Bahrain Continues to Drag Feet Along Pathway to Reform
3 December, 2012 – Human Rights First

Washington, DC – Today’s postponement of the an appeal hearing for the prominent dissidents known as the Bahrain 13 marks another missed chance for the Kingdom’s authorities to start making real human rights progress, said Human Rights First. The appeal hearing was postponed until January 7, 2013.

“The constant delays in court hearings only adds to the perception that Bahrain authorities are dragging their feet along the path to reform,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “These men were given a sham trial in military court last year and today’s decision just further postpones justice in this case.”

Last week, a Bahraini court ruled in the appeal of nine members of the political society Amal. Four of the men had their original sentences reduced from 10 to five years in prison, while the other five were released. Those still in jail are Sheikh Mohammed Ali Almahfoodh, Talal Abdulhamid, Sheikh Jasim Aldimistani, and Sayed Mahdi Almusawi .

“The delay to release the Amal people means a delay in reaching any solution in Bahrain,” a close observer of the case in Bahraini told Human Rights First. “The charges against them do not even meet the standards of official charges, and till now, there is no real evidence against them in court.”

The Amal Society, also known as the Islamic Action Society, was one of the groups prominent in the protests in Bahrain early last year. During the crackdown following the February and March protests the government closed its headquarters and de-registered Amal as a political society.

This week a four-member UN human rights team is in Bahrain to assess the human rights crisis and next week, on December 11, leading human rights defender and President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab is due to hear his verdict in his appeal against a three-year prison term for taking part in illegal gatherings.

Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino recently traveled to Bahrain, where she witness court proceedings in the case of 28 medics prosecuted after treating injured protestors during the democratic uprising last year. Her account of that trip was featured in an opinion piece published today by The Washington Post. …source

A joint Event between the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights and «Amnesty International – Netherlands
1 December, 2012

A joint Event between the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights and «Amnesty International – Netherlands» to highlight the human rights abuses in Bahrain

‘Bahrain: Shouting in the dark’, a documentary by Al Jazeera English was screened to emphasize to those present about the violation of human rights in Bahrain. The screening was followed by a paper that was distributed among those present in which “Ahmed Al-Hadad”, who is a member of EBOHR and Amnesty International defined the human rights violations continuing in Bahrain, and the absence of accountability by local and international authorities; which in turn enables the authorities in Bahrain to continue the violations despite the issuance of the first recommendations of the Independent Commission of Inquiry, and other recommendations of the human rights Council of the United Nations.

Mr. Ahmed Al-Haddad, head of information and media at the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights

Among those present were a number of university professors, politicians and previous representatives of the United Nations, including an ex-rapporteur of torture on the Human Rights Council.

The activity was applauded and the discussion that followed confirmed that the principles of human rights are the right of all humans, without exception and must be respected. Also, international and local accountability should not exclude anyone, regardless of political and economic interests.

Foreign students signed a petition submitted by Amnesty International (Netherlands – Maastricht branch), and the European Organization – Bahrain Human Rights, which will be raised to the human rights office and foreign affairs of the European Union, demanding the Union to take effective action to stop the violations and hold those responsible accountable. It also requested the release of all detainees of opinion, especially of Bahraini-Danish AbdelHadi El-Khawaja, Nabeel Ragab, defender of global human rights, and the Bahraini-Swedish citizen, Mohammad Habib al-Miqdad.

At the end of the event, the students declared their solidarity with the people of Bahrain, and denounced the daily human rights violations suffered by the people of Bahrain. They raised placards in a show of solidarity, and a message to the People of Bahrain: “You have friends who have not forgotten you.” A week of solidarity was also promised in solidarity with the Bahraini people specifically and the people of the Arabian Gulf in general.

A group of Dutch students holding photographs and messages of solidarity with the people of Bahrain

…more

=========================

Ahmed Al-haddad
Amnesty International
Head of Information & Media Relations
European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights (EBOHR)
www.ebohr.org
Twitter: @Diablohaddad
Mobile: +31623800921
Skype: a.alhaddado

Nobody loves Kim but those who stand to profit from her image. Face it Kim your hateful sales presence is hated around the globe. You make me wana puke Kim! Phlipn out.

Bahraini’s protesting Kim Ks “milk shake” chain redefined by Western media as “hardline Islamists”. Not only does this definition of the protest fit with the dumbshit journalists in the Western press, it fails even pretend to understand what the protest was about. Can you image the reaction in the US if protesters were to be gassed and beat in the streets protesting a milkshake shop they found distasteful. Phlipn Out.

Bahrain police deploy teargas at anti-Kim Kardashian protest

Hardline Islamic demonstrators clash with police as reality TV star visits Middle East kingdom and tweets its praises
1 December, 2012 – the Guardian

Bahrain police deploy teargas at anti-Kim Kardashian protest

Hardline Islamic demonstrators clash with police as reality TV star visits Middle East kingdom and tweets its praises

Just hours after the reality TV star Kim Kardashian gushed about her impressions of Bahrain, riot police fired teargas to disperse more than 50 hardline Islamic protesters who were denouncing her presence in the Gulf kingdom.

The clashes took place just before Kardashian opened the Bahrain branch of her Millions of Milkshakes shop.

