awards. The BCHR believes that the prominent role played by the Society in documenting the cases of torture and violations of human rights, especially by filing several complaints related to torture to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and revealing the escalating abuses and violations of human rights, had a major role in issuing the sentence and setting restrictions to this Society and its president Al-Maskati.
The BCHR believes that the series of targeting the activists and the associations is a continuation of the Authority's policy in Bahrain to restrict civil society institutions. The authorities had closed down the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and imprisoned its executive manager solely for holding a seminar on poverty and discrimination in Bahrain, and the Bahrain Nursing Society was also lately closed down in an attempt to discourage them from their human rights work which calls for respecting human rights and adhering to international commitments and agreements. The BCHR released a statement earlier that addresses the systematic targeting of activists in aim of smearing their reputation and isolating them socially.
Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the Bahraini authorities to:
1. Immediately annul the trial of the human rights defender Mohammed Abdul-Nabi Al-Maskati;
2. Allow the non-governmental human rights organizations to operate freely and not to restrict them;
3. reform the laws that restrict liberties which are incompatible with the international standards and which guarantee the right to establish associations and the freedom to work in the fields of human rights;
4. adhere to the international charters and covenants related human rights, especially those signed and endorsed by the Kingdom of Bahrain.
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[1] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2769/news/read/393925/1.html
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[i][1] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2769/news/read/393925/1.html

Bahrain: Court Ruling Disregards Torture Evidence

2010-05-02T02:54:00.000+03:00

19 Convicted in Killing Despite Earlier Acquittal, Lack of Evidence, Coerced ConfessionsApril 30, 2010Related Materials: Torture Redux.This appeals court decision flies in the face of Bahrain's claim that it has a policy of zero tolerance of torture during interrogation of criminal suspects. The government hasn't offered a single shred of evidence linking the defendants to the incident other than these thoroughly discredited confessions..Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch .(New York) - A Bahrain appellate court's March 28, 2010 conviction of 19 men on charges of murder and attempted murder badly undermines the government's claim that it does not tolerate torture, Human Rights Watch said today.
The government had appealed an October 2009 lower court ruling that acquitted the 19 because of the apparent coercion of their confessions and the absence of any other evidence linking the suspects to the death of a security officer. The appellate court made its ruling despite a report by government doctors that found most of the accused men had injuries consistent with their accounts of abusive interrogation techniques.
"This appeals court decision flies in the face of Bahrain's claim that it has a policy of zero tolerance of torture during interrogation of criminal suspects," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The government hasn't offered a single shred of evidence linking the defendants to the incident other than these thoroughly discredited confessions."
The case arose from confrontations between demonstrators and security forces in the village of Karzakan in April 2008, which left an unmarked police vehicle ablaze and resulted in the death of a plainclothes officer, Majid Asghar Ali, a Pakistani working for Bahrain's Interior Ministry. The Public Prosecution Office said that 17 of the 19 defendants voluntarily confessed to their roles in the incident and implicated the other two. The 17 subsequently recanted their confessions in court, claiming that they had been tortured and coerced into confessing.
Human Rights Watch issued a report in Manama on February 8 documenting the repeated use of painful physical coercion by Bahrain security officers to secure confessions.
On the basis of the torture allegations, the lower court ordered Health Ministry doctors to examine the defendants. The examinations took place in July 2008. In September, the Health Ministry physicians provided a report to the court detailing their findings regarding 28 defendants (the 19 defendants involved in this case and 9 others in a case arising out of a separate incident in Karzakan). The medical report found, among other things, that:
•17 of the 28 had scars, bruises or both;•Five had scars or bruises on their wrists caused by "handcuffing this area or being hung from the ceiling as most suspects testify;" and•The other scars and bruises could have "resulted from beating."On October 13, 2009, the lower court, whose presiding judge was a member of Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family, dismissed all charges against the 19 defendants. In explaining the acquittal, the court cited the medical report's conclusion that the defendants had "bruises on their wrists, which [they] said are because of hanging from the ceiling" and that the defendants had other "bruises and traces of wounds." Because the court "[was] not comfortable with the confessions attributed to the defendants, and [had] doubts that the confessions were voluntary and by their choosing," the judges elected to "annul all confessions." The lower court ruling also noted the absence of other evidence against the defendants.
The Human Rights Watch report released on February 8, "Torture Redux: The Revival of Physical Coercion During Interrogations in Bahrain," detailed abusive interrogation practices by Bahraini security forces between late 2007 and early 2009. "Torture Redux" cited the Health Ministry report regarding the Karzakan defendants and the court's subsequent dismissal of all charges. In response, the Interior Ministry vehemently denied that it tolerates any physical abuse.
The appellate ruling statement that prosecutors, when they conducted the formal questioning of the suspects, observed no evidence of injuries that could be attributed to the abuse they alleged, is inconsistent with earlier Interior Ministry statements. In a written response provided to Human Rights Watch on February 7, the Interior Ministry said that prosecutors had in fact observed wounds on the suspects but that they attributed these to injuries sustained during the violent demonstration rather than any abuse inflicted during interrogation.
The appeals court decision also provides no corroborative evidence linking the defendants to Ali's death. According to the written ruling, Fahd Fadalah, a captain with the Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Criminal Investigations, "testified that his investigations revealed that the mentioned accused set on fire a police car and killed Majid Asghar Ali," but provides no information about the content or any specific findings of Fadalah's investigation. Fadalah is one of five officers named in "Torture Redux" as among those allegedly responsible for physically abusing suspects during interrogation.
The only forensic evidence cited in the appellate ruling identified blood samples from the scene as belonging to the deceased victim and damage to the police vehicle consistent with an attack involving stones and Molotov cocktails. The ruling also cites the testimony of Ammar Mus`ad and Saleh Ali Saleh Mansur, two other police officers who were on the scene at the time of the attack, but does not indicate that either officer was able to identify any of the 19 defendants as having been involved.
The Higher Criminal Appellate Court convicted all 19 defendants, including the two who had refused to confess. The appellate ruling argued that the defendants' complaints of torture were baseless, citing Public Prosecution Office officials' claims that they had not observed any injuries to the defendants when they questioned them in the days immediately following their arrest. The appellate ruling also said that the Health Ministry doctors could not conclude definitively that the defendants had been tortured and that some of the observed wounds predated the original arrests and therefore did not constitute evidence of abuse. The defendants, the appellate court concluded, confessed freely.
"The court's written decision cannot withstand even gentle scrutiny," Stork said. "Our report demonstrated that the Public Prosecution Office is very much part of Bahrain's torture problem, with a clear interest in discrediting the defendants' allegations. The Health Ministry doctors, on the other hand, had no identifiable interest in any particular conclusion."
The doctors did state that they could not definitively conclude that torture had caused the injuries they observed, given that months had passed by the time of their examination, but they also stated that the injuries they observed were consistent with the defendants' accounts of torture.
The notion that the Health Ministry doctors observed old wounds is wrong, Human Rights Watch said. The doctors carefully noted that in two cases the injuries they found were old, but those two cases are not among the 17 in which they found scars or bruises consistent with physical abuse.
Human Rights Watch also said that the court's decision to sentence all 19 defendants to three years' imprisonment for killing a police officer appeared to be political. Article 333 of Bahrain's penal code mandates the death penalty for the murder of "a public servant or an officer entrusted with a public service...." The court made no apparent effort to determine which of the individuals were allegedly responsible for the policeman's death, sentencing them all indiscriminately to three years each.
"These three-year sentences make it apparent that the authorities don't actually believe these individuals killed a policeman," Stork said. "This is a transparently political ruling, and indicates Bahrain is still some distance from having an independent judiciary at all levels."http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/04/30/bahrain-court-ruling-disregards-torture-evidenceSubmitted by admin3 on 1. May 2010 - 19:53.
Detainees
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Human Rights Situation in Bahrain

