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

Bahrain: A prominent lawyer is punished for defending political and human rights activists, demonstrators and exposing the torture of the prisoners.
June 16th, 2011 – BYSHR

Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer a prominent lawyer was arrested from his home on the 15th of April 2011.

Mr. Al-Tajer appeared in front of the Military Court on Thursday the 16th of June 2011, where he was charged with the following accusations: Inciting hatred towards the regime, spreading propaganda, tendentious news and the public incitement to kidnap and harm security men.

The third court hearing for Al-Tajer is on the 23th June 2011.

Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer contributed in the defence of human rights activists, political activists and demonstrators since the year 2008.

Mr. Al-Tajer was a primary information source in relation to the ill-treatments in custody.

On the 13th of October 2009, Mr.Al-Tajer was the head of a body defending political and human rights activists from the village of Karzakan, whom were accused of killing a policeman. The court acquitted the defendants after their ill-treatment in custody was proven.

On the 16th of December 2009, Mr.Al-Tajer participated in a seminar held by the British House of Lords regarding the human rights violations in Bahrain, where Al-Tajer confirmed the ill-treatment of the detainees.

In February 2010, Mr.Al-Tajer was granted the “Person of the Year” award, that Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society – An Islamic opposition society – presents annually to public figures whom accomplished achievements in Bahrain.

In December 2010, Mr.Al-Tajer was able to prove the innocence of the defendants accused of assaulting the chief editor of Al-Wattan Bahraini Newspaper (a pro-government newspaper) after proving the falsehood of their statements that were forcefully taken, and the pro-government newspaper launched a media campaign against the defendants.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern regarding Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer’s health condition, and believes that Al-Tajer’s arrest and trial were due to his role in revealing the torture and ill-treatment in custody, and the BYSHR demands from the international organisations and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to take immediate action. …more

US envoy: Bahrain detainees need rights protection

By REEM KHALIFA and BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — American officials are concerned about claims of abuses against detainees following Bahrain’s crackdowns on Shiite-led protesters demanding sweeping reforms in the kingdom, a top U.S. rights envoy said Wednesday.

The State Department official, Michael Posner, also expressed hopes for proposed talks next month between Bahrain’s Sunni rulers and opposition groups.

At least 31 people have died since the unrest began in February – inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the region – yet Washington has made no moves to punish Bahrain’s monarchy.

Bahrain’s rulers have waged a harsh campaign to crush dissent but also play host to the highly strategic U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet.

“The challenge now is how to initiate dialogue with representatives of all sides and to ensure that this dialogue will address and resolves divisive issues,” said Posner, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.

Bahraini authorities detained three women activists who staged a sit-in Wednesday at a U.N. office in the capital Manama to call for the release of family members held in custody, according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Bahrain and its Gulf Arab allies are deeply concerned over expanding influence by Shiite power Iran and view any gains by Bahrain’s Shiite citizens as a possible new foothold for Tehran.

This leaves Washington caught between backing its traditional Gulf partners – led by Saudi Arabia – and expressing support for the greater political openness and rights pushed by the demonstrators in Bahrain.

Shiites comprise about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, but claim they face systematic discrimination such as being blackballed from top government or military posts. …more

Retired Admirals and Generals to Senate: No Torture, No New War Authority, No Expanding Guantanamo
For Immediate Release: June 15, 2011

Washington, D.C.—Today, members of a non-partisan group of forty retired generals and admirals addressed a letter to Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) urging the Senators to oppose several controversial provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that may appear in the upcoming mark up by the Senate Armed Services Committee today and tomorrow. The members believe that the United States’ national security policies should adhere to our domestic and international legal obligations.

The letter asks Senator Levin and Senator McCain to oppose any effort to return to torture of terrorism suspects, or so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques”, which are “counterproductive, unreliable, immoral and illegal.” The signatories also oppose the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that passed in the House of Representatives’ National Defense Authorization Act, which expands the war on terror worldwide and cedes Congress’ war making decision authority to the President. Members also oppose provisions that passed in the House NDAA that would require that all future foreign terror suspects be sent to Guantánamo or tried before a military commission.

“There are several provisions of the NDAA that may significantly weaken our counterterrorism operations and undermine our national security. Strong policies adhere to the rule of law and American values,” said Human Rights First’s C. Dixon Osburn. …source

U.S. Lists Ally Bahrain With Human Rights Violators Iran, Syria
By Nicole Gaouette – Jun 15, 2011 4:45 PM MT

The United States put Bahrain, a Persian Gulf ally, in the company of Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe on its list of human rights violators presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has tried to crush protests that have wracked the country since February, as the Shiite majority population has agitated for the Sunni Muslim monarchy to allow greater economic opportunities and freedoms.