An Associated Press journalist saw protesters chanting “God is Great” near the shopping complex in Riffa, about 20km (12 miles) south of the capital, Manama. The demonstrators were cleared before Kardashian appeared late Saturday.

Earlier, Kardashian posted glowing remarks about Bahrain on her Twitter account, calling it “the prettiest place on earth”. The remark was re-Tweeted by Bahrain’s foreign minister.

Kardashian was in Kuwait earlier this week, to open another branch of the shop. …source

Amidst widening of the Islamic-Secular Divide

Showdown in Egypt
By: Esam Al-Amin – Counter Punch

Ever since the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak on that fateful day in February 2011, Egyptian society and its political factions have been sharply divided. On one side is the Islamic parties led by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) but also includes the more conservative Salafi groups as well as other smaller moderate ones such as Al-Wasat Party. On the other is a myriad of secular groups that includes many liberal, leftist, as well as youth revolutionary groups such as the April 6 movement.

There is no doubt that the unity displayed during the eighteen revolutionary days that ousted Mubarak had soon after dissipated when Egyptians went to the polls five weeks later and voted to hold parliamentary elections before writing a new constitution. The Islamic parties, which supported this referendum, won it with over seventy-seven percent of the electorate as Egyptians voted in unprecedented numbers.

The Islamic political parties reasoned that a new constitution must be written by an elected body that represents the will of the Egyptian people while the secular parties, realizing that they would be overwhelmingly outnumbered at the ballot box, argued that a new constitution must be written by representatives of all political stripes outside any claim of a popular mandate even if legitimized through elections.

Hence, throughout the tumultuous transitional period supervised by the Egyptian military that lasted over sixteen months, the gulf and mistrust between the two sides have continued to widen. Basically, there have been four main active blocs in the Egyptian political theatre, with each maneuvering to obtain or maintain an advantage over the others. They are namely: the Islamists, the secularists, the revolutionary youth, and the remnants of the old regime. Each group determined its objectives according to its general political overview or narrow interests, and tried to establish its own transient coalition with the others in order to accomplish its goals. The wild card during this political wrangling was the military, which had its own agenda and was able to play these various forces against each other.

But what were the objectives of all these players?

Feeling empowered by their vast support in the streets, the Islamists wanted to hold elections as soon as possible in order to set the agenda and dominate the discussion on the writing of the new constitution and the future direction of the country. They argued that the principles of democracy dictate no less than holding elections at all levels to embody the will of the people. Early on the Islamists established a tacit understanding with the military in order to establish a smooth transition through popular elections. In return, the military hoped to maintain stability and order while figuring out the new political landscape.

On the other hand, the secular factions, which include many traditional liberals, leftists, nationalists, and some revolutionary youth groups, as well as the Coptic Christian community, feared a possible crushing defeat at the polls since they were hopelessly divided and terribly disorganized. So their main tactic during that period was to frustrate the agenda of the Islamists while trying to impose certain constitutional principles without debate by having the military council issue several decrees and appointing several committees dominated by many of them but only to see them fail or wither away.

The main agenda of many revolutionary youth groups such as the April 6 movement, the Ultras (non-affiliated youth groups willing to confront authority), or the Egyptian Current, was to press for the revolutionary demands such as purging the Egyptian institutions from the elements of the old regime, especially in the security apparatus, the police, the media, the judiciary, as well as exposing and isolating the corrupt politicians. Throughout the transitional period they applied full pressure and maintained continuous presence in the streets in order to force the military council and its appointed government to hold trials against senior members of the Mubarak regime and those responsible for the almost 1000 people killed during the early days of the revolution. But in many instances the revolutionary youth in the streets felt betrayed by the Islamists as often times their demands and actions were met with either lip service or disdain.

Meanwhile, the remnants of the old regime, called the fulool (Arabic for remnants) stayed in the background waiting for the right moment to regroup and launch a counterrevolution. The fulool included not only many pro-Mubarak politicians from the old regime but also many corrupt businessmen and oligarchs. They knew that if a new order was allowed to be established they would lose their ill-gotten wealth and possibly face imprisonment as many prominent senior officials of the former regime had to contend with.

But the military, which control as much as thirty percent of Egypt’s economy and has been autonomous with little governmental oversight or accountability for decades, was determined to maintain this status-quo and as much of its privileges as possible. It also did not want any politicians or political groups to interfere in, let alone control, its decision-making process, especially in its internal financial conglomerates or national security affairs. So for the entire transitional period the military council pitted these groups against each other, with each group calculating and selfishly protecting its own short-term interests regardless of the overall consequences on the main objectives of the popular revolution.

With this as the backdrop the Egyptian people went to the polls seven times during this period: voting on the constitutional referendum in March 2011, four times to elect both chambers of parliament between November 2011 and January 2012, and two times to elect a president in May and June 2012.

More Egyptians went to the polls during this period than in any election in the past six decades. During the Mubarak regime the electorate had never exceeded 6 million, or less than 15 percent of eligible voters. But during the 16 months transitional period, over 62 percent of Egyptians went to the polls as 18 million Egyptians voted in the referendum, 30 million in the parliamentary elections, and 26 million in the presidential elections. Not surprisingly, in every one of these elections, the Islamist position or candidates won (77 percent in the referendum and 73 percent of parliament.)