2010-05-02T02:45:00.001+03:00

Tom Lantos Human Rights CommissionHearing on Human Rights Situation in Bahrain
“The Human Rights Situation In Bahrain”
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2200
April 27, 2010, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing to explore the human rights situation in Bahrain. Credible human rights NGOs and the State Department have documented violations of Bahraini constitutional protections, and have expressed concern for women’s rights, trafficking, freedom of speech and religion, domestic violence and discrimination against the Shi’a population and foreign workers’ rights. To discuss these issues, the commission – chaired by
Congressman James McGovern (D-MA) with Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD) in attendance – requested the testimony of five individuals:
Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division;
Stephen McInerney, Director of Advocacy for the Project of Middle East Democracy;
Katie Zoglin, Senior Program Manager of Freedom House’s Middle East and North Africa division;
Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle East Affairs for the Congressional Research Service; and
Mohammed Alansari of the Bahrain Society for Public Freedom.
Congressman McGovern led off with an overview of Bahrain’s uneven progress, often characterized by one step forward, and one (or two) steps back. “It’s a dance that leaves many citizens an foreign workers uncertain and deprived of rights… leaves too many men, women, and children vulnerable to labor and sexual exploitation, trafficking, and slavery.” Congressman Edwards continued that this hearing wasn’t about criticism or placing blame, but rather about figuring out how we can work toward a future where human rights are respected and valued.
Joe Stork
provided the first testimony, and began by noting that the period between 2000 and 2002 saw the “remarkable beginnings of political change and liberalization and reform” after Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa took over as king. State security laws and courts were abolished, and an independent press began to emerge. Some of the reforms have endured, Stork said, which has “quite properly left Bahrain with a favorable reputation as a modernizing state.” But at the same time, “this has meant that the government has gotten something of a free ride” in other areas, and he maintained that it’s important we not lose the momentum from earlier in the decade.
Reflecting upon his recent visit to Bahrain in 2009, Stork said that conversations with former detainees, defense attorneys, journalists, and officials from the ministries of interior and justice indicated that
after nearly a decade of a fairly clean record with regard to prisoner abuse, torture is once again a serious problem. There were two HRW findings: Since the end of 2007, security officials regularly resorted to torture to secure confessions from security suspects; and there’s simultaneously a complete failure to investigate these situations.
“The question is not whether the detainees we interviewed were responsible for criminal activity,” Stork said, “the issue is that torture is prohibited, flat out.” He urged congress to push Bahrain in private meetings to investigate these incidents and prosecute those responsible. However, he did note that there are some positive signs in recent years. “Unlike my previous investigations prior to 1999, some officials did fulfill their responsibility,” he said. For example, government doctors are now able to provide reports corroborating torture and ill treatment, which marks a major improvement.
Next,
Stephen McInerney spoke on the issue of freedoms of association and expression, as well as the forthcoming parliamentary elections later this year. “In general,” he said, “Bahrain is a freer place than it was 10 years ago. Unfortunately, in the past five to six years, we’ve seen regression in a few areas.” An existing press law from 2002 empowers the government to detain journalists for criticizing the government or Islam. All of broadcast media is government-owned and strictly controlled.
Although print media is privately owned, “there are still boundaries that are not exceeded.” Just in the last year, McInerney said, the government has targeted new media and the Internet, giving an order to block certain news websites, blogs, public discussion forums, and some websites that track human rights in Bahrain and elsewhere.
“The government has followed the example of some other regimes,” McInerney said, “taking some steps it touts as reforms, but are actually intended to consolidate control.” One example is the Institute for Political Development, ostensibly established to advance democratic reforms, but in practice an institution meant to consolidate government power. Every organization is required to coordinate activities through the IPD.
Similarly, a 2005 political associations law has in recent years been interpreted more broadly to prohibit foreign organizations from not only funding groups in Bahrain, but also from training or even meeting with them.
With regard to the election, McInerney said that the government seems to be cracking down on the opposition – not because they fear the result of an election, but rather because
they fear that the campaign itself may bring unwated attention to political issues that they would prefer not be discussed in a public sphere.
Katie Zoglin
then shifted the focus to women’s rights, saying that although they have improved, Bahrain still lags far behind the rest of world. “The constitution guarantees a certain degree of equality between men and women, but gender discrimination is still fairly pervasive.” Yet there have been positive legal reforms, such as rescinding the law requiring women to get male approval for a passport. A recently passed “personal status code” also has some positive provisions; women must consent to marriage, must be allowed to include provisions in a marriage contract, and have the right to a separate residence if their husband takes multiple wives.
Zoglin reported that women remain underrepresented in the political realm. But they are doing quite well educationally, making up more than half of Bahrain’s two largest universities. 34 percent of women are also employed, and women can no longer be fired because they get married or become pregnant.
Kenneth Katzman
provided a geopolitical perspective, analyzing Bahrain in terms of its relationships and behavior within the larger region. Part of the underlying unrest, he said, is a lingering government fear that Iran is supporting Bahrain’s Shi’a resistance movement. Bahrain has also been designated as a major U.S. non-NATO ally, which means it is eligible for certain categories of U.S. defense equipment and larger sums of aid. It is heavily reliant upon U.S. support – the implication being that there may be areas where the U.S. can leverage this relationship.
Mohammed Alansari
was the final witness to speak, and began by providing a geographical, social, and historical overview. Unlike the other witnesses, Alansari defended the government as a “straight forward” political regime with strong checks and balances. While tensions do exist, he maintained that they continue because Shi’a and Sunni groups tend to form their own exclusive associations that never have genuine interaction beyond their own narrow vision and mission. Bahrain also has strong constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion, he said, and there is never physical violence or harassment on religious grounds.
Following the witnesses’ testimony, Congressman McGovern asked how the U.S. can play a positive and constructive role. Stark responded that it’s important to maintain consistent messaging in public and private – U.S. officials must make it clear that good relations and enrichment of relations does require some action by Bahraini authorities to address human rights problems like torture and restrictions on human rights associations. “The existing laws are pretty good,” he said, “but there’s an enforcement problem, and no serious prosecutions.” Alansari countered that any direct interference will not be accepted by Bahrainis; instead, the best way to is to encourage dialogue between internal parties. Katzman added that the State Department would probably say that they’re currently doing a lot of this, in the form of MEPI and other programs.
Addressing a question about why NDI representatives were barred from meeting with Bahraini groups, Alansari explained that the government saw this relationship as unacceptable since some of the Bahraini groups were supporting illegal demonstrations that were not officially approved by the government.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights on the Blackberry

