…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

My husband was abducted by Bahrain ‘security’
One woman’s personal ordeal describes how her husband was jailed following a military trial.
[article excerpt]

Using Stalin’s textbook

Joseph Stalin introduced “the show trial” – secretive military tribunals that bypass the judiciary – during the Great Purge of the 1930s. It appears that Bahrain has taken a chapter straight out of Stalin’s textbook, in which verdicts are predetermined and then justified through the use of coerced confessions, obtained through torture and threats against defendents’ families. The only new addition to this chapter is that the government of Bahrain has insisted, since the 1980s, on airing these filmed confessions on state TV – often with the defendant apologising to the king. Ayat al Qurmuzi, a poet sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for reading a poem critical of the king, had one such confession aired, possibly to pave the way for some kind of royal pardon.

Credible reports from now-free detainees who were held with Ayat have said how a toilet brush was forced into her mouth. All those on trial are “traitors to the state”, says the relentless propaganda of hate speech, spewed on state media – a chapter in the Arab Tyrant’s manual that could have been written by Goebbels. The media has described protestors as “termites” and Shia as “the evil group”; they have dehumanised “the other”, who deserve treatment worse than animals.

Since March, hundreds have shared a similar experience to mine. There are several stages to the ordeal that are particularly distressing for all involved. The first stage is the sudden arrest, in a dawn raid or at a checkpoint, or in some cases, at work, and then they are taken away to an unknown location by unknown forces and for long periods of time. In Ghazi’s case, 48 days. …more

[Editors Note: As the al Khalifa regime hands down sentences of life and death against peaceful unarmed protesters seeking democratic freedoms and respect for their human rights, it is clear the real criminals operate the courts and dispense their perverted ideas of justice. As President Obama continues to fail to step in and help defend the people of Bharain from a tyrant it calls “friend”, it condones al Khalifas perversion of justice and disrespect for human rights. ]

Aggrieved Shiites say Bahrain dialogue doomed to fail
June 25, 2011 02:21 AM
By Daily Star Staff

MANAMA: A top Bahraini Shiite cleric said Friday that a national dialogue scheduled to start next week looked set to fail, as the opposition nursed “pain and suffering” from the jailing of protesters.

Bahrain has tried dozens of people by military court in the wake of a fierce March crackdown by its Sunni rulers on mass protests led mostly by the Shiite majority. Hundreds, mostly Shiites, were arrested and many have yet to be charged.

Sheikh Issa Qasim, the most revered Shiite cleric in the Gulf island kingdom, told the audience crammed into his village mosque that conditions for the talks due to start next Friday were not promising.

“This dialogue says for itself it is a failure … It is difficult to reconcile what is happening on the ground with the call to dialogue.”

The criticism came less than a day after Bahrain’s military court said it would move all the protest-linked trials it had not started to a civilian court.

But authorities pressed ahead with plans for the dialogue yesterday.

Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman Bin Hamad al-Khalifah said in a statement on Al-Wasat newspaper that the dialogue would not serve “one category of people without the other”

“We do not work for one side without another, and our goal is to uplift all the Bahraini people because this is our historic responsibility that we are aiming to achieve and that is the goal the integral and unified concept of which his highness [the king] has observed through his reform program and the launching of the National Reconciliation Dialogue,” the statement read. …more

Bahrain’s Al Khalifa rulers calling for reconciliation & Dialogue while at the same time sentencing Opposition leaders for life

JNN 24 June 2011 : A Bahrain court sentenced eight prominent activists to life in prison on Wednesday for “plotting to overthrow” the kingdom’s Al Khalifa rulers, nearly a week ahead of a national dialogue proposed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The National Safety Court of first instance also jailed 13 others for two to 15 years on similar charges, state news agency BNA added.

A member of Bahrain’s largest opposition formation, the Islamic National Accord Association (Al-Wefaq), slammed the sentence as contradicting King Hamad’s calls for dialogue, set to begin on July 1, AFP reported.

“Is this the atmosphere for dialogue?” asked Khalil Marzooq in excerpts of a speech he gave at a press conference in Manama posted on his Facebook page.

“When the one calling for change and reform is sentenced to life in prison, how will others take part” in dialogue, he asked.

“There are political forces, some of whom have received harsh sentences today, which have not been invited for dialogue,” he added. “How will there be a dialogue without those figures?”