In the presidential elections, despite the polarization that engulfed the country, the overt support of the military council, the Egyptian bureaucracy, the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), and the Elections Committee to the fulool candidate, as well as the massive propaganda machinery campaign against Dr. Muhammad Morsi; the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, still won though barely with 52 percent of the vote. It is important to note that both the Elections Commission and SCC were Mubarak’s appointees who also oversaw and overlooked many fraudulent elections during the Mubarak era, most notably the 2005 and 2010 rigged elections. Although it took over a week for the commission to announce the results, Morsi took office on June 30, 2012 in a polarized atmosphere. Despite the presence of the military council as the real power behind the thrown, people still had great expectations for the new president. …more

Okay, but what does “full democracy” mean and for whom? And what of preconditions and demands to free the Political Prisoners, Remove Security Forces from Villages, Restoration of Right to Protest and Assembly, Restoration of Banned Societies, Restoration of Citizenship Rights, Free Press, Oversight of Judiciary by an independent body… …all before any “dialogue” or “reconstitution” toward “full democracy”. And who would negotiate “full democracy”? Could there such negotiations without the freedom and participation of the political society leaders that languish in Hamad’s prisons? Phlipn

Activist: Establishment of Democracy only Way to Restore Security in Bahrain
1 December, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior member of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society slammed the Bahraini regime for continuing detention and torturing of activists even 18 months after the start of popular protests across the country, and warned that establishment of democracy will be the only way to restore security and tranquility in the country.

“Without establishment of full democracy in Bahrain, security and calm will not be materialized, and security officials have no other way but to reconsider their decisions and correct their way of interaction with the people,” Hisham al-Sabbagh, a senior member of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society told Iran’s Arabic-language news network, Al-Alam, on Saturday.

He further blasted the al-Khalifa regime for his hostile approach to the Bahraini people, apprehension of activists and opposition figures, killing and cracking down on citizens and villagers and launching night raids on their houses.

The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by an overwhelming majority of the people, has resorted to any harsh measure to suppress popular protests and arrest political activists. It also revoked the nationality of 31 men on charges of harming national security earlier this month.

The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as clerics, human rights lawyers and activists.

Also on the list published by Bahraini News Agency (BNA) were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shiite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.
…source

Chiapas: Forums and marches in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
25 November, 2012 -SIPAZ blog

On 25 November, women in Chiapas took to the streets to march in San Cristóbal de Las Casas and Tuxtla Gutierréz in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In previous days other events had been organized in which this problem had been discussed, such as the Popular Forum for the Defense of Earth, Territory, and Food Sovereignty, held from 22 to 24 November, as well as the meeting “A hundred voices of women reflecting on violence,” as organized by Kinal Antsetik and carried out in San Cristóbal de las Casas on 24 November. During these last event, more than a hundred women from 14 municipalities in various regions of Chiapas participated, analyzing the situation of violence that women presently confront in the state.

In this same sense, Martha Figueroa Mier, from the Collective of Women (Colem), reported that 67 feminicides had been committed in the state, a statistic that is based solely on the cases registered by communication media, given that the State Attorney General’s Office in Chiapas has not requested information in these terms.

In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the state, there was held a “Slut Walk,” following the example that began in Toronto, Canada, to reject declarations of the police asserting that women “sought out” aggressions due to the way they dress and act. …source

Bill S-7, also known as the ‘Combating Terrorism Act’, would allow persons to be detained for up to three days without charge (“preventive arrest”); strip individuals of their basic rights as accused under criminal proceedings to know and challenge evidence against them; threaten them with criminal punishment; and compel individuals to testify in secret before a judge in an “investigative hearing”. Further, the judge may impose imprisonment of up to 12 months if the person does not enter into recognizance. (enter into recognizance = imposed conditions to secure release, ie: avoid all contact with those engaged in, or participating in, pipeline protests)

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association BCCLA
Statement on Reintroduction of Anti-Terrorism Provisions
Nov. 29, 2012

Individuals subject to these provisions do not necessarily have to be suspected of committing any crime. It is enough that they are alleged to have information relating to a terrorism offence, or that they are alleged to be associated with another individual suspected of committing (or about to commit) a terrorism offence, or that they are otherwise suspected of potential future involvement with a terrorism offence. Furthermore, the scope of Bill S-7 extends beyond Canada’s borders, and could potentially result in a reliance on foreign intelligence. Without the ability to challenge evidence, there is no guarantee that the evidence is accurate, or was not obtained from a third country or source that conducts or condones torture as a method to elicit information. [It should be noted that the Canadian government has already given the green light to law enforcement agencies to accept information that may have been derived through torture, in violation of international agreements and standards].

In all such cases, individuals may find themselves caught up in these detention and interrogation provisions without any effective legal recourse.

Under these provisions, individuals could be forced to testify in a court of law, arrested, detained or made subject to bail conditions – all without charges being laid. Individuals have no right to know, and no opportunity to challenge, the basis on which they are being subjected to preventive arrest or required to attend investigate hearings.

While the proposed investigative hearings give the appearance of respecting due process, such as requiring judicial authorization, use and derivative use immunity, and the right to counsel, they still do not comply with the spirit of due process and the right against self-incrimination. …more

Julian Assange: The people who control the interception of the internet and, to some degree also, physically control the big data warehouses and the international fiber-optic lines. We all think of the internet as some kind of Platonic Realm where we can throw out ideas and communications and web pages and books and they exist somewhere out there. Actually, they exist on web servers in New York or Nairobi or Beijing, and information comes to us through satellite connections or through fiber-optic cables.