2010-05-02T02:26:00.000+03:00

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights announces the launch of the SMS Service for the subscribers of Blackberry, to inform the subscribers of all the latest updates in the Bahraini human rights field in Arabic and English, and especially those that are not published in daily newspapers.
The president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Mr. Nabeel Rajab begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting , "This is a new step among the series of media steps we are taking in order to inform citizens of the latest updates in the human rights field, and in using the latest mechanisms and techniques in broadcasting and promoting the culture of human rights."
To receive the latest updates, for the subscribers of Blackberry to register, please add the following number: BB2212EEF6Submitted by admin3 on 28. April 2010 - 20:04.
BCHR release
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Dealing In Double Standards whilst Fighting Corruption, and Violating Freedom of Opinion and Expression:

2010-05-02T02:21:00.000+03:00

The Bahraini Authorities Ban Publication in the Case of the Minister Accused of Corruption Due to the Possible Involvement of an Official from the Ruling Family
Authority Panels Deliberately gave the Case a Sectarian Scope, and Targeted the Weakest Link to Cover-Up on Major Corruption
18 April 2010
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights express their grave concern towards the Bahraini Authorities persistence in its attempts to violate the right of people in receiving information, especially the information that has a direct influence on the fundamental rights of citizens. This time the matter was represented in the Public Prosecution's decision in banning the publication and circulation of all news, comments and details regarding the case where the State Minister Mansoor bin Rajab is accused in and which is related to money laundering. This ban only took place after the defense lawyer requested the Public Prosecution to summon one of the members of the ruling family to testify in the case.
What is the Truth behind the Dismissed Minister? What is his relation to Opium and the Money Laundering of the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah?
In a case that preoccupied domestic and foreign public opinion, the State Minister Mansoor bin Rajab was arrested on Thursday 18 March, and was later released on his own recognizance after questioning him on the charge of carrying out money laundering inside the country and abroad, as was stated by the Assistant Under-Secretary for the Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Mohammed Rashid Bouhmod[1][1]. From the first moment, several newspapers and local, gulf and international news agencies were quick to publish news and information which it had drawn from Bahraini sources who refused to mention their names that the money concerned is the money of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and is the outcome of smuggling opium[2][2], the same sources mentioned that that money is connected to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Yet, some news, especially in those newspapers with a close relation to the Authority, went as far as indicating that the Minister possesses photos[3][3] of military sites which he intended to hand over to Iran. By following up on the sources of information and panels that initiated publishing and promoting it, it appeared that the information that connected the dismissed Minister and Iran was fabricated and leaked from the Department of Foreign Media at the Ministry of Information and the media team at the Royal Court and National Security Apparatus. The Department of Foreign Media that led the campaign against the State Minister is only affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Information superficially, while it works as part of the National Security Apparatus (NSA). The department was previously headed by the current head of National Security Apparatus Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, while it is now headed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed, the former vice-president of the NSA.
The wording of the news related to that case and the methods of publishing it reflects the approach of the panel in the Authority in giving the case a sectarian scope by linking the accused Minister who belongs to the Shiite sect with Iran. At a time where all members whose names were mentioned in the case were dealt with in absolute confidentiality by only mentioning them through their initials – such as Khalid Rabea was mentioned with the letters K.R – the Minister's full name was published.
While the Public Prosecution did not confirm the minister Bin Rajab's relation with Iran or Hezbollah, it did not deny it either. It however remained quiet and kept it a mystery, which suggested to the local and international public opinion that these claims were true without it being part of the case according to the defense. Whereas the Public Prosecution banned[4][4] the defendant and the defense from proving those allegations false to the public relations or publishing any comments or news in the newspapers, it gave itself the right to release and publish statements. The Public Prosecution issued a decision of banning the circulation of information in the case after the defense of the dismissed Minister filed a request to summon the Minister of National Security, Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa as a witness in the case. Usually, the Bahraini Authorities bans publications in cases that may cause embarrassment or public mayhem, taking advantage of the Bahraini judiciary's lack of independence. For example, in October 2006 the High Criminal Court issued a decision of banning the publication in the scandal that shook the country at that time, and which was named Al-Bandar in attribution to the one who launched it and who was the former government adviser Dr. Salah Al-Bandar, and the ban is still in force until today without any logical reasoning behind it.
Although the case started off with accusations related to the Minister carrying out laundering of drug money of the Iranian Revolutionarily Guard and Hezbollah, and possessing photos of military sites in intent to deliver them to Iran, all that changed now. The course of the case started to incline towards other claims related to corruption, and receiving bribes and inducements and that the isolated Minister is taking advantage of his job, and which is an accusation that is quite different from the first one, in terms of form and content. However this transformation and change in the case was not at first reflected in the media, and the Authority deliberately covered up the updates. The Bahraini Authorities have for years attempted to gain the trust of some of the Western and Israeli powers which in turn have negative relationships with Iran by stirring up the connection between Shiite public movements in Bahrain with Iran. The Bahraini government always attempts to question the loyalty of the Shiite citizens although these accusations are not evident on the ground. This is nevertheless the first time where the matter reaches accusing a Shiite figure who is considered the closest to the King and his family.
Bahrain is not familiar with questioning or prosecuting any of its ministers or officials such as executives which led to classifying it in the international corruption indicators, especially with the involvement of senior officials in extensive corruption schemes, and taking over lands and public funds and impunity, due to being members of the ruling family or those who are close to it. One of the most significant cases that emerged in the recent months is the one related to Alba Company[5][5] and where Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al-Khalifa – the Prime Minister's adviser – was mentioned and who was accused of receiving bribes over the years that amount to two billion dollars – the sum of money that is equivalent to the state budget for a full year. Although the case of Alba's corruption exceeds the magnitude of the case of the minister Mansoor bin Rajab, Sheikh Isa Al-Khalifa still holds his position in the government as a minister until this moment, and he was not questioned or brought to trial in contradiction to what happened to the dismissed Minister, Mansoor bin Rajab. The Council of Representatives lately disclosed one of the largest corruption schemes[6][6] and taking over lands in Bahrain of a value of approximately 40 billions dollars. No governmental, parliamentary or judiciary institute did anything to discuss any judicial prosecution in those cases, and especially because the main collaborator in it is the Royal Court and the principal beneficiaries are the senior officials from the ruling family. Therefore, it seems that targeting the minister Mansoor bin Rajab is to target the weakest link in the chain of corruption which drains lands and public funds, in aim of convincing the public opinion of the sincerity of fighting corruption and to cover up and to divert the attention from the major corruption schemes.
Based on the above, and at a time where the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights welcomes any step towards eliminating corruption and fighting against illegal money laundering, especially amongst the officials and executives in the state, including the interrogation taking place in the case of the dismissed minister Mansoor bin Rajab, they alongside request:
1. Immediately lifting the ban from circulating news related to the case of the dismissed Minister, considering it a case of public opinion that concerns each citizen, and to stop violating human rights in obtaining information and news related to the fundamental rights, where the second paragraph of Article 19 from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."
2. Guarantee the integrity and independency of the Public Prosecution and Judiciary, and to lift the ban from the accused Minister and his defense team, and not to violate their right to defend themselves, and to express their opinions in media. The second paragraph of Article 14 from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states, "Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law."
3. Stop dealing in double standards in the cases of corruption, and to work on proving the seriousness and credibility in the campaign against corruption in prosecuting the senior officials involved in taking over public lands, which was revealed in the last report by the Council of Representatives, and the officials involved in the bribe cases that amount to billions of dollars. Any negligence to those cases will prejudice the credibility of the Authority in any campaign it launches against corruption, and it will yet send a clear message that the Authority is only targeting the weakest links of officials as scapegoats each time it is being criticized or accused of corruption.
4. The efforts of the civil society institutions, figures and media should be intensified to defend the interests and rights of people in relation to revealing crimes of corruption and prosecuting the collaborators even if they were senior officials. Inaction towards this or concealing any information related to crimes of theft and corruption under any justification is a direct collaboration in those crimes.
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[1][1] Elaph http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2010/3/544286.html
[2][2] Al-Arabiya http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/03/22/103727.html
[3][3] Al-Bilad http://www.albiladpress.com/news_inner.php?nid=70904&cat=1
[4][4] Al-Waqt http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=203902
[5][5] The One-Eyed War Against Corruption http://www.bahrainrights.org/ar/node/3018
[6][6] The attempt of concealing the largest theft and corruption scheme in the history of Bahrain http://www.aljazeeratalk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=235911Submitted by admin3 on 25. April 2010 - 19:27.
BCHR release
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Collective Punishments against the Villages and Harassments against its People

