Cyber Attacks on Activists Traced to FinFisher Spyware of Gamma
By Vernon Silver – 25 July, 2012 – Bloomberg

It’s one of the world’s best-known and elusive cyber weapons: FinFisher, a spyware sold by U.K.- based Gamma Group, which can secretly take remote control of a computer, copying files, intercepting Skype calls and logging every keystroke.

For the past year, human rights advocates and virus hunters have scrutinized FinFisher, seeking to uncover potential abuses. They got a glimpse of its reach when a FinFisher sales pitch to Egyptian state security was uncovered after that country’s February 2011 revolution. In December, anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks published Gamma promotional videos showing how police could plant FinFisher on a target’s computer.
Enlarge image Cyber Attacks on Activists Traced to FinFisher

Husain Abdulla, a U.S. citizen who is director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, is considering lawsuits and a complaint to the U.S. State Department about the border-crossing hack. Source: Husain Abdulla via Bloomberg
Enlarge image Citizen Lab Security Researcher Morgan Marquis-Boire

Morgan Marquis-Boire, a security researcher at Citizen Lab, analyzed the infected e-mails for this story. Photographer: Jacob Kepler/Bloomberg
Enlarge image Bill Marzcak

Marczak found evidence that traces malicious software e-mailed to Bahraini activists back to FinFisher, a spyware sold by U.K.-based Gamma Group. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

“We know it exists, but we’ve never seen it — you can imagine a rare diamond,” says Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Helsinki-based data security company F-Secure Oyj. (FSC1V) He posted the Egypt documents online last year and said if a copy of the software itself were found, he’d write anti-virus protection against it.

Now he may get his wish.

Researchers believe they’ve identified copies of FinFisher, based on an examination of malicious software e-mailed to Bahraini activists, they say. Their research, which is being published today by the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs’ Citizen Lab, is based on five different e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News from people targeted by the malware.
Global Reach

Pro-democracy activists received the malware in Washington, London and Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the Persian Gulf kingdom that has been gripped by tension since a crackdown on protests last year.

The findings illustrate how the largely unregulated trade in offensive hacking tools is transforming surveillance, making it more intrusive as it reaches across borders and peers into peoples’ digital devices. From anywhere on the globe, the software can penetrate the most private spaces, turning on computer web cameras and reading documents as they are being typed.

“Selling software that allows for the taking over of computers without rule of law can lead to abuse,” says Courtney Radsch, senior program manager for freedom of expression at Washington-based Freedom House, which promotes human rights. …more

From Bahrain With Love: FinFisher’s Spy Kit Exposed?
25 July, 2012 – The Citizen Lab

The FinFisher Suite is described by its distributors, Gamma International UK Ltd., as “Governmental IT Intrusion and Remote Monitoring Solutions.” 1 The toolset first gained notoriety after it was revealed that the Egyptian Government’s state security apparatus had been involved in negotiations with Gamma International UK Ltd. over the purchase of the software. Promotional materials have been leaked that describe the tools as providing a wide range of intrusion and monitoring capabilities.2 Despite this, however, the toolset itself has not been publicly analyzed.

This post contains analysis of several pieces of malware obtained by Vernon Silver of Bloomberg News that were sent to Bahraini pro-democracy activists in April and May of this year. The purpose of this work is identification and classification of the malware to better understand the actors behind the attacks and the risk to victims. In order to accomplish this, we undertook several different approaches during the investigation.

As well as directly examining the samples through static and dynamic analysis, we infected a virtual machine (VM) with the malware. We monitored the filesystem, network, and running operating system of the infected VM.

This analysis suggests the use of “Finspy”, part of the commercial intrusion kit, Finfisher, distributed by Gamma International.
Delivery

This section describes how the malware was delivered to potential victims using e-mails with malicious attachments.

