Journalists in Bahrain: The Murder of Free Speech and the Siege of Freedom

More than 68 journalists have been subjected to lay-off, arrest and threats because of their work Bahraini journalists call for a helping hand and for the adoption of measures to insure their safety. – 3 May 2011

Since the 14th of February 2011, Bahrain has seen a political movement demanding freedom, democracy, and the revival of communal partnership in the framework of the civil movements seeking freedom which are currently overrunning Arab countries. This was followed by brutal security crackdowns and the entry of the Peninsula Shield forces (Military units of 6 Gulf countries) into Bahrain. Journalists engaged in this event with daily coverage through both their jobs at local newspapers, through their announcements on satellite television stations, by writing to Arabic newspapers in the framework of their presence at the site of action, and via effective action through online social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter. Because of that, journalists have been subjected to a campaign of lay-offs and collective arrests affecting more than 68 journalists, while many have received different threats originating from the Bahraini authorities, its associated organizations, and affiliated parties. The online activist Zakariya Al Aushayri has been killed in detention and Reporters without Borders have released an official statement demanding an investigation into the incident, indeed the reporters Faisal Hayyat, Hayder Mohammad, Ali Jawad, and other bloggers and e-activist have been arrested. Warrants have been issued for others as well, causing some to leave Bahrain, in fear of their personal safety. …more

Bahrain doctors to be tried for helping protesters
Tuesday, May 3, 2011, in Isa Town, Bahrain. — PHOTO: AP

MANAMA – BAHRAIN’S justice minister says several doctors and nurses who treated injured anti-government protesters during months of unrest in the Gulf kingdom will be tried in a military court. Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa says 23 doctors and 24 nurses face several protest-related charges, including participating in attempts to topple the Sunni monarchy.

He listed the charges at a press conference in the capital Manama on Tuesday. Dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical staff have been in custody since March, when the king declared martial law to crush Shiite dissent. International rights groups say Bahrain is targeting medical professionals who treated injured demonstrators at the Salmaniya medical center, which was later overrun by the military. — AP

List of Charges
by Bahrain Youth society for Human Rights

Defendants:

24 Doctors.
23 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 other.
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. Accused of inciting hatred against the governing regime.
10.Promoting sectarian hate.
11.Spreading false news and rumours that harm the public interest.
12.Participating in unlicensed protests and rallies.

…source

The Bahraini government has arrested two prominent politicians belonging to the mainly Shia opposition Al Wefaq party, Al Jazeera has learnt. Both Jawad Ferooz, the vice-president of the party, and Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, who recently resigned as a member of parliament, were detained on Monday evening, sources said.

The arrests came a day after Mattar spoke to Al Jazeera about the threats to opposition politicians, as well as the presence, if any, of a sectarian divide amongst protesters. “As an example of the threats … a brother of a member of parliament had been killed in custody, and also some of the activists in Wefaq, they already started to attack them, and to arrest them. In fact, yes they didn’t close Al Wefaq, but Al Wefaq is a vacuum currently,” he said.

“It is difficult for us to move and to communicate with people. [There is] no space any more for political movement, and political activities that we can do. No space for movement and freedom of speech and the basic humanitarian issues, such as medical services.” Mattar told Al Jazeera that Sunnis and Shias alike had been arrested, which indicated that there was not a strong sectarian divide amongst anti-government protesters. …more

HRW says Bahrain should set aside death sentences
02 May 2011, Monday / AP, DUBAI

Bahrain should set aside death sentences that a military court passed on four men over the killing of two policemen during anti-government protests, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. HRW also urged the kingdom to set aside the convictions of three men sentenced to life in prison for their alleged involvement in the killings in March. It argued the accused were kept from meeting lawyers and defending themselves.

“By establishing these special courts, the government of Bahrain is making it near impossible for defendants to enjoy the rights to which they are entitled,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at the rights group. The verdicts came amid heightened antagonism between Bahrain’s Shi’ite Muslim majority and its Sunni ruling family after Bahrain crushed anti-government protests in March with military help from fellow Sunni-led Gulf Arab neighbours.

“The role of the military prosecutor, the makeup of the special court, and the meager access to legal representation undermine the most basic due process protections,” Stork said. HRW said the trial and sentencing of the seven defendants, aged 19 to 24, lasted less than two weeks. They were the first civilians convicted in special military courts set up after the declaration of martial law on March 15.

It was only the third time in more than three decades that a death sentence had been issued against citizens of Bahrain, a U.S. ally which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. …source

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, May 2nd, 2011 — 7:55 pm

PARIS — Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) added Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa to its latest blacklist of “predators” against press freedom on Tuesday.

The king entered the watchdog’s list of 38 state “predators” that “sow terror among journalists”, which included three Arab countries hit by recent protests — Syria, Bahrain, Yemen — and Libya, where conflict has broken out.

RSF said journalists were killed in each of these countries, citing cases including that of Karim Fakhrawi, a Bahraini journalist close to the opposition, who died in detention.

Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia were no longer on this list after they were driven from power in revolutions this year.

The watchdog said crackdowns were under way by authorities in countries including China that fear “contagion” from the wave of pro-democracy protests in the Arab world.

The list also includes warlords and armed entities such as the Israeli armed forces, the forces of Hamas in Gaza and the Basque armed group ETA. …source

UAE: Civil Society Crackdown Widens
Government Takes Over a Second Group’s Board
May 3, 2011

(London) – The United Arab Emirates expanded its crackdown on civil society on May 2, 2011, by dissolving the elected board of directors of the Teachers’ Association, Human Rights Watch said today. This was the second prominent civil society organization to face a hostile government takeover in less than two weeks.

“This attack on civil society is further proof that those in power in the UAE see anyone calling for reform as fair game,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “UAE authorities should immediately stop their hostile takeover of civil society and free the peaceful democracy activists.”

The decree, signed by Social Affairs Minister Mariam Mohammed Khalfan Al Roumi, dismissed the Teachers’ Association’s board and replaced its members with state appointees. The minister issued a similar decree issued on April 21, dissolving the board of the Jurist Association. On April 6, both associations, along with two other nongovernmental organizations, co-signed a public appeal calling for greater democracy in the country. Since April 8, the UAE has also detained at least five prominent democracy activists.

According to the decree, the Teachers’ Association violated section 16 of the UAE’s 2008 Law on Associations, which prohibits nongovernmental organizations and their members from interfering “in politics or in matters that impair state security and its ruling regime.” The ministerial decree against the Jurist Association cited the same infraction. The Law on Associations tightly controls nongovernmental organizations permitted to operate in the UAE. The Teachers’ Association was established in 1980 to represent and defend the rights of teachers and has more than 280 Emirate members. …more