2010-05-02T02:04:00.000+03:00

15 April 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is following up with great concern the deterioration happening on the security level and the severe escalation in the violations of human rights, during the continuous confrontations and public protests raging in the Bahraini villages and areas, and especially those villages where people from the Shiite sect are residing. The Special Forces continued to raid them and target anyone walking in those villages such as residents and then attacking them by beating them or abusing them and cursing them and insulting their religious beliefs. This is the means used by the Bahraini Authorities in their collective punishments against some villages that are protesting against its policy.

Abusing the Innocent
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights has recently received some complaints from many victims of this policy. On Friday 12 March 2010, Hussein Ali Abdullah (20 years old) and Sayed Mohammed Saeed Hashim (19 years old) and Ali Isa Ali (19 years old)[i][i] were leaving the village of Samaheej – south of Bahrain’s International Airport – with their car when one of the Special Forces cars stopped them and forced them to follow it inside the neighbouring village of Der. As soon as they reached the desired area, they were taken out of the car and surrounded with a group of cars all from the same Forces, and then they started beating them with rods, and kicking and punching them. Individuals from the civil militias also took part in beating them under the command of person whose co-workers were calling ‘Khalid Mardhi’. The victims were beaten all over their body and their bodies were stepped on after they collapsed to the ground due to the continuous beating, they were also forced to curse and insult some religious and political figures, and to say hurtful and indecent words against members of their families and their Shiite beliefs. They would add to the beating each time they refused to repeat those phrases and insults they were asked to repeat. After four hours of beating and harassment, they were released with the threat of not revealing what they were subjected to or attempting to pass through the same route they passed through again.
Background of the Status Quo
Some Bahraini villages and areas are surrounded with Special Forces for several months, and these Forces are backed up by civil militias. These Forces and the militias that are affiliated with them are made up of foreign individuals brought by the security apparatuses as mercenary forces from some of the tribes in Syria, Jordan and Yemen and from Baluchistan in Pakistan as well. These Forces and the militias affiliated with them raid the residents of the Shiite villages and harass them on a regular basis. It is believed that targeting villages on an organized daily basis by using foreign mercenaries from a Sunni sect background aims at creating a rift between the people of the country from both sects and to deepen the sectarian differences and tensions. This policy, however, was met with complete rejection from the country’s people from both sects.
Some villages and areas of Bahrain are witnessing the signs of a public uprising due to the Authority’s policy in sectarian discrimination against the people of the Shiite sect, and whose speed and method has increased since the current King of the country came to power, and the political naturalization to change the demography and the continuous arrests of the people of these villages, and the institutionalized torture in the Bahraini prisons, and marginalizing the legislative and regulatory role of the Parliament as an institution where a lot of hope was put on it for solving the majority of the outstanding issues and those causing tension.
BCHR Recommendations
To stop bringing, training and using foreign mercenaries to solve internal the problemsTo bring the abusers to court and to punish those proven to be guilty and to redress the victims and the targeted villagesTo stop pursuing the policy of the collective punishment and harassing the people of the villages that witness the public protestsTo start a serious and sincere political reform process to solve the outstanding issues
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[i][i] http://www.alwasatnews.com/2746/news/read/381792/1.htmlSubmitted by admin3 on 15. April 2010 - 5:42.
Attacks on activists
BCHR release
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Bahrain's torture problem