In early May, we were alerted that Bahraini activists were targeted with apparently malicious e-mails. The emails ostensibly pertained to the ongoing turmoil in Bahrain, and encouraged recipients to open a series of suspicious attachments. The screenshot below is indicative of typical message content: …more

Bahrain hacking into activists’ computers: opposition
25 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Bahrain has been using a virus to hack into and control the computers of key anti-government activists as they seek to crackdown on an uprising across the country, opposition figures claimed on Wednesday.

The activists’ claimed that forces loyal to the government have been using a British-made system to seek to spy on them, which was downloaded onto computers through a fake attachment.

A number of prominent anti-government figures received an email which purported to be from a journalist at the Qatari-owned television channel al-Jazeera.

It claimed to have an attachment which included photographs of the government torture of Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights who is currently in jail.

But activists who clicked on it were downloading a virus that allowed the controllers to monitor the computer, intercept Skype calls and log every keystroke.

It was impossible to be certain that the government forces were responsible for the hacking but Ala’a Shehabi, founder of the Bahrain Watch website and one of those targeted by the email, said she thought it was part of a wider cyber war.

“We only received this (email) in April and it seems like a new tactic,” she said. “This is a different technique but its part of a wider cyber war.”

She added that the program, which allegedly cost $500,000, was a waste of funds for the Bahraini government.

“They don’t think they are getting value for money. The software reportedly costs around $500,000, we know that only about 10 people got infected by it.”

The Bahraini government denied it was behind the hacking equipment.

“Such allegations are taken very seriously and if there is any evidence that there is any misconduct in use of such technology, each case will be investigated immediately according to the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Bahrain,” Luma Bashmi, a spokesperson the government’s Information Affairs Authority, told Bloomberg.

Bahrain has been fighting to suppress an uprising since February 2011, with Saudi forces being deployed to help crush the pro-democracy movement. …source

Netanyahu turns to Turkey amid regional turmoil
25 July, 2012 – AL Akhbar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Jewish state and its former ally Turkey must repair their relationship because of the instability in their region.

Turkey cut its once extensive ties with Israel after Israeli marines killed nine Turkish activists in May 2010 on a humanitarian vessel trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, considered a violation of international law by rights groups.

“Turkey and Israel are two important, strong and stable states in this region…We must find ways to restore the relations we once had…it is important, particularly now, for stability in the region in these times,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said he gave the message to Turkish journalists in a meeting late on Monday.

While the statement gave no reason for the timing of his comments, both Israel and Turkey border Syria.

Turkey has called for Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to quit after he failed to heed calls for reform and the country has harbored Syrian rebels and tens of thousands of refugees along its border with Syria.

Israel has upped its rhetoric of possibly intervening militarily in the Syrian crisis, raising concern over Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.

Israeli officials said on Tuesday that Assad’s forces retained full control of such weapons, but far-right foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman again warned on Wednesday that any transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah would be a “casus belli”.

“For us, that’s a casus belli, a red line,” Lieberman told Israel Radio.

Numerous attempts by Israel and Turkey to rekindle their once-close strategic relationship have failed. Israel has rejected Ankara’s demands for a formal apology, compensation for the families of those killed in the raid and end to the Gaza blockade.

There was no indication in Netanyahu’s statement that Israel would change its stance and meet any of Turkey’s demands.

Netanyahu’s move comes a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Israel, and reportedly urged Israeli leaders to amend relations with Turkey as the region descends further into turmoil.

Hamas leader in Turkey

One major obstacle to Israeli-Turkish ties is Ankara’s warm relations with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal is in Turkey for talks with Turkish leaders on developments.

State-run television said Turkey’s prime minister met exiled Hamas leader Meshal to break the daily fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

TRT television said Wednesday that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Meshal at his residence in Ankara on Tuesday evening.

Ties between Turkey, NATO’s biggest Muslim member, and Hamas, which rules Gaza, have been developing since Turkey’s alliance with Israel collapsed.

In January, Hamas premier of the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, visited Erdogan at his Istanbul home. …more

Turkey blocks trucking with Syria, rebels fight on
25 July, 2012 – By Paul Schemm – Associated Press

BEIRUT: Turkey sealed its border with Syria to trucks Wednesday, cutting off a vital supply line to the embattled nation as fighting stretched into its fifth day in the commercial capital of Aleppo.