The eight activists sentenced to life include Hassan Mashaima, head of the Shia opposition Haq movement, and Abdulwahab Hussein, who leads the Shiite Wafa Islamic Movement, as well as Shia rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is also a Danish citizen. …more

Saturday, June 25, 2011 – Irish Examiner
Leading medic resigns in Bahrain protest
By Catherine Shanahan

Friday, June 24, 2011

Ireland – A LEADING medic has resigned his fellowship of the country’s largest postgraduate medical institution in protest at its failure to condemn the detention and torture of nurses and doctors in Bahrain.

Professor Eoin O’Brien, former president of the Irish Heart Foundation&, said he believes he is the first fellow to resign “in principle” from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

The professor of molecular pharmacology at the Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research in University College Dublin mailed his resignation on Wednesday.

Prof O’Brien said he had done so “because there comes a time when you have to stand up for moral issues and we cannot have doctors and nurses tortured in the course of duty”.

He said the situation in Bahrain where doctors and nurses treating pro-democracy supporters are being arrested, detained and tortured was likely to “go badly wrong” and that “the colleges — the RCPI and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI) — by keeping silent, will be almost complicit”. …more

Hard-line Sunni voice gains audience in Bahrain

The Associated Press

Friday, June 24, 2011 | 8:36 a.m.

A visit by Bahrain’s king to Sunni supporters this week was also something of a royal blessing for a rising political star: an Islamic scholar who claims the Gulf kingdom is under threat from both foe Iran and ally America.

Once consigned to the fringes, Sunni hard-liners like Abdullatif al-Mahmood are suddenly gaining a receptive audience amid a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

It’s another sign of Bahrain’s deeply polarized atmosphere as the kingdom’s Sunni rulers try to open talks with the Shiite opposition after violence that has left 31 people dead since February.

Al-Mahmood’s group appears to be tapping into deep-rooted fears over Shiite giant Iran and growing questions about commitment from Washington, which bases the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

“We won’t compromise on the safety of our nation,” al-Mahmood said during the Tuesday visit by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

It was a clear slap at Iran, who Bahrain’s leaders and Gulf Arab allies accuse of stirring the Shiite-led demonstrations in Bahrain. He also rejected calls by some U.S. officials to cut Bahrain’s special trade status following the clampdown on dissent.

“Crises don’t scare us,” said the king as al-Mahmood stood nearby. …more

Published 12:15 20.06.11
Turkey warns Assad: You have less than a week to start implementing reforms
Senior aide to Turkish President Gul says foreign intervention will begin unless Syrian president heeds calls for change.

A senior Turkish official warned Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms demanded by Syrian protesters before foreign intervention begins.

Turkey, Syria’s biggest neighbor and main trading partner, has been trying to persuade Assad to halt a military crackdown on demonstrations that have killed more than 1,300 civilians and forced thousands to take refuge across the border.

Ersat Hurmuzlu, an advisor to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel on Sunday night that Turkey will be watching closely what Assad tells his people in a planned speech on Monday.

“The demands in this field will be for a positive response to these issues within a short period that does not exceed a week,” Hurmuzulu said.

“The opposite of this, it would not be possible to offer any cover for the leadership in Syria because there is the danger …that we had always been afraid of, and that is foreign intervention.” …more

Bahrain extends deadline for national dialogue
By shiapost (online) – June 24, 2011Posted in: Bahrain

Bahrain has extended the deadline for involvement in the kingdom’s national dialogue which aims to tackle political and social issues following the recent unrest.

The deadline to get involved has been extended by three days to June 26, Bahrain’s state news agency reported.

Political groups, NGOs and other groups will have until that date to submit their proposals to be included in the four-pronged agenda, which will spotlight political, economic, social and legal issues.

National Dialogue official spokesman Isa Abdulrahman said that results of the dialogue would be submitted to King Hamad bin Isa A-Khalifa, who will then refer them to competent constitutional institutions, BNA added. …source

Britain and US urged to act after Bahrain arrests eight political activists

Britain and America were under renewed pressure last night to act against their close ally Bahrain after its courts handed out life sentences to eight political activists, including a wheelchair-bound dissident who was arrested after speaking to the House of Lords.

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent

5:52PM BST 22 Jun 2011

The eight politicians and human rights activists were among 21 people, most but not all Shia, accused of plotting against the monarchy and having contacts with foreign terrorist groups.

All 21 received jail terms, seven in absentia, with nine receiving 15 years and four shorter terms. Protesters set up barricades in Shia villages across the island last night, amid anger from human rights groups.