2010-04-10T23:45:00.000+03:00

Bahrain's torture problemby Joe Stork

Published in: Foreign Policy.March 31, 2010ذات صلة : Torture Redux.Human Rights Watch held a news conference in Barhain in February to release a report on torture that I helped to research and write. Such an event publicizing serious human rights abuse in the Kingdom would not have been possible 10 or 15 years ago, a testament to the durability of some reforms and to persistent Bahraini human rights activism. In our investigations, we found solid evidence that torture, for the purpose of securing confessions, is back in the repertoire of Bahrain's General Directorate of Criminal Investigations. By all accounts, Bahrain had successfully ended the use of torture for a good part of the last decade.
It is therefore distressing that the government has refused to investigate, much less take action on, these documented abuses.
Bahrain is one of those Arab countries, like Morocco and Jordan, where son succeeded father to the throne a decade or more ago and ushered in reforms along with promises of full respect for fundamental human rights. All three of these "reforming monarchies" have demonstrated real limits to their reforming zeal, though, in basic areas like eliminating torture and ill-treatment of security suspects.
Our evidence in the Bahrain case, in addition to the consistency of the victim testimonies we took, consisted of court documents and reports of government medical examiners that consistently cited evidence of injuries consistent with the allegations of former detainees that they were suspended in painful positions and beaten. Many former detainees also alleged they had been subjected to electric shock devices. These findings as well as other human rights violations have also been documented in the State Department's 2009 Human Rights Report on Bahrain.
In a meeting shortly before our news conference, Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the minister of interior, told me that the ministry investigates all allegations of abuse, and would do so again. But neither his ministry nor the Ministry of Justice responded to our requests months ago for information about any investigations of torture allegations, and to date no officials have been able to cite a single such investigation.
After our report appeared, Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa issued a statement saying that the government would examine the allegations and take "necessary actions" if violations were found. But the interior ministry's public statement flatly denied that any torture happened, and contended that such allegations were politically motivated, despite the abundant evidence presented in the report.
Because we were able to research and write the report at all, and to have discussions about it with government officials, I would dispute any claim that Bahrain has gone back to the "bad old days," when criticism of the government would get you fired from your job (if you were lucky enough to have one) and a lengthy jail term after an unfair trial in a State Security Court. Bahrain's State Security Courts are thankfully now history, and the margin for free expression, while not great, is better than it had been. But torture? Why is this terrible scourge once again a problem in Bahrain?
The abject failure of Bahraini authorities so far to investigate these allegations goes to the heart of why torture has once again raised its ugly head. For many decades, Bahrain had a deserved reputation as a country that systematically practiced torture. By 2005, the country could fairly claim to the UN Committee Against Torture that torture no longer occurred there. These were years of relative political calm. But starting in 2007, street protests over alleged discrimination against the majority Shia community became more frequent, and often deteriorated into clashes with security forces.
This was when we started hear, with disturbing regularity, allegations of systematic abuse. Some prosecutors referred those making these complaints to medical examinations by government doctors affiliated with the Public Prosecution Office. Other prosecutors, though, were consistently derelict in meeting their responsibility under Bahraini law to make such referrals.
And to our knowledge, in no case did the Attorney General, as head of the Public Prosecution Office, meet his responsibility under the law to conduct a criminal investigation into the allegations. In the face of persisting impunity for serious abuses, those abuses continue.
In my meeting with Shaikh Rashid, the minister of interior, he stressed the need for discipline in society, referring to the obligation of law enforcement officials to protect lives and property in the face of street unrest. I replied that I completely agreed, and that the absence of discipline and accountability underlies the revival of torture as security officials resort to earlier tactics for securing confessions at any cost.
This is what has to change, and the change has to come from the top.
American silence on the subject thus far, at least in public, makes such a needed change less likely, to the detriment of Bahraini citizens, global norms against torture, and American credibility as an advocate of human rights.
Joe Stork is the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.

Security Attempts to Drain the Medical and Nursing Humane Profession from its Ethics