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said deteriorating security was behind the closure.

“We have serious concerns over the safety of Turkish trucks regarding their entry and return from Syria,” Caglayan said, noting that there had already been a 87 percent drop in trucks traveling to Syria this year.

Turkey was an ally of neighboring Syria before the uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad began 16 months ago. But it has turned into a harsh critic and its territory along the of the 911 kilometer border is used as a staging ground for the rebel army as well as a haven for thousands of refugees fleeing violence that activists say has killed 19,000 people so far.

Northern Syria, especially the province of Idlib, has been a steady scene of heavy fighting between Syrian forces and the rebels and large swathes of the countryside are under rebel control. Rebels, for their part, generally move their weapons and material over the border through clandestine smuggler routes.

Caglayan told reporters Turkish trucks would not be allowed to into Syria, though no restrictions were being imposed on trucks going the other way. The sealing will deprive Syria of a common route for imports. Dozens of Turkish trucks were either looted or torched when the rebels captured the border crossing of Bab al-Hawa last week. Turkish truck drivers have also been caught in the cross fire or been the target of attacks during the civil war.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed confidence at rebel advances, saying that they were taking more and more territory.
…source

Russia says U.S. tries to justify terrorism in Syria
25 July, 2012 – By Steve Gutterman – Reuters

MOSCOW: Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to justify terrorism against the Syrian government and berated Western nations it said had failed to condemn a bomb attack that killed senior security officials.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, referring to what he said were comments by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland indicating such attacks were not surprising, said: “This is a direct justification of terrorism.”

“To put it mildly, we don’t understand the refusal of our partners to condemn the terrorist attack in Damascus,” he said.

He suggested Washington was using the threat of further attacks to push the U.N. Security Council to place international mediator Kofi Annan’s peace plan under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.

Chapter 7 allows the council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention, although U.S. officials have said they would prefer the former course of action.

Lavrov said the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, had cited the July 18 bomb attack in Damascus as evidence that the Security Council should not delay further in adopting a Chapter 7 resolution.

“In other words this means ‘We will continue to support such terrorist attacks until the Security Council does what we want,'” Lavrov told a news conference after talks with Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis.

“This is a terrible position.”

Lavrov criticised Western sanctions on Syria and defended Russia’s veto last week of a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have threatened the Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not halt violence.

He also reiterated Moscow’s stance that Assad’s departure from power could not be a precondition to a political dialogue aimed at ending the 16-month-old conflict and that Syrians themselves must decide the country’s future.

Two rebel Syrian groups claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, a senior commander and one of the pillars of the Assad clan’s rule, as well as Defence Minister Daoud Rajha, intelligence chief Hisham Bekhtyar and veteran army general Hassan Turkmani.

…source

Hezbollah slams Israeli move to destroy Palestinian villages

25 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Lebanon’s Hezbollah late Tuesday condemned an Israeli decision to destroy eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank to make way for an Israeli army training ground.

Hezbollah slammed the decision as the “new Zionist crime which violates all boundaries”, adding that such acts are displayed for “those who are still in favor of negotiations with the enemy.”

The powerful Lebanese group called on “both the Muslim and Arab nations, as well as the international community, to assume their duty of protecting the Palestinians, and annihilating all evacuation decisions.”

It also called on the Palestinian people to “hold on to their lands and to their resistance.”

Hezbollah said the Israeli move came “in the light of complete Arab silence and international abstinence from preventing Israeli decisions and their implementation.”

Israel’s decision to destroy the villages, which are located south of Al-Khalil, and displace the native Palestinian population of 1,500, falls under “the extensive Zionist plan to cleanse Palestinians from their remaining lands while occupying it under violence and force,” the statement read.