Among those jailed for life was Abduljalil Abdullah Al-Singace, head of the human rights section of Al-Haq, a radical Shia party, who was arrested in August on his return to Bahrain from London after addressing a House of Lords committee.

The leader of Al-Haq, Hassan Ali Mushaima, received the same sentence. He returned from self-imposed exile in London earlier this year.

The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, raised Mr al-Singace’s case with his opposite number in Bahrain, Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa, but Britain has been noticeably less outspoken about the Gulf state’s crackdown on dissents than with other countries facing “Arab Spring” uprisings.

On Wednesday night Baroness Falkner, chairman of the Liberal Democrats’ international affairs committee, claimed that Bahrain had been a “blind spot” for the Foreign Office, and called on the government to take action.

“If people who speak to us are arrested by our own allies without recourse, how are parliamentarians elsewhere going to trust us?” she said.

The Bahraini authorities fear that opposition, particularly from radical parties such as Al-Haq, is backed by Iran, and is intended to overthrow Sunni minority rule to create a Shia puppet state.

But western diplomats say they have seen little evidence for claims of Iranian interference. The United States last week added Bahrain to its list of countries it deems to be serious human rights abusers in the wake of the suppression of protests in February and March in which 31 people were killed. …more

Protesters Shame Congress On Guantanamo
by Peregrin Wood on June 24th, 2011 at 7:45 am
Posted In: Activism, Democrats, Legislation, Liberty

The record of the prisons of Guantanamo Bay is clear and shameful. The prisoners there have been deprived of habeas corpus rights, have been subjected to torture and coercive interrogations, and have been deprived of the right to a fair trial for the crimes they have been accused of committing. Actually, many of the Guantanamo prisoners haven’t been accused of any crimes at all. Large numbers of them were found to have no connection to terrorists at all.

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to preserve this arrangement, approving H. Res. 320, a military appropriations bill that forbids the spending of any money to transfer prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States to be put on trial.

The consideration of this legislation was interrupted by a group of 15 protesters from the group Witness Against Torture, who, from the chamber gallery of the House of Representatives, issued the following demands:
# Close the prison at Guantanamo Bay
# Free all prisoners who have been cleared for release, ensuring their safe resettlement and providing asylum in the U.S. for those unable to go elsewhere
# Produce charges against all other prisoners and prosecute them in U.S. courts
# Open all detention centers to outside scrutiny
# Conduct a comprehensive criminal inquiry against all those who designed and carried out torture policies under the Bush administration

The 15 protesters were arrested. The House went on to pass H.R. 320. …more

IHRC: Bahrain – Head of University Department Imprisoned
19 April 2011

The crackdown on academics and free thought continues as Dr Masaud Jahromi is inexplicably imprisoned.

Dr Masaud Jahromi, Chairman of the engineering department at Ahlia University in Bahrain, was arrested at 2:30AM on 14th April 2011; having been beaten and dragged from his bed in front of his family. His family, students, friends and colleagues are unaware of his whereabouts and health.

Dr Jahromi is a widely respected academic and engineer. He was awarded his PhD from the University of Kent, UK; having already earned his MSc and BSc from the University of Manchester, UK, and the University of Bahrain respectively.

Professor Hamed al-Raweshidy, who supervised Masaud at the University of Kent, is shocked that a former student is being mistreated like this. “Masaud was one of the hardest working, cooperative, and mild mannered individuals I have ever come across. He was not only my top student, but also a wonderful professional. There is no doubt in my mind that the Bahraini authorities have got this completely wrong”. …more

Oil reserves release shocks markets
By Sylvia Pfeifer and Javier Blas in London and Anna Fifield in Washington and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran

Oil prices dropped more than 7 per cent after western nations released the biggest amount of oil from their emergency strategic stocks since 1991, in a warning shot aimed at Opec, the oil producers’ cartel.

The International Energy Agency agreed to release 60m barrels of oil in the coming month to offset the daily production loss of 1.5m barrels of high quality oil from Libya, the north African country engulfed in a civil war.

The US led the release with its special petroleum reserve providing 50 per cent of the crude oil. Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Italy are providing most of the rest. The IEA said that it was in consultation with China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, but declined to say whether Beijing would join the effort.

Brent crude prices tumbled 7.4 per cent to $105.72 a barrel after the news was released, before settling at $107.26 in late London trading. Investors sought the safety of US government debt, pushing yields on four-week Treasury bills into negative territory and yields on three-month bills to just above zero. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell 8 basis points to 2.91 per cent, the lowest close since December.