2010-03-24T21:52:00.000+03:00

Arrest of a Unionist and an X-ray Specialist for their Treatment of the Person Wounded with Shotgun Bullets without Security Consent
19 March 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its great concern for the serious escalation approached by the Bahraini authorities in dealing with the public protests witnessed in the villages and areas of Bahrain, in protest against the violations practiced by the Authority through the Special Forces' use of live ammunition against the protestors in these peaceful demonstrations, as well as arresting two nurses; one who is a human rights defeder, due to their contribution in treating one of the victims of these public protests.
On 14 March 2010, the Special Forces (forces made up of foreign mercenaries) suppressed one of the protests in the village of Karzakan by using live ammo and fission bullets known locally as the shotgun bullet – and which is usually used to hunt birds and small animals – and one of the victims of these protests was the young Hussein Al-Sahlawi, 25 years old, who was shot several times at a close distance when he was leaving his grandfather's house in the village of Karzakan – which left almost 70 splinters all over his body. Due to his poor condition and the many scattered wounds and his continuous bleeding due to those splinters, he turned to the house of the known unionist and vice-president of the Nursing Society Ibrahim Al-Dimistani, and who carried out an initial treatment and stopped the bleeding, and who told him to immediately head to the hospital to have the tests, necessary x-ray and required treatment taken, and this led to the arrest of Al-Dimistani and the x-ray specialist in Salmaniya Hospital Abdul-aziz Shabeeb on charges relating to nursing and hospitalizing an injured in security cases without a prior consent or informing the Ministry of Interior.
In a statement made by the General Director of the Police Directorate of the Northern Governorate on 15 March 2010, he admitted using live ammo by the Special Forces to suppress the protests, he even added that the people who break the administrative custom procedures when entering a patient and treating him in the hospital will be questioned, emphasizing that covering up for a wanted person is considered a crime. However, the injured person was not wanted for any security or judicial body when he turned for treatment; all the charges against him later were related to assembling and do not require such a violent reaction or firing shots at him. Instead of the security apparatuses being questioned for the crime of using live ammo against peaceful and innocent individuals, the accusation, conviction or questioning is pointed at the people who carried out their human obligation with ethical proficiency and professionalism required by their profession.
Individuals from the Bahrain Human Rights Society attempted to visit the injured; however they prevented them from doing so. Worthy of mentioning, the local hospitals have orders of the necessity of informing the security apparatuses before initiating any treatment in protest demonstrations, which is contrary to the requirement of their humane career. Due to the state of fear felt by the victims of violations practiced by the Special Forces, the majority of victims of those demonstrations and protests do not go to hospitals to receive the right treatment, and only satisfy themselves with house treatments or some folk remedies, which poses significant risk on their health condition.
The unionist, Al-Dimistani, is considered one of the known human rights defender of the rights of the nursing career in the country. He was previously brought forth for investigation in past periods due to his activity in the Bahrain Nursing Society and his hard work towards improving the conditions of nurses. He has also been harassed due to his union work, where the Public Prosecution had charged him with libel and insult of officials in the Ministry of Health, and he was released with ensuring the place of his residence until the court acquitted him from this charge later. The Ministry of Social Development dissolved the administrative board of the Nursing Society which he is active in, and appointed a president by the Ministry. However, the general assembly of the Nursing Society refused the decision and fired the president appointed by the Ministry. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights believes that the arrest of Al-Dimistani in this incident comes first among the sequential attempts to restrict him and his activity as a known unionist and to stop his work in the Society and to silence another voice of a known defender for human rights. Secondly, the aim of the arrest of his colleague and him is to threat and intimidate all the doctors and nurses from carrying out their humane role in nursing all the victims away from their political, ethnic, sectarian and religious background without turning to any security or intelligence apparatuses to take permission from them, because that does not fall into the range of the profession of doctors and nurses. The BCHR believes that this security scare against treating the victims and pressurizing the doctors and nurses to report them is a means of transform this humane career practiced by doctors and nurses to security men and informers of security state apparatuses and which is completely contradictory to this humanitarian profession and its ethics.
The villages and areas of Bahrain are witnessing escalating public protests similar to a public uprising due to the Authority's policy in the continuous arbitrary arrests; torture practiced in prisons; political naturalization to change the demographics; systematic discrimination against the Shiite; bringing mercenary individuals and recruiting them to raid the Bahraini Shiite villages; the increasing level of poverty; rampant corruption among government; the Authority entering as a party in instigating disputes between the Shiite and Sunni; marginalizing the role of the Parliament and further humiliating the loyal representatives of the people in it. Instead of it changing its policy in reforming those outstanding issues that are causing this crisis.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the following:
1. To immediately release the unionist and human rights activists Ibrahim Al-Dimistani and his colleague the x-ray specialist Mr. Abdul-aziz Shabeeb;
2. to provide all the required medical care to citizen victims of violations away from the prior security consents, and to maintain all the professional and humanitarian standards, and not to bow to any security pressures that could make this profession loose its humanity and ethics;
3. to lift the ban of visiting the victims in the hospital immediately;
4. to stop using firearms and fission bullets to suppress the peaceful protests;
5. to initiate a serious dialogue with the pillars of society and to seriously look into the causes leading to the youth's participation in those demonstrations instead of the security solutions.

The news piece about the arrest of Aziz Shabeeb http://www.alwasatnews.com/2750/news/read/382549/1.htmlStatement of the Ministry of Interior on the Suppressing the protests in the village of Karzakan http://www.alayam.com/Articles.aspx?aid=10474http://www.alwasatnews.com/2170/news/read/162480/1.htmlhttp://www.alwasatnews.com/2170/news/read/162480/1.htmlSubmitted by admin3 on 24. March 2010 - 0:00.
Attacks on activists
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In a Violation to Freedom of Opinion and Expression – A Threat to the Largest Political Society in Bahrain

2010-03-03T22:51:00.001+03:00

In a Violation to Freedom of Opinion and Expression – A Threat to the Largest Political Society in BahrainFor its Demand to Guarantee the Rights of Citizens in Choosing their Government and Equal Access to Public Office
February 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its great concern regarding the increasingly deteriorating situation of freedom of opinion and expression in Bahrain, represented this time in the attack and constant threats of senior government officials, on top of them the Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Minister of Justice – who are all from the King's family – against the Wefaq Political Opposition Society which is considered the largest political society in the country, and which has 17 of a total of 40 MPs, due to the statement of its Secretary-General, Sheikh Ali Salman, and his demand in the latest General Assembly of the Society of the necessity of the circulation of power and to put an end to the privileges enjoyed by the members of the King's family in the senior positions in the country. This case clearly reveals the Bahraini citizens deprivation of their right to form their government, and the discrimination between the citizens in holding public posts, and utilizing the Bahraini authorities for the political society's law in limiting freedom of opinion and expression, and restricting peaceful political activity. The BCHR had been subjected to a similar campaign in 2003 by senior governing officials and was threatened with closure due to publishing a documented report about more than 100 individuals from the King's family holding the most important political, military, security, judicial and financial posts in the country, and which demanded to put an end to the privileges enjoyed by the members of the King's family, and the sectarian discrimination in holding senior posts in the State.
Sheikh Ali Salman – Secretary-General of Wefaq Society – had spoke of in his speech he gave in the conference of the Society, held on 18th and 19th February 2010, of the necessity of reforming the political regime in Bahrain in order to reach an actual constitutional monarchy where the King is for the current ruling family – Al-Khalifa – and where the governance is for the people, by forming an elected government and having a peaceful circulation of the executive power, while stressing the importance of choosing a prime minister that does not necessarily belong to the ruling family, and is from the people. It also addresses discrimination practiced by the state institutions and which is evident in monopolizing the presidency of ministries, and the presidency of the large bodies and corporations for the benefit of the members of the ruling family. It also indicated the necessity of the presence of a modern constitution that legislates an actual separation of powers by means of free and integral elections and evenhanded distribution of electoral districts.
The Council of Ministers suggested its intention of using the political society's law – which the Wefaq Society is subjected to – to legally pursue the Society. The Council of Ministers and the Shura Council – appointed by the King – and some MPs, newspapers and article writers affiliated with the Authority condemned what was said in the speech of the Secretary-General of the Islamic National Accord Association (Wefaq), Sheikh Ali Salman, in the general conference of the Society without referring to its content. This intensified campaign was coincided with threats by the Minister of Justice to pursue the Society; and the Minister of Culture and Information, Sheikha Mai Al-Khalifa, member of the ruling family, contacted the editors of newspapers and some correspondents of news agencies and asked them not to publish any responds of Wefaq Society to this continuous campaign against it, so there does not seem to be any disagreement or conflict between Wefaq Society which represents 62% of the electoral bloc on one hand and the King and his family on the other hand.
This process of restriction happens despite the fact that the Islamic National Accord Association (Wefaq) had received overwhelming support in the results of the 2006 elections, representing the largest parliamentary bloc, made up of 17 MP who represent 62% of the elector's votes – in the Bahraini Council of Representatives, after the Society accepted to enter the political process in October 2005 by reregistering the Society under the umbrella of the Society's law, which led to a split in the Society at that time. However, all that was no excuse for the Authority who is still indulged in humiliating and pursuing its members and ruining the reputation and challenging its movements, and stigmatizing it as sectarian through the media which it controls. On 30 March 2004, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs threatened to close down the Society if it continues in its campaign in demanding constitutional reform, and in the subsequent month, several members of the Society were arrested for initiating a petition for the same abovementioned aim. During 2008, two of the Society's representatives in the Council of Representatives were subjected to the threat of imprisonment by the Minister of Interior – who is a member of the ruling family – due to their participation in the conference against discrimination in Geneva and a press conference in the U.S Congress in Washington D.C. Some of the Society's members, every now and then, are also subjected to being banned from entering neighbouring countries, which is stirred by the Bahraini Security Apparatuses.
The BCHR believes that the attack faced by Wefaq and the supporting societies as a national action society, in addition to preventing local newspapers from publishing statements issued by political societies opposing the Authority, reflects the restlessness of the Authority and its inability to receive criticism which is also a clear violation of Article (19) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – endorsed by Bahrain – which recommends, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice." Stressing the importance of the government's adherence to the international covenants it endorsed in the field of human rights.
Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the Bahraini Authorities:
1. To put an end to the attack against Al Wefaq and the supporting societies, and to allow freedom of opinion and expression as a fundamental right of human rights to individuals and groups;
2. To abolish the restricted political society's law and to launch the freedom of political party work as a prerequisite to political rights work, as mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
3. To guarantee the rights of citizens in choosing their government, and to guarantee the equal access to public office as stated in the international covenants adhere to by Bahrain.Submitted by admin3 on 2. March 2010 - 17:05.
BCHR release
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Authorities suspend permits of two foreign correspondents