“This new crime is nothing but a clear indication of the degree of the Zionist hatred towards the Palestinians, and their continuous blatant arrogance when dealing with them, while their cleansing practices affecting the entire land of Palestine, and especially Jerusalem, go unquestioned.”

Israel maintains a military occupation of the West Bank, and continues to expand illegal Jewish settlements in defiance of international law.

Hezbollah fought a two decade Israeli occupation of south Lebanon, forcing the Jewish state to withdraw in 2000. Hezbollah again fought off an attempted Israeli invasion of Lebanon in July 2006.

Fears of a renewed conflict have escalated in recent weeks, with increasing rhetoric from Israel of a potential strike on Lebanon and Syria as the Syrian crisis intensifies. …source

Double Cappuccino With a Shot of Tear (or Other) Gas, Please
24 July, 2012 – Voices of The Arab Spring

The world is freaking out today with news of Syria’s admission of having chemical weapons. It’s been an open secret that Syria has had these weapons for years. According to the NYT:

“Over the past four decades, Syria has amassed huge supplies of mustard gas, sarin nerve agent and cyanide, according to unclassified reports by the Central Intelligence Agency.”

So the real headline is that something has changed in Syria to get the regime to play their hand, to acknowledge their stockpile instead of denying it or ignoring accusations. Personally, I think this could be a big sign Syria is scared and injured. Just like a badly wounded animal backed into a corner, Syria is thrashing about in a last-ditch effort, desperate to preserve itself (or deter) using any means necessary.

But with all this talk of Syria and dangerous gasses, I want to bring up Bahrain–the forgotten revolution.

When doing research in Bahrain, I heard multiple stories of police firing teargas into homes, then closing and locking all the doors and windows. At the time of my stay, around 30 had been killed by teargas suffocation alone–one victim was a baby only a few days old.

Here is a Bahraini woman I interviewed at the big Formula One protest in April of this year… (really, I guess it’s more of a statement, as she was so passionate I couldn’t get any of my own questions in to ask!):
Now… the above video was filmed during a peaceful (and legal) march of thousands of Bahrainis (not just Shia, I also met quite a few Sunnis) during the weekend of the Grand Prix Formula One Race. After the official demonstration ended, on the way back to my car, I heard faint explosions, gun fire and screaming. As the violence got louder (and the frantic rumors ripping through the crowd became more intense), I ran toward the Costa Coffee in the mall, the place where the march started, so I could take cover. But on the way, I ran into some clashes and got a big dose of teargas. Water streamed from my eyes and nose, my throat burned and my lungs felt agitated and tight. All my mucous membranes burned with a hot pepper and radish fire. With a few other people, I moved through the crowd and into Costa Coffee where hundreds of Bahrainis were trying to both watch the intensifying violence and run from it at the same time. The sirens, gunfire and sounds of explosions came closer and closer. …more

‘Bahrain crisis should top the agenda of proposed Islamic summit in Mecca’
24 July, 2012 – Voice of Bahrain

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has said that if an extraordinary summit of Muslim leaders is supposed to be held in Mecca, the crisis in Bahrain should be top of the agenda.

Mehmanparast made the remarks during his regular press briefing in Tehran on Tuesday in response to a question about the fact that Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said on Sunday that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had called for an emergency Islamic summit in Mecca on August 14 and 15 to address risks of “sedition” threatening Muslim countries.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stated, “We will welcome any meeting that brings together Muslim countries and will actively participate in it. But the crises are obvious, and it is also clear which countries are taking interventionist measures. If such a meeting is supposed to be held, resolving Bahrain’s crisis” should be top of the agenda.

West is undermining security of global energy supplies

Mehmanparast also replied to a question about the fact that the Wall Street Journal on July 19 quoted unidentified U.S. government officials as claiming that Iran has developed plans to disrupt international oil trade, including attacks on oil platforms and tankers.

“Such remarks have no logical basis, and the countries that disrupt the global oil market are Western countries, particularly the United States,” he said.