So whoever physically controls this controls the realm of our ideas and communications. And whoever is able to sit on those communications channels, can intercept entire nations, and that’s the new game in town, as far as state spying is concerned – intercepting entire nations, not individuals.

…source

Endangering Women Human Rights Defenders
By Christine Ahn and Erika Guevara-Rosas – 29 November, 2012 – Foreign Policy in Focus

With the U.S. elections now over, many are speculating over who will succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State to oversee U.S. foreign policy and the $47-billion U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) annual budget. While a significant chunk of USAID spending goes to education and health programs, pockets of aid enlarge the already bloated military budgets of recipient governments. The result: less security and more violence against women, particularly women human rights defenders.

Indeed, the plight of these activists is so pervasive, yet unrecognized, that November 29th has been declared International Day of Women Human Rights Defenders. On the fifth anniversary of its founding, we take a look into Colombia and Mexico, the two countries with the largest number of documented instances of death threats against women human rights defenders—and coincidently two major recipients of U.S. aid.

Why Women Human Rights Defenders?

According to reports from the United Nations and Inter-American Human Rights Commission, although both men and women human rights defenders are subjected to political violence, the situation of women must be analyzed and addressed separately given the particular nature of their experience.

Within Latin American societies (as in many others), women face significant social and cultural discrimination. Furthermore, because of their gender, women’s rights defenders endure sexual assault and harassment, including having to regularly deflect offensive sexual slurs aimed at discrediting their reputation and work. Women activists are increasingly leading efforts to demand the respect of women’s human rights and the end of violence and discrimination. Their struggles not only challenge the political and economic establishments in their countries, but also the patriarchal nature of power relations in their communities. This is why violence against them is more severe. …more

Mahazza Nights: Undeclared State of Emergency and Sweeping Violations
30 November, 2012 – Bahrian Center for Human Rights

Since November 7th, 2012, an undeclared siege has been imposed around Mahazza, one of the Sitra island villages south of the Bahraini capital of Manama. Police forces and civilian militias, accompanied by National Guards in armored vehicles, have been deployed at the main entrances to the village to erect checkpoints, storm several houses without search warrants while arresting scores of citizens without arrest warrants in semi-marshal law situation. The blockade has resulted in the breaking-in of over 160 homes; during these incidents, citizens’ private property and money are confiscated without record or receipt. In addition to these violations, at least 25 people have been arrested (some of which were later released).

Members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) paid several visits to Mhazzah area to explore the details of the siege, and conducted interviews with those whose houses were subjected to raids and abuses. Residents stated that a blockade similar to that of Aker area had been imposed on Mhazzah village since November 7th, yet the morning of Thursday, November 22, 2012 represented a shift in the nature of the occupation as the raids took place between the hours of 1:30am and 6:15am, where houses and residents were attacked and their privacy was inhumanly invaded without regard for the law.
Reasons for the Beginning of the Siege

The Ministry of Interior (MOI) announced through their official Twitter account on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 that a fire broke out in a car depot which belongs to one of the car dealerships in the Sitra area. Following this, a total siege was imposed around the village of Mhazzah, one house was broken into and Ahmed Abdullah Ibrahim – age 24 – was arrested. His family stated that a group of civilians, accompanied by police forces, surrounded and raided his brother’s house and arrested him without presenting an arrest warrant or providing details of the charges against him. Over a 15-day period, homes raids resulted in the forceful entry of 62 homes and the arrest of 9 people – as shown in the table below. These violations are in addition to the damages caused by terrorizing innocent people in their own homes and attacking their private property.
The Number of Raids Skyrocketed on the Morning of November 22nd, 2012

The Monitoring Team of the BCHR received the initiation news of the 1:30am Mhazzah blockade of Thursday, November 22, 2012, where police forces, backed by civilian militias, launched a series of random, wide-range break-ins which resulted in the storming of nearly 100 homes and the arrest of 14 people – 10 of which were released approximately twenty hours later – and broad damages to residents’ private properties
Residents’ Testimonials Concerning the Novemeber 22nd, 2012 Early Morning Raids:

The wife of fugitive Mr. Abdullah Alawi Abdullah stated that their house was brutally raided on 3 consecutive days. On Thursday 22 Nov 2012 at 4:30am, the door was broken before hooded civilians entered with a policemen who held a shotgun in addition to a photographer from the MOI. As they were leaving the house, a stun grenade was deliberately thrown in the home.

Mohammed Mansour Eid’s sister stated that she woke up to the sounds of breaking objects coming from a neighbor’s home. Loud knockings then sounded at her own door, and masked, civilian men entering her home, along with a MOI cameraman, asking for her brother Faisal who was not found at home. His brother Mohammed was taken as a hostage in order to pressure Faisal to turn himself in to the police. His mobile phone was confiscated as well. When several women tried to free Mohammed from the masked civilians, a stun grenade was fired in their direction. Mohammed’s sister emphasized the fact that in only one week, their house was subjected to six raids led by Officer Yousif Al-Mannaie. …more

200 wounded as Tunisian security forces use tear gas, shotguns against protesters
28 November, 2012 – RT

A protester throws a tear gas canister back at police during clashes in Siliana November 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stringer)

A protester throws a tear gas canister back at police during clashes in Siliana November 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stringer)

More than 200 people were wounded as clashes between Tunisian security forces and thousands of protesters in the impoverished town of Siliana raged on for the second straight day, medical sources say. One reporter was also injured by shotgun fire.