2010-03-03T22:46:00.000+03:00

25 February 2010AlertAuthorities suspend permits of two foreign correspondents
(BCHR/IFEX) - The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its great concern regarding the persistance of the authorities in their campaign to restrict journalists and correspondents of the foreign press and international news agencies. The Bahraini authorities recently suspended the activity of correspondents from certain French and German news agencies.
A news piece published by one of the daily newspapers stated that officials from the Department of Foreign Media at the Bahraini Ministry of Culture and Information held individual meetings on 29 January 2010 with a correspondent of the French news agency, Mr. Mohammed Fadhel, and a correspondent of the German news agency, Mr. Mazin Mahdi, to verbally notify them of the decision to suspend their engagement in the activities represented in providing the abovementioned news agencies with local news related to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The correspondents were not given a formal letter regarding this decision or the reasons behind it.
Government sources that refused to be named informed the BCHR that the reason behind the ban is that both journalists cited a news piece that Bahraini citizens were sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of weapon possession, joining Al-Qaeda and plotting to attack the U.S base in Bahrain.
The Department of Foreign Media of the Ministry of Culture and Information had earlier issued strict verbal instructions for all the correspondents of the foreign press and news agencies to not address any news related to Al-Qaeda or any groups allied with them in Bahrain, but it seems that those instructions did not reach these journalists. The BCHR learned later that the journalists were permitted to engage in their work after publishing the news of their suspension in one of the local newspapers.
The Department of Foreign Media follows the Ministry of Culture and Information administratively, however it overlaps and is linked with the National Security Apparatus (Intelligence) in terms of functions entrusted to it, and it is the organization that issues approvals to the correspondents of foreign press and news agencies. It is currently headed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, the former vice-president of the National Security Apparatus, and it was previously headed by the current president of the same Apparatus, Sheikh Khalifa Abdullah Al-Khalifa, and they are both members of the ruling family.
This department exercised a lot of pressure in the last few years on correspondents of the foreign press and news agencies. They refrained from issuing permits to some of them, and attempted to impose correspondents, who are closely associated with the authorities on some foreign channels and international news agencies. It has become rather difficult for any reporter to keep his or her job without having the satisfaction of the authorities.
These restrictive approaches of the government of Bahrain contradict its position as a member in the Human Rights Council and as party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 19 of the UDHR, which states, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."
Based on the above, the BCHR demands that the Bahraini authorities do the following:
- Allow journalists, correspondents and reporters to engage in their activities freely without, obstructions or restrictions;
- Separate the Ministry of Information from the security apparatuses and allow the foreign press and news agencies to choose their correspondents freely without imposing anyone on them;
- Stop using permits as a way to make journalists and correspondents adjust or submit to pressure.
SourceBahrain Center for Human RightsManamaBahraininfo (@) bahrainrights.orgPhone: +97 33 9633399Fax: +97 31 7795170 Submitted by admin3 on 28. February 2010 - 5:29.
Freedom of expression
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Slandering media campaign launched against Messrs. Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar - BHR