“They are seeking to undermine the security of” the world’s energy supplies, Mehmanparast noted, adding, “The exertion of political pressure on companies undermine the security of the oil trade market.”

Iran is making every effort to provide the security of the world’s energy supplies, he stated. …more

Syrian blood etches a new line in the sand
Pepe Escobar – Asia Times – 23 July, 2012

Once upon a time, early in the previous century, a line in the sand was drawn, from Acre to Kirkuk. Two colonial powers – Britain and France – nonchalantly divided the Middle East between themselves; everything north of the line in the sand was France’s; south, it was Britain’s.

Many blowbacks – and concentric tragedies – later, a new line in the sand is being drawn by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Between Syria and Iraq, they want it all. Talk about the return of the repressed; now, as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Gulf Cooperation Council compound, they’re in bed with their former colonial masters.

Blow by blow

No matter what militarized Western corporate media spins, there’s no endgame in Syria – yet. On the contrary; the sectarian game is just beginning.

It’s 1980s Afghanistan all over again. The over 100 heavily armed gangs engaged in civil war in Syria are overflowing with Gulf Cooperation Council funds financing their Russian RPGs bought on the black market. Salafi-jihadis cross into Syria in droves – not only from Iraq but also Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan, following enraged calls by their imams. Kidnapping, raping and slaughtering pro-Assad regime civilians is becoming the law of the land.

They go after Christians with a vengeance. [1] They force Iraqi exiles in Damascus to leave, especially those settled in Sayyida Zainab, the predominantly Shi’ite neighborhood named after Prophet Muhammad’s grand-daughter, buried in the beautiful local mosque. The BBC, to its credit, at least followed the story. [2]

They perform summary executions; Iraq’s deputy interior minister Adnan al-Assadi told AFP how Iraqi border guards saw the Free Syrian Army (FSA) take control of a border outpost and then “executed 22 Syrian soldiers in front of the eyes of Iraqi soldiers”.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey was overrun by no less than 150 multinational self-described mujahideen [3] – coming from Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Chechnya and even France, many proclaiming their allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

They burned a lot of Turkish trucks. They shot their own promo video. They paraded their al-Qaeda flag. And they declared the whole border area an Islamic state. ….more

Chemical Weapons in Hezbollah’s Hands?
By: Ibrahim al-Amin – 24 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Israel has been insisting that Hezbollah was behind the bombing in Bulgaria, as well as a similar failed attempt in Cyprus, and that it is planning more such attacks against Israeli targets both in the occupied territories and abroad. It has been saying that the party operates cells in cooperation with the Iranians in many parts of the world. People have appeared on cue to reveal information about plans and preparations in the Far East, or details of sleeper cells deployed on the American continent, while the world’s intelligence agencies have stepped up their efforts to provide extra protection to participants at the Olympic Games in Britain.

Israel acts on the premise that Hezbollah is a strong enemy. It has conceded its military and intelligence prowess in the wars it has fought with it in Lebanon and Palestine. It concedes that it strives to make best use of the element of surprise, and has done so often and in a variety of ways and contexts. It has for years – especially since one of its special units succeeded in assassinating Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh – been forced to use extra security precautions for personnel, establishments and facilities in Israel and abroad. Israel knows that it committed a major crime against an enemy it always knew would punish it for its deed. But the constant security alert has itself become part of the punishment, leaving some Israeli leaders wishing Hezbollah would get its revenge over and done with.

Israel’s problem with Hezbollah these days is not confined to its charge that it is behind these attacks. It increasingly fears the prospect of the Lebanese resistance’s military capability being given an unprecedented boost as a result of the crisis in Syria. Israeli military chiefs have long acted on the assumption that Hezbollah probably has access to any strategic weapons Syria possesses. What worries them now is that developments could result in Hezbollah gaining sole control of these weapons.

Moreover, they believe that the Syrian crisis, and its impact on the already raging Lebanese crisis, may have freed Hezbollah from certain considerations and constraints, thus leaving it with a freer hand with regard to weaponry, or even to initiating military operations.