A doctor at the hospital in Siliana told AFP on Wednesday the injured were being treated for different types of injury, with four of them transferred to Tunis.

FRANCE24’s Tunisia correspondent David Thomson was also injured by shotgun fire in the melee. While receiving treatment, Thomson tweeted from the hospital that many others had sustained far more serious injuries. His driver was also injured in the clashes.

­State television had earlier reported that at least 80 people were injured.

Angry protesters incensed the regional governor had failed to tackle unemployment amassed in the town center, with the clashes kicking off by early afternoon.

The country’s National Guard deployed armored vehicles as protesters erected makeshift barricades in the streets.

Protesters pelted security forces with rocks, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

The scene closely mirrored protests which erupted in the town on Tuesday.

Many protesters called for local officials to step down, citing chronic mismanagement of development funds in the poor farming region. Siliana, which lies 75 miles south of the capital Tunis on the edge of the Sahara desert, saw investment plummet by 44.5 percent from January to October on a year-over-year basis.

Following the 2010 uprising which saw the ouster of longtime President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, unemployment has skyrocketed in the country.

The interior ministry has not commented on the ongoing street clashes, though the prime minister’s office registered the concern with the unfolding events.

It also described as regrettable “the use of violence against the security forces, aggression at the headquarters of sovereignty, and attempts to damage public property,” AFP reports.

The clashes were the most violent since Salafi Islamists fell on the US embassy in Tunis to protest the incendiary film Innocence of Muslims in September.

On Tuesday, the World Bank approved a $500 million loan to Tunisia to aid the country’s ailing economy, with a separate $700 million coming from other donors.

It is the second loan approved by the World Bank since the Arab Spring swept Ben Ali from power. …source

The regime forces execute state’s terror and crimes against
AlWefaq: Abuses in ‘Mahazza’ outrage the humane conscience
27 November, 2012 – Al Wefaq

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society stated that what is happening in the village of Mahazza in Sitra island is a “state terror” and crimes against human rights

Al-Wefaq said that the ongoing wide campaign of abuses including horrific house raids, executed by the regime forces, is more of a militias behavior than a regime’s.

Al-Wefaq also stated that the series of house raids in Mahazza is on a rising pace, which is considered a dangerous violation and the regime and its officials are responsible of the consequences.

The forces had broken into houses at dawn in complete disrespect of morals, religion and humanity, very much like criminals and thieves behavior. The forces went as far as entering bedrooms while women were asleep in night wear, this reveals the real ugliness of the these forces and those who pass down orders. It also reveals that there is no state in Bahrain, as the country is run by a militias-mentality far from humanity and rule of law.

AlWefaq affirmed that what is happening in Bahrain’s Mahazza village is witnessed and observed by the international community and all human right organizations, as the people of Bahrain are suffering under a regime that uses mercenaries to perpetrate abuses against the citizens. While, at the same time summons citizens and subjects them to all kinds of abuses, without any deterrent to commit crimes against them.

The latest series of terror against Mahazza was Tuesday, early morning hours, when the forces started the horrific house raids terrorizing the innocents behind the dark siege. The number of those arrested from the village since the siege began has totaled

INSIGHT: Bahrain Reforms Stuck in Reverse
29 November, 2012 – By Brian Dooley – Middle East Voices

Outside of Bahrain government supporters, it’s hard to find anyone who thinks the country’s reform process is going okay.

To mark last week’s anniversary of the publication of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), the report ordered by the King of Bahrain into human rights violations in early 2011, the regime evaluated its own progress. It insists it has made great strides “to complete the legislative framework required to consolidate the rule of the law, protect public freedoms, respect human rights, promote security and stability across the nation, strengthen the democratic march and maintain national unity.”

insight hrf INSIGHT: Bahrain Reforms Stuck in ReverseDespite that claim, those of us who have witnessed Bahrain’s police using excessive force and its sham court trials know there is often a chasm between the country’s PR version and reality. That is why the Kingdom’s response on the BICI anniversary was met with disappointment and frustration – but not surprise – inside and outside the country. The Bahraini government’s claims to be promoting freedom of expression, protecting defendants’ rights and holding to account those responsible for torture is wholly unconvincing to those of us closely following what’s happening there each day.

Human Rights First and other international NGOs knew the government would present a positive gloss on its record, but the irrefutable consensus from the world’s leading human rights organizations is that things have gotten worse in recent months, not better.

Some of the protests have taken on a violent edge, with police and a minority of protestеrs involved in regular clashes. Some protestеrs are throwing gasoline bombs and other missiles at the police. Evidence of police using excessive force, including large amounts of tear gas, continues to be reported. Just in the last few weeks, the Kingdom has banned all public gatherings, sent several people to jail for criticizing the King on Twitter, intensified attacks on civil society figures and stripped 31 Bahrainis of their citizenship.