2010-03-03T22:43:00.000+03:00

18 February 2010The Observatory has been informed by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) about the slandering media campaign launched against Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Mr. Mohamed Al-Maskati, BYSHR President, and Mr. Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar, Spokesperson of the National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture (NCMVT).The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Bahrain.
According to the information received, on February 16, 2010, Mr. Faisal Fulath, member of the Shura Council, Mr. Adel Al Mghwdah, member of the Parliament, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Shooruqi, broadcaster, accused the three human rights defenders in a live program on the Bahrain Radio Station of having links with foreign governments, of having committed acts of violence using Molotov cocktails as well as of betraying the country. They also accused them of inciting young people to violence against the State, and defaming the State before international organisations.
These false statements concerning the three human rights defenders were also published in a series of articles in the local on-line newspapers The Gulf News (http://www.akhbar-alkhaleej.com), Al-Watan News (http://www.alwatannews.net) and Bahrain Voice (http://www.moltaqabh.org/vb/) since February 9, 2010.
This defamation campaign started after Human Rights Watch (HRW) has launched a report on Torture in Bahrain entitled Torture Redux on February 8, 2010, which contains testimonies of recent victims, among them human rights defenders and political activists. In the report, HRW expressed its thanks to the several human rights defenders who assisted in the preparation of the report including Messrs. Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar.
The Observatory condemns this media slandering campaign and considers that the above-mentioned statements manifestly aim at discrediting Messrs. Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar’s human rights activities. In particular, the Observatory is deeply concerned that such statements are fuelling, among the public opinion, a feeling of hostility against human rights defenders and organisations working on denouncing human rights violations.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Bahrain urging them to :
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar and all human rights defenders in Bahrain ;
ii. Put an end to all acts harassment against Messrs. Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar as well as all human rights defenders in Bahrain ;
iii. Order an immediate, effective, thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned campaign and identify all those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular its Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, Article 11, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession”, Article 12(1) that provides “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Bahrain.
Addresses :
· Cheikh Hamad bin Issa AL KHALIFA, King of Bahrain, Fax : +973 176 64 587
· Cheikh Khaled Bin Ahmad AL KHALIFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tel : +973 172 27 555 ; fax : +973 172 12 6032
· Cheikh Khalid bin Ali AL KHALIFA, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Tel : +973 175 31 333 ; fax : +973 175 31 284
· Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations in Geneva, 1 chemin Jacques-Attenville, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, CP 39, 1292 Chambésy, Switzerland. Fax : + 41 22 758 96 50. Email : info@bahrain-mission.ch Submitted by admin3 on 21. February 2010 - 10:57.
Attacks on activists
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Increasing Alleges of Torture against the Detainees on Criminal Charges

2010-03-03T22:41:00.000+03:00

Increasing Alleges of Torture against the Detainees on Criminal Charges
February 2010The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is following up with great concern the continuing systematic torture crimes targeted the detainees and those arrested for criminal charges or those detained for the constant protests against the deteriorating political and economic status. While the Human Rights Watch was releasing its report on the return of torture in Bahrain, the officers and officials in the Criminal Investigations Department were subjecting more victims to systematic torture.
The citizen (A.H.) filed a complaint to the BCHR, alleging that he was subjected to severe torture by the officers at the Criminal Investigations Department at Adlyia. Mr. (A.H.) spoke to the BCHR, and after four days of releasing the Human Rights Watch report, about his suffering which lasted for almost four days, where he was arrested while heading back to his residence, and as soon as he descended from his vehicle he was taken aback by several people surrounding him to arrest him for criminal charges.

Torture Scars on the Victim's Feet Due Tying his Feet
He was taken to the Criminal Investigations Bureau, and which is the place he claimed to be tortured and severely beaten in. On the next day of being arrested, he was held in custody for long hours, then he was returned to the office where his feet and hands were tied together in a sitting position, then a rod was inserted between them and then he was hung up in the "Falqa" way, and which is one of the infamous ways of torture of the security apparatuses in Bahrain, and then they beat him with a plastic hose on the sole of his feet until his feet blackened and got swollen. They then brought an arm length black device with two prominent indicators in the front, which was used to stun the victim with electricity several times, until he fell to the floor from exhaustion, however his torturers continued to beat and kick him and stun him in all parts of his body to force him to stand up again. There were clear and visible marks and bruises of torture on different parts of his body backed up with three medical reports from various sources which he had carried with him to prove the wounds and bruises he suffered from in different parts of his body[ ]. The victim claims that the torture he was subjected to was under the direct supervision of two people and they are Lieutenant Ali and Lieutenant Fahad Al-Fadhala[ ].

Copy of the Medical Report from the Police Station Clarifying the Effects of Bruising and Wounds in Different Parts of his Body
The prisoners and detainees on criminal charges are usually met with torture whose severity exceeds the magnitude of torture subjected by the regular detainees, their torturers are even creative in hurting them because of their confidence in that the members of society and civil society institutions do not usually sympathize with detainees pending on criminal cases, and also because those victims or the members of their families are usually reluctant in filing complaints against the torturers to the human rights institutions so as not to embarrass themselves due to the charges against them. In mysterious circumstances, several detainees on criminal and other charges have died in the Bahraini investigation cells in the last months and years[ ]. Each case of death had an explanation by the security authorities; however the BCHR believes hat some of those victims died as a result of severe torture or ill-treatment that was practiced against them while they were held in custody.
The BCHR fears that the systematic torture has become a reality that many detainees on criminal charges are suffering from, and the most recent of them is what was indicated recently by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights about one of the Saudi citizens being subjected to torture in Bahrain[ ].
Nabeel Rajab, President of the BCHR, stated, "The prisoners and detainees on criminal charges or the convicted ones are human beings just like us, they are entitled to their full Human rights like other human beings, and they must be treated on this bases, and their humanity must be respected, abusing or torturing them is a crime against humanity punished by law, the perpetrators of those crimes must be pursued and presented to justice", adding, "If the human rights institutions had not addressed those victims in the previous era due to the abovementioned reasons, this situation should not last long, and the BCHR will soon instigate a monitoring process of what the criminal detainees are subjected to, and it will work on pursuing and exposing the perpetrators of torture against them and will present them to justice.
Bahrain is a State Party to three treaties that prohibit torture and cruel treatment, and they are: The Convention against Torture, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and The Arab Charter of Human Rights. Torture is also banned by the Bahraini Constitution and the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure which altogether prohibit the use of torture or any other act that violates human dignity, however all these charters, and covenants, constitutional and legal articles were not a deterrent for the criminals of torture as they remained a dead letter far from being applied.
The BCHR demands the government of Bahrain to:
 Stop the systematic torture against all prisoners immediately.
 Arrest and trial the ones responsible, and pursue the ones involved in torture crimes, on top of them those whose names were mentioned in the Human Rights Watch Report, and the rest of the reports issued by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
 The government of Bahrain to adhere to the international commitments, treaties and recommendations which it signed, and among them the recommendations issued by the Committee against Torture of the UN.
_____________________________________________________[ ] Attached: The medical report of the police hospital as well as one of the public health centers, and Salmanyia Medical Hospital.
[ ] Fahad Al-Fadhala is considered one of the known members in the security apparatuses and who was indicated in the report "Torture Resurrected" by the Human Rights Watch.
[ ] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeFTWVY0p3U
Al-Waqt Newspaper http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=17734
Al-Waqt Newspaper http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=181511
Al-Wasat Newspaper http://www.alwasatnews.com/2534/news/read/227845/1.html
[ ] Refer to the link of the torture case of the Saudi citizen documented by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights http://www.anhri.net/bahrain/byshr/2010/pr0212.shtmlSubmitted by admin3 on 21. February 2010 - 10:15.
BCHR report
Torture in Bahrain
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