Israel, like most of the West, always used to see the Syrian regime as having the virtue of being able restrain the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance. It was the player to address when dealing with tensions related to these forces. But in its current state, it is out of earshot. The threat, therefore, is not just of these forces acquiring such weapons, but of their being able to use them for purposes that may be purely their own.

The enemy’s problem is not with the actual possession of chemical or biological weapons. It knows, as does every industrialized country and every scientist, that it is not difficult or complicated to produce these deadly materials. On the contrary, the spread of scientific know-how over the past three decades has made it possible for many to acquire them if they want to.

Israel’s problem is with the prospect of missiles in the possession of Syria and the resistance in Lebanon, or even in Palestine, being fitted with these weapons. Anyone who can deliver half a ton of high explosives to any point in Israel can do the same with a chemical or biological warhead.

Could Israel live with the idea of an enemy of Hezbollah’s size being able to counter-balance its nuclear arms with weapons no less deadly?
Israel knows, most certainly, that some weapons are there to be owned rather than used. It knows that the value of its nuclear weapons does not lie in their possible use, but in the ability they give it to threaten, and to limit the ambitions of its enemies in any war. Its concern today is that the list of what it has long called “balance-breaking weapons” is no longer confined to Scud missiles and their variants, updated or upgraded air defenses, or high precision long-range missiles. Rather, the term is being redefined in ways that were previously inconceivable. Could Israel live with the idea of an enemy of Hezbollah’s size being able to counter-balance its nuclear arms with weapons no less deadly? …more

EU Refuses “Israel’s” Request to Blacklist Hizbullah
Local Editor – moqawama.org – 24 July, 2012

Despite all “Israeli” pressures, the European Union turned down Tuesday an “Israeli” request to blacklist Hizbullah on its list of terrorism.

“There is no consensus for putting Hizbullah on the list of terrorist organizations,” said Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Sitting alongside the Cypriot minister at a news conference held after annual EU-“Israel” talks, “Israeli” Foreign Minister Evigdor Lieberman claimed that: “the time has come to put Hizbullah on the terrorist list of Europe.”
“It would give the right signal to the international community and the “Israeli” people.”

But Kozakou-Marcoullis responded to the bold “Israeli” call by saying: “Hizbullah is an organization comprising a party as well as an armed wing and is active in Lebanese politics”.
“Taking into account this and other aspects there is no consensus for putting Hizbullah on the list of terrorist organizations,” she said.

“The EU would consider this if there were tangible evidence of Hizbullah engaging in acts of terror,” she added. …source

Police ‘dodge security clean-up by torturing detainees at secret sites’ – The Times, London
by Hugh Tomlinson – 23 July, 2012 – BJDM

Bahrain has begun an investigation into allegations that police are using “black sites” to beat and torture anti-government protesters, dodging efforts to clean up security forces in the Gulf state.

The accusations cast more doubt on government claims to have overhauled police practices since an independent inquiry found systematic human rights abuses during a crackdown on anti-government protests last year. More than 80 people have been killed in the 17-month uprising.

The Bahraini regime had previously denied that the black sites existed, despite persistent allegations that beatings and torture had continued unabated since the report was published in November. But officials now admit privately that some police officers have continued to operate outside the law.

Opposition groups claim that a youth centre just outside the capital, Manama, and a police equestrian centre in the western district of Budaiya, have been used to beat and interrogate detainees before they are transferred to police stations, where stricter procedures are now in place. Cameras have now been installed outside the two sites, identified in testimony to human rights groups, to monitor those going in and out.

Both complexes lie opposite police stations and among villages that have been at the centre of the Shia-led uprising that broke out across Bahrain last year demanding democratic reform from the country’s Sunni elite. The Times spoke to one young man, who did not want not be identified, who said he has been tortured at the youth centre in June. “They beat me with a stick and a belt, and kicked me,” he said.