“No senior official has been prosecuted for the thousands of arrests or held accountable for those who were tortured in custody.” – Brian Dooley, Human Rights First

It’s not just NGOs who are frustrated with the lack of reform in Bahrain. Bahrain has drawn criticism from other governments and international bodies, too. “We are concerned by some of the recent decisions taken by the Bahraini Government, particularly on human rights,” said British Foreign Minister Alistair Burt. A senior U.S. State Department official observed, “What’s unfortunately happened, on accountability, on the hardest issues, is the government has not followed through. … We see people held in prison, prosecuted for demonstrating a year and a half ago, and there’s still not been meaningful police reform.” The United Nations is dispatching a human rights team to Bahrain to examine the situation next week.
…source

1800 Political Prisoners Locked up in Bahraini Prisons
29 November, 2012 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

A Bahraini prisoners’ rights organization, known as Andisheh, has claimed that there are 1800 political prisoners locked up in the Al-e-Khalifa regime prisons in Bahrain.

According to Bahrain’s al-LouLou television channel, the Bahraini prisoners’ rights organization, Andisheh, issued a statement saying the Al-e-Khalifa regime totally denies the existence of political prisoners in Bahraini jails, whereas the regime uses the harshest and most heavy-handed methods to quell / repress the protest movement in Bahrain.

The statement adds: “The Al-e-Khalifa regime wants to use the political prisons as a sort of a bargaining chip, or a pressure lever, to pressure the protesters in Bahrain to give up on their legitimate demands.

The Bahraini people have risen up against the ruling Al-e-Khalifa monarchy since February 2011, holding peaceful protests against the Al-e-Khalifa rulers of Bahrain. Their protests have been repressed in the most brutal way by police and security forces, as well as Saudi military forces who have invaded the country to quell the popular protest movement. …source

Qatari Poet Sentenced To Life In Prison
By ALEX DELMAR-MORGAN – 30 November, 2012

DOHA, Qatar—A Qatari poet was sentenced to life in prison on charges of trying to incite the overthrow of the emirate’s ruling family, the poet’s lawyer said, the latest move against dissent amid a crackdown by wealthy Arab Gulf countries.

Qatar’s criminal court on Thursday handed down the sentence to Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami, who has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest in November 2011, said the lawyer, Najeeb al-Nuaimi. There was no official confirmation of the poet’s sentencing, and Qatar government officials couldn’t be reached to comment.

Mr. Ajami’s poetry was deemed to be insulting to Qatari Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Mr. Nuaimi said he plans to appeal the sentence. He said his client didn’t receive a fair trial, and denied his poetry was offensive to Qatar’s ruler.

Many Gulf Arab governments have sought to clamp down on political dissent in the wake of the Arab Spring protests that unseated leaders across the region. This week, the United Arab Emirates unveiled new laws to prosecute social-media users deemed critical of the government.

While Qatar escaped last year’s wave of pro-democracy protests across the region, since then it has played an outsize role in regional politics by bankrolling and arming uprisings in Libya and Syria.

But the wealthy desert emirate has shown little tolerance for homegrown dissent. Qatar’s legislative body, the Shura Council, approved a new draft media law in June that prohibits the publication of material deemed to be offensive to the ruling family or endangering state security. Violators could face fines of as much as $275,000 if they are found guilty.

Qatar has also refrained from speaking out against its fellow Sunni rulers in Bahrain, who suppressed Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations last year with military backing from Saudi Arabia.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar’s government-owned satellite broadcaster, has faced criticism for rarely reporting on Qatar’s domestic affairs while giving expansive coverage supportive of the uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Syria.

“This is most awkward for Qatar, which has been embarking on a very public foreign policy, trying to ride the wave of the Arab Spring for its own political capital but yet when problems develop in its own backyard, and you have a dissenting voice, you have the hypocrisy exposed,” said Christopher Davidson, an expert on Middle East politics at Durham University in the U.K.

“Qatar hosts al-Jazeera and the Doha Center for Media Freedom and is really trying to promote itself as a bastion of free expression,” said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. The life sentence for Mr. Ajami is “completely inconsistent with that,” he said. …more

I Call On You
by Palestinian poet Tawfiq Zayyad
Translated by As’ad AbuKhalil

“I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I give you as a gift
the light of my eyes
and the warmth of heart, I give you
My tragedy that I live
Is my share of your tragedies
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I did not humiliate myself in my homeland
and I did not lower my shoulders
I stood facing my oppressors
orphaned, naked, and bare foot
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I carried my blood on my palm
I never lowered my flags
and I cared for the green grass
over the graves of my ancestors”

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Two Years of Cablegate as Bradley Manning Testifies for the First Time
29 November, 2012 – Julian Assange – Huffington Post

Thursday, November 29th, Bradley Manning testified for the first time since his arrest two and a half years ago in Baghdad. Today also marks the two-year anniversary of the first front pages around the world from Cablegate, an archive of 251,287 U.S. State Department diplomatic cables — messages sent between the State Department and its embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions around the world. In collaboration with a network of more than 100 press outlets we revealed the full spectrum of techniques used by the United States to exert itself around the world. The young intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was detained as an alleged source.