This is only the third time in the history of the IEA – set up in 1974 as a counterbalance to Opec after the Arab oil crisis – that there has been a release. The move has been triggered by western concerns about the impact of high crude prices on the economic recovery. …more

Analysis – Lebanon’s Hezbollah may fight Israel to relieve Syria
By Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT | Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:11pm BST

(Reuters) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group is preparing for a possible war with Israel to relieve perceived Western pressure to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its guardian ally, sources close to the movement say.

The radical Shi’ite group, which has a powerful militia armed by Damascus and Iran, is watching the unrest in neighbouring Syria with alarm and is determined to prevent the West from exploiting popular protests to bring down Assad.

Hezbollah supported pro-democracy movements that toppled Western-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, but officials say it will not stand idly by as international pressure mounts on Assad to yield to protesters.

It is committed to do whatever it takes politically to help deflect what it sees as a foreign campaign against Damascus, but it is also readying for a possible war with Israel if Assad is weakened.

“Hezbollah will never intervene in Syria. This is an internal issue for President Bashar to tackle. But when it sees the West gearing up to bring him down, it will not just watch,” a Lebanese official close to the group’s thinking told Reuters.

“This is a battle for existence for the group and it is time to return the favour (of Syria’s support). It will do that by fending off some of the international pressure,” he added.

The militant group, established nearly 30 years ago to confront Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon, fought an inconclusive 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

Hezbollah and Syria have both denied that the group has sent fighters to support a military crackdown on the wave of protests against Assad’s rule.

Hezbollah believes the West is working to reshape the Middle East by replacing Assad with a ruler friendly to Israel and hostile to itself.

“The region now is at war, a war between what is good and what is backed by Washington… Syria is the good,” said a Lebanon-based Arab official close to Syria.

He said the United States, which lost an ally when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February, “wants to shift the crisis” by supporting protests against its adversary.

“For us this will be confronted in the best possible way,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

SYRIA NOT ALONE

Analysts rule out the possibility of a full-scale regional war involving Syria, Iran and Lebanon on one side against Israel backed by the United States. A war pitting Hezbollah against Israel was more likely, they said.

“There might be limited wars here or there but nobody has the interest (in a regional war),” said Lebanese analyst Oussama Safa. “The region is of course heading towards radical change… How it will be arranged and where it will leads is not clear.”

Hezbollah inflicted serious damage and casualties by firing missiles deep into Israel during the 2006 conflict, and was able to sustain weeks of rocket attacks despite a major Israeli military incursion into Lebanon.

Western intelligence sources say the movement’s arsenal has been more than replenished since the fighting ended, with European-led U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon powerless to prevent supplies entering mostly from Syria.

Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan, has regional influence because of its alliance with Iran and its continued role in Lebanon, despite ending a 29-year military presence there in 2005. It also has an influence in Iraq.

“If the situation in Syria collapses it will have repercussions that will go beyond Syria,” the Arab official said. “None of Syria’s allies would accept the fall of Syria even if it led to turning the table upside down — war (with Israel) could be one of the options.”

The Lebanese official said: “All options are open including opening the fronts in Golan (Heights) and in south Lebanon.” …more

UN chief urges Bahrain to allow appeals of harsh sentences of activists
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, June 23, 4:27 PM

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the government of Bahrain to allow political activists involved in the Arab Spring opposition movement to appeal their harsh sentences.

A Bahrain court on Wednesday handed down eight life sentences and other harsh penalties to 21 people in an attempt to cripple protests against the regime.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Thursday that Ban also urged government authorities to act “in strict accordance with their international human rights obligations” and ensure the convicts rights to due process and a fair trial.

The U.N. chief stressed that a national dialogue announced by the king should fulfill the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis, Nesirky said. …more

Military, Protests, Reform, Rule of Law, US foreign policy
Toner 6-22 – State Dept. on Bahrain Trials

State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner opened his daily press briefing yesterday to express concern over the severity of the sentences handed down to Bahraini activists and opposition figures, and over the nature of the military court proceedings. He reiterated calls for a “meaningful, inclusive and credible dialogue.” When asked Toner said he was unaware of any considerations of sanctions against Bahrain. Toner added that the U.S. still does not have an official reaction to the extension of the GCC to Jordan and Morocco. …more

Bahrain player sentenced for protesting
Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s main opposition party says one of the detained national team players has been convicted of participating in anti-government protests and sentenced to two years in prison.