In April Human Rights Watch cited consistent accounts of police using secluded buildings or plots of land to abuse prisoners, including children, before taking them to a station. …more

Saudi Arabia: Threats from the Inside and Outside
24 July, 2012 – by American Bedu

It is now the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims the world round are to fast from sun rise to sun set in addition to reflecting on their religion and their life. It is the time when Muslims are too not only reach out to those less fortunate but also to feel themselves the pangs of hunger and suffering. It is also a time to cleanse and revitalize the body with the spirit of Ramadan.

However, at the same time that Ramadan is taking place, so are other changes both from within and outside of Saudi Arabia. All military and defense personnel have been recalled from leave or training and called back to their duty stations. Even expatriate workers in the medical sector have had their leaves cancelled and required to remain in the Kingdom.

Why? The answer is predominantly three-fold. Continuing demonstrations and uprisings are taking place in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province. These recent demonstrations have been larger and more organized than past demonstrations. There is concern that groups will travel and continue these demonstrations in the streets of Riyadh.

Further bans have been placed on Iran and its ability to export oil. Saudi Arabia increased its production to reduce oil prices and to prevent Iran from making as much revenue. Now, there are concerns that Iran might attempt to retaliate against Saudi Arabia.

Each year there are security concerns associated with Ramadan and the mass influx of pilgrims from around the world in to the Kingdom during the month of Ramadan. This always places security forces and medical personnel in Saudi Arabia on alert.

Other indications which further substantiate the increased concerns in the Kingdom include placement of Saudi’s industrial sector (which includes oil production and storage facilities) were recently transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. It is now the Ministry of Interior responsible for the protection and security of this vital sector and resource.

Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz was the head of Saudi’s Intelligence agency until just a few short days ago. He is now a special advisor to King Abdullah. In Prince Muqrin’s place is Prince Bandar bin Sultan. Prince Bandar is now both Secretary General of Saudi Arabia’s National Security Council and head of Saudi’s Intelligence Service. …more

Saudi Kingdom Rocked by Protests
by Stephen Lendman – Global Research, 22 July, 2012

On February 14, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt met with Saudi King Ibn Saud on the USS Quincy. A nearly seven decade relationship followed.

America was guaranteed access to what the State Department called “a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history.”

It explains much about Washington’s obsession with controlling the region. It has around two-thirds of the world’s proved oil reserves and major natural gas supplies.

Little wonder America supports what some observers call the world’s most repressive regime. State terror is policy. Freedom is prohibited. Authority rests solely with the ruling Al Saud monarch and members of the royal family.

Currently King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz holds power. Nearly aged 88, he’s in poor health. Salman bin Abdul Aziz is crown prince. He also has health problems. A stroke left him bedridden for weeks. They and other family members rule despotically.

Democracy is strictly forbidden. The nation’s Constitution affords ordinary citizens and other residents no rights. Women are especially marginalized and denied.

Political parties and national elections are prohibited. Saudi kings appoint a Council of Ministers. It includes a prime minister, first and second deputies, 20 ministers, various advisors, and heads of major autonomous organizations.

The Kingdom has 13 provinces. Ruling monarchs appoint governors. They’re either princes or close royal family relatives. In 1993, ministers became subject to four-year term limitations. In 1997, a Consultative Council was expanded from 60 to 90 members.

Media are tightly controlled. Most web sites are blocked. Islam is the Kingdom’s state religion. Observing others is prohibited.

Anyone dissenting is subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. Political critics, bloggers, academics, foreign nationals, and humanitarian activists are especially vulnerable.

Saudi journalist Khaled al-Harbi said annual Kingdom revenue exceeds $400 billion. Amounts fluctuate depending on oil prices. At the same time, the average Saudi citizen earns around $400. Al-Harbi says 60% of the population live in poverty.

Official Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia (Shura) figures claim 22% of Saudis are impoverished (around three million people). Including migrants and other non-residents, it’s believed the true figure approaches al-Harbi’s estimate.

A wealth disparity chasm between rich and poor exists. Income depends on how royal family members distribute it. They and privileged elites get most of it. Most Saudis go begging. Migrants and other non-citizens fare worse.