WikiLeaks came under attack, with American politicians and right-wing pundits calling for all of us to be designated as terrorists, some even calling for my assassination and the kidnapping of our staff. Speaking on Meet The Press, Vice President Joe Biden referred to me as a “high-tech terrorist,” while Senator Joe Lieberman demanded that we be prosecuted under the U.S. Espionage Act. The Department of Justice spokesperson Dean Boyd admitted as recently as July 2012 that the Department of Justice investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing, and the Pentagon renewed its threats against us on September 28th, declaring our work an “ongoing crime.” As a result, I have been granted political asylum and now live in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, surrounded by armed police while the FBI portion of the “whole of government” investigation against us, according to court testimony, had reached 42,135 pages as of December last year.

Earlier this week, WikiLeaks released European Commission documents showing that Senator Lieberman and Congressman Peter T. King directly influenced decisions by PayPal, Visa and MasterCard to block donations to WikiLeaks, which has blocked 95 percent of our donors since December of 2010. Last week the European Parliament expressed its will that the Commission should prevent the arbitrary blockade of WikiLeaks.

Bradley Manning, who is alleged to be a source of the cables, started testifying on Thursday about his pre-trial treatment, which UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez said was “at a minimum cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Article 16 of the Convention against Torture.” Captain William Hoctor, the government psychiatrist with 24 years of experience who evaluated Manning at Quantico base in Virginia, testified that brig commanders had ignored his recommendations for Manning’s detention, something he had not even experienced in his work at Guantánamo bay prison.

Bradley Manning has been detained without trial for 921 days. This is the longest pre-trial detention of a U.S. military soldier since at least the Vietnam War. U.S. military law says the maximum is 120 days.

The material that Bradley Manning is alleged to have leaked has highlighted astonishing examples of U.S. subversion of the democratic process around the world, systematic evasion of accountability for atrocities and killings, and many other abuses. Our archive of State Department cables have appeared in tens of thousands of articles, books and scholarly works, illustrating the nature of U.S. foreign policy and the instruments of U.S. national power. On the two-year anniversary of the start of Cablegate, I want to highlight some of the stories that have emerged. …more

Bahrain must free prisoners of conscience
30 November, 2012 – Amnesty International

Thirteen opposition activists and prisoners of conscience must be released immediately by the Bahrain authorities, Amnesty International said today ahead of a court decision on their case next week.

The men, who were convicted last year before a military court on charges including ‘setting up terror groups to topple the regime and change the constitution’ after their involvement in peaceful anti-government protests, had their convictions and sentences upheld on appeal in September.

On Monday 3 December, the Court of Cassation in the capital Manama will decide whether or not to grant the men’s defence request to be released on bail.

The Court will decide whether to quash or uphold their sentences and convictions at a later separate hearing although there is a small possibility this will happen on Monday.

“Monday’s decision will be a real test for the Bahraini authorities and their allies, if they want to prove once and for all that they are genuinely committed to respecting and protecting human rights,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“These men must be immediately and unconditionally released. Their sentences and convictions must be quashed. Bahrain’s allies must also put pressure on the authorities to drop the pretence of reform and immediately back up their words with real actions.”

The 13, who include prominent opposition activists Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Ebrahim Sharif, were originally sentenced by a military court in June 2011 to between five years and life in prison .

All maintain their innocence. Amnesty International found no evidence that they used or advocated violence in last year’s anti-government protests and they are therefore held solely for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

Last week, to coincide with the first anniversary of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report, Amnesty International released a briefing paper criticizing the inadequate implementation of the BICI recommendations and the worsening human rights situation in the country.

The BICI report found the Bahraini government responsible for gross human rights violations and documented widespread abuses. It made a series of recommendations including calling on the authorities to bring to account those responsible for human rights abuses and to carry out independent investigations into allegations of torture and other violations.

Amnesty International’s briefing, Bahrain: Reform shelved, repression unleashed, highlighted the increased repression and lack of accountability for past abuses in Bahrain, including the continuous imprisonment of prisoners of conscience like the 13 opposition activists and Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

The Bahraini government responded to the criticism by saying the allegations were baseless and that it was committed to the implementation of the BICI recommendations.

However Amnesty International has documented continuous human rights abuses in the past few months as well as lack of accountability and impunity for past abuses, including the lack of impartial and independent investigations into all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including allegations made by the 13 opposition activists that they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated while in custody.

Far from engaging in reform, the authorities moved in the past months to unleashing further repression, culminating in October 2012 in the banning of all rallies and gatherings in the country in violation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and in November with the stripping of Bahraini nationality from 31 opposition figures.
…source

Bahrain regime arrests woman during dawn house raid
30 November, 2012 – Shia Post

The regime in Bahrain is again conducting outrageous house raids and barbarically arresting women at dawn without any moral, religious, lawful or humanitarian deterrent whatsoever, as part of its aggressive behavior against the people. This proves that the regime is intolerant and cannot coexist with its own people

The regime force have raided a house in Al-Guraifa village, east of the capital Manama, at the dawn of Wednesday, and brutally arrested a young woman in her twenties after vandalizing the properties in the house and terrifying the households. The regime forces were also reported to have confiscated some devices, mobiles and belongings in the house.

Al-Wefaq clarified that the situation in Bahrain is witnessing a wave of security escalation that is undertaken by the repressive regime which is obviously implementing commands from high security figures. This proves that what is happening and what will happen can only be recognized as systematic violations planned by high ranked officials, after days of the first anniversary of the BICI report without implementing its recommendations including holding human rights abusers accountable, even if they held high ranked posts, this is one of the most important recommendations that the regime failed to implement.