Al Wefaq party says in a statement that Mohammed Hubail was convicted and sentenced on Thursday during closed-door proceedings in Bahrain’s special security court. The court was set up under martial law imposed in March to quell Shiite-led demonstrations against a Sunni monarchy.

At least two of his teammates, including Hubail’s brother and Bahrain soccer star Alaa, have been in custody since the crackdown began.

More than 150 athletes, coaches and referees have also been suspended for their alleged involvement in protests. …source

Saudi Arabia: Group Condemns Increase in Beheadings
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 10, 2011

Amnesty International on Friday condemned what it said was a sharp rise in beheadings in Saudi Arabia and urged the authorities there to halt executions. The human rights group said the kingdom had executed at least 27 people this year, equal to the total number put to death in 2010. Amnesty said more than 100 others were on death row, many of them foreigners.
…source

Clinton Adds Her Voice in Support of Saudi Women
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: June 21, 2011

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton’s advocacy for women’s rights – as First Lady, Senator and now Secretary of State – is well known. And yet she found herself facing criticism for not being outspoken enough on one issue: Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving.

In a series of letters and statements this month, a coalition of Saudi activists has pressed Mrs. Clinton to use the State Department’s bully pulpit to support its campaign against the kingdom’s ban, expressing disappointment earlier Tuesday that she had not yet spoken out. Then she did.

“What these women are doing is brave and what they are seeking is right,” Mrs. Clinton said, when asked about the criticism at an appearance with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and their Japanese counterparts at the State Department. Of the women’s campaign, she added, “I am moved by it, and I support them.” …more

Analysis: Bahrain reform dialogue faces a rocky start
By Erika Solomon
MANAMA | Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:24am EDT

MANAMA (Reuters) – Some Sunni groups taking part in Bahrain’s national dialogue say the Shi’ite-led opposition is serving Iran. Most participants have yet to announce their stance, and the largest opposition bloc may not even take part.

With only a week to go until the talks begin, deep-seated divisions and mutual suspicions mean consensus will be tough to reach and any reforms that are agreed are unlikely to satisfy everyone.

The Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom quashed weeks of Shi’ite-led pro-democracy protests in March and imposed martial law until June 1. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa then called a national dialogue, insisting that all reforms were up for discussion.

But with 300 people invited to join the talks and hundreds of opposition activists languishing in jail, critics hold out little hope that any meaningful reconciliation can be achieved.

“The possibility of it ending positively are nearly zero,” said Shadi Hamid, from the Brookings Center in Doha.

Complicating matters on the tiny island is the presence of troops from fellow Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which is wary of unrest among its own Shi’ites, clustered in the oil-producing Eastern Province that is linked to Bahrain by a bridge.

Hundreds of mostly Shi’ite Bahrainis have been arrested for taking part in the protests, which the government says serve the political agenda of Shi’ite power Iran, just across Gulf waters.

With dozens facing military trial and the dismissal of up to 2,000 mostly Shi’ite workers and students, the leading Shi’ite opposition party, Wefaq, has warned that it might not be able to hold back protesters if the dialogue proves fruitless.

“The situation is boiling,” Wefaq spokesman Khalil al-Marzouq said. “If people lose hope that this dialogue will achieve anything serious to solve their problems, I don’t know how we will be able to keep things in check.” …more

URGENT ACTION:After Being Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Mr.Alkhawaja gets Beaten after He Speaks in Court
June 23rd, 2011 – BYSHR

URGENT ACTION:

After Being Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Mr.Alkhawaja gets Beaten after He Speaks in Court
Reports that other Activist Sentenced were beaten as well after Speaking

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern after receiving confirmed reports from a reliable source that Mr. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Former MENA Coordinator of Frontline Defenders and Former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human rights (BCHR), was beaten severely after court yesterday (22 June 2011). Mr. Alkhawaja’s daughter who had attended the trial had previously tweeted:

“After the sentence was read, my father raised his fist & shouted “WE SHALL CONTINUE ON THE PATH OF PEACEFUL RESISTANCE!” they started violently shoving my father out of the court room.”

The BYSHR has learned that Mr. Alkhawaja was beaten severely, mostly to his face that is still healing from 4 fractures sustained from the brutal beating he received during his arrest as well as in the incident when he had banged it against the floor to avoid being sexually assaulted in detention. …more