Unemployment is high. Official figures mask its severity. Young people comprise two-thirds of the Kingdom’s 26 million population. An estimated 40% of 20 to 24 year-olds have no jobs. Even well educated Saudis are affected. So are most women.

Around 80% of workers are non-nationals. Most are regional migrants. With no rights whatever, they work for near slave wages. Saudi citizens are shut out.

The Kingdom is largely Sunni. Minority Shiites are marginalized and persecuted. Deep-seated social tensions result. Eastern Province areas are especially affected. Around 90% of proved Saudi reserves are located there. …more

Clashes in Bahrain over opposition clampdown
The Associated Press – 24 July, 2012 – Las Vegas Sun, USA

Thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain clashed Friday with riot police firing tear gas during demonstrations against plans to limit political marches.

Street battles took place in several places around the strategic Gulf island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Many protesters denounced plans by Bahrain to halt giving permits for opposition marches on roadways and other areas, saying they disrupt traffic and everyday life.

Bahraini officials, meanwhile, are studying other possible locations for political demonstrations.

The kingdom has been gripped by more than 17 months of clashes between the Sunni monarchy and protesters from the kingdom’s Shiite majority, which claims it faces systematic discrimination.

At least 50 people have been killed in unrest in Bahrain since February 2011. …source

Russia, Saudi Arabia discuss ways out of Syrian crisis
(Xinhua) – 24 July, 2012

MOSCOW, July 23 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Saudi Arabia counterpart Saud al-Faysal discussed approaches to solve the Syrian crisis during a phone conversation, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Lavrov once again called for an immediate end to violence in Syria and a broad national dialogue involving all Syrian political forces, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

“The ministers exchanged opinions on key aspects of the Syrian problem. The Russian side called for an immediate end to violence, whoever it came from, and a broad national dialogue involving all Syrian political forces,” the ministry said on its website.

Russia reiterated its call for consolidated efforts to ensure the implementation of a peace plan proposed by the UN-Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan which aimed at promoting the peaceful settlement of the crisis.

Saud al-Faysal informed Lavrov about the results of an emergency meeting of Arab League’s foreign ministers in Doha on Sunday.

Russia upheld the Arabia League’s approaches to acute regional matters and thought this alliance was capable of passing “weighed and attainable” decisions, taking into account the opinions of all its members, Lavrov said.

“The joint principles worked out at a Russia-AL ministerial meeting in Cairo on February 10 were taken into account by Kofi Annan in his six-point plan for Syria,” the foreign ministry said.

The two diplomats agreed to continue contacts between Moscow and Riyadh over the Syrian crisis.

“The sides reaffirmed their interest in holding the second round of Russia-Persian Gulf Cooperation Council strategic dialogue in Moscow this year,” the ministry said.

The Arab League on Monday urged Syrian President Bashar al- Assad to step down and promised a “safe exit” for him and his family if he agrees to give up power. It also called for the United Nations to hold an emergency meeting on Syria to discuss cutting diplomatic ties with the Arab country.

In response, the Syrian administration slammed the AL calls for Assad to step down as “flagrant interference” into its domestic affairs. …source

A political detainee in Dry Dock Prison is facing a serious danger to his life due to his deteriorating health situation…

Bahraini prisoners are beaten during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan
24 July, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – A political detainee in Dry Dock Prison is facing a serious danger to his life due to his deteriorating health situation. The detainee has suffered from severe bleeding as a result of his injuries and has been denied proper treatment. Reports confirmed that he has been taken to a non-specialized clinic, but the level of his injuries requires treatment in a hospital.

Other reports from the prison confirm that detainees have been exposed to mistreatment along with a low level of hygiene and sub-standard food. This is of particular concern for those imprisoned since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan who are fasting in a bad environment with improper feeding and a prison administration that ignores the need for basic hygiene.

The poor conditions exist despite a number of prisoners demanding an improvement in their prison environment. …source