Al-Wefaq stressed that the ongoing illegal inhuman house raids at night and near dawn indicate that the security mentality of the regime forces is dominated by an aggressive mentality against the people.
The arrest of Munira comes after the arrest of Layla Abdullah Kadhim, a grandmother behind bars for reasons relating to freedom of expression. While the court has decided to keep in detention Masouma al-Sayed, who was arrested for demonstrating and demanding rights. ..source

Bahrain: US citizen detained for over a month without a trial
30 November, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the continued detention for more than a month without a trial of the US/Bahraini citizen Taqi Abdulla by Bahraini authorities. Abdulla has not yet been allowed access to legal representation is deprived from adequate medical care that he needs.

Taqi Abdulla is a 24-year-old Bahraini with US citizenship. On the 7 October 2012 at 2 am, Taqi’s home was raided by seven masked men in civilian clothing who broke the front door, terrifying the family and arresting Abdulla. He was taken without a warrant, his phone was confiscated and his mother was told to check with the local police station the next morning.

Abdulla’s family started a search for their son. They went to the Exhibition road police station at 4:30 am where they were told that they do not have him and they should check after 8:00 am. His mother explained the circumstances of her son’s arrest and she was told that her son might be in the Central Intelligence Department (CID). At the CID they were told again that they do not have any track of him in their system and suggested that they go to Al Hoora police station. However, in Al Hoora police station, they were informed that they do not have Abdulla in their custody. His brother went back to the CID where the officer told him that he cannot confirm or deny having Abdulla but he will contact him within the next two days. They also reported his case to the US embassy in Bahrain that noted the information and asked the family to call their emergency hotline for any updates.

According to his family, Abdulla called the next morning asking for clothes and informing them that he is being held in the Dry Dock prison. He told his mother that he was forced into confessing that he participated in burning a police water tank vehicle, even though he was home at the time of the incident. Abdulla told his family that he was put under pressure, tortured, threatened to be raped and have his mother raped if he did not “confess”. Taqi was interrogated without the presence of a lawyer.

His lawyer has recently got consent from the government to allow her to get power of attorney from Tagi, but she is still unable to get permission to visit him or even see him to make the appointment official. His family and lawyer are very concerned over the well-being of Taqi Abdulla as he is suffering from ulcer in the stomach and colon, and is not receiving adequate medical care in custody. Abdulla should be on a special diet which is not provided in prison.

The BCHR urges the United States to interfere and put pressure on Bahraini authorities to immediately:
1. Allow proper legal representation for Abdulla Taqi
2. Give his lawyer access to his case file to follow the due process
3. Investigate the torture claims and ill-treatment
4. Ensure providing Abdulla proper medical care

…source

The Case and the Movement Against Armed Drones
By: David Swanson – 29 November, 2012 – Firedoglake

Unmanned killer robot planes have convinced certain people that there is a better way of waging war.

But these drones have now made the United States as unpopular in places like Pakistan and Yemen as any nation has ever been in another. Making our nation hated does not make us safer. It endangers us.

These drone wars are not a reduction in war-making but an expansion. They’re underway in nations the United States was not previously at war with. They’re beginning to result in the addition of ground troops, the opposite result of the image we have in our heads of drones taking the place of ground troops.

Drone pilots in Afghanistan have been targeted and killed. Drone pilots in the United States suffer PTSD at higher rates than real pilots.

Drone victims are 98% innocent civilians according to a recent Stanford/NYU study. The other 2% are targeted victims of murder without charge, trial, due process, or in many cases even knowledge of the target’s name.

Drones buzzing over houses traumatize children before they kill them. That those children are (in most cases) not American hardly diminishes the immorality.

Drones are rapidly being developed and deployed by other nations. It is time for Americans to ask themselves: Do I support the equal right of other nations to kill with drones in the United States? And if not, why not? And how can I apply a different standard to my own government?

Did you know that the White House has refused to allow Congress, the institution charged by the U.S. Constitution with making every law, to see its legal reasoning that supposedly justifies killing men, women, children, Americans, and non-Americans anywhere on earth without any charge or trial?

Did you know that even the current president believes no Republican president should ever be allowed the powers he has himself created?

The following organizations have decided to do something about this:

Antiwar.com
Arlington Green Party
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Code Pink
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
KnowDrones.com
LA Laborfest
The Northampton Committee to Stop War
RootsAction.org
Sitkans for Peace and Justice
Veterans For Peace
Veterans For Peace Chapter 27
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
WarIsACrime.org
Women Standing

These groups have decided to urge:

the United Nations Secretary General to investigate the concerns of Navi Pillay, the U.N.’s top human rights official, that drone attacks violate international law — and to ultimately pursue sanctions against nations using, possessing, or manufacturing weaponized drones;

the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Courtto investigate grounds for the criminal prosecution of those responsible for drone attacks;

the U.S. Secretary of State, and the ambassadors to the United States from the nations of the world, to ratify a treaty forbidding the possession or use of weaponized drones;

President Barack Obama, to abandon the use of weaponized drones, and to abandon his “kill list” program regardless of the technology employed;

the Majority and Minority Leaders of the U.S. House and Senate, to ban the use or sale of weaponized drones.

You can join this movement and put your name on the petition being delivered to those authorities. It will take you 10 seconds or so, right HERE

…source