“The Bahraini government has arbitrarily detained workers and others perceived as opponents,” said Eileen Donohoe, the U.S. ambassador to the council, in a statement to the council today. “The United States is deeply concerned about violent repression of the fundamental freedoms of association, expression, religion and speech of their citizens.”

The U.S. notes “signs of hope” in the Bahraini government’s recent moves to lift some restrictions and to launch a national dialogue on reforms, she added.

Bahrain’s crackdown has put the United States in the position of speaking out against a country that is both a close ally and which received security assistance from Saudi Arabia in putting down the protests.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called on Bahrain to exercise restraint amid reports that it has detained doctors for treating injured protesters. President Barack Obama welcomed Bahrain’s crown prince last week and praised news that the country will lift the martial law declared in March.

Donohoe’s statement also listed Belarus, China, Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen for council attention because of human rights abuses. …more

Even in Custody, Bahrain Activists Use Twitter to Protest
By ROBERT MACKEY

After their arrest during a protest in Bahrain on Wednesday, Zainab Alkhawaja, left, and Sawsan Jawad filed updates to Twitter from a detention center. This photograph was taken and posted online by another activist, Asma Darwish, who was also detained.Asma Darwish, via YfrogZainab Alkhawaja, left, and Sawsan Jawad, two of the three Bahraini activists who used Twitter to document their detention on Wednesday.

Three women who were arrested in Bahrain on Wednesday as they tried to stage a sit-in at a United Nations office turned to Twitter to explain and document their protest, continuing to file updates even after they were taken into custody.

The women, Zainab Alkhawaja, Asma Darwish and Sawsan Jawad, who are all closely related to men who were detained during the recent protests, were finally released at about midnight local time. Throughout their seven hours in captivity, they managed to hold onto their phones and called on their followers on the social network to apply pressure on Bahrain’s government and on the United Nations.

I think the UN might have misunderstood, we wanted the release of political prisoners, not to join them ;)Wed Jun 15 18:52:03 via Twitter for BlackBerry®angry arabiya
angryarabiya

Ms. Alkhawaja, who writes as @AngryArabiya on Twitter, is the daughter of one of Bahrain’s leading human rights activists, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is currently on trial in a military court. Her husband, brother-in-law and uncle are also in detention. Ms. Darwish, who writes as @Eagertobefree, is the sister of a photographer who has been detained. Ms. Jawad, who writes as @sparweezj, is also the daughter of a detained human rights activist.

As their Twitter feeds make clear, the protest began on Wednesday afternoon, when the women presented United Nations officials with a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which they urged the international body to ask Bahrain to release all political prisoners and investigate allegations that detainees have been tortured. (The full text of the letter is embedded at the end of this post.) …more

Jun 16, 2011
Bahrain women arrested in sit-in released, says UN

UNITED NATIONS – THREE young women arrested by Bahraini police while holding a sit-in protest on Wednesday at the UN offices in Manama have been released, the United Nations said.

‘The United Nations Development Programme in New York has been advised that three women who conducted a peaceful protest at the organisation’s offices in the capital Manama have been released by police and that charges will not be pressed,’ the UNDP said in a statement.

It said the UNDP had made ‘urgent representation to Bahrain’s authorities to release the three women,’ and that the UN agency has ‘launched a formal investigation into how the incident at its office was handled’.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights had said on its website that the women, including Ms Zaineb al-Khawaja, daughter of activist Abdelhadi al-Khawaja, were detained three hours into their sit-in.

They were protesting against the arrest of family members and delivered a letter to UN chief Ban Ki Moon calling for their release, it said.

Bahraini authorities in mid-March crushed a month-long protest movement on the streets led by Shi’ite demonstrators calling for democratic reform in the Sunni-ruled state. — AFP ..source

US-backed Bahrain regime stages military trial of doctors and nurses
By Bill Van Auken
15 June 2011

The US-backed dictatorship of the al-Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain proceeded this week with the military trial of 47 doctors and nurses rounded up during mass protests last March.

This judicial travesty, which is emblematic of the ferocious repression unleashed by the regime of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa against the demonstrations that swept the country last February and March, has elicited no word of protest from Washington.

While the Obama administration has daily demanded “regime-change” in Libya and questioned the “legitimacy” of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, it last week welcomed a Bahraini crown prince to the White House and praised the regime for its commitment to “reform” and “dialogue.”

Bahrain is the site of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters and is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, which sent troops to assist in the crackdown against the protests.

The hearing in the military court in the Bahraini capital of Manama had to be adjourned Monday after defendants rose to denounce the fact that they had been tortured during the 90 days they were held without trial. …more

U.S. Says Concerned By Bahrain Detentions, Urges Dialogue
June 15, 2011

The United States says tensions in Bahrain are very high ahead of a planned national dialogue after weeks of pro-democracy protests and urged the authorities to encourage people to speak out.

Visiting the Bahraini capital, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner said Washington remained concerned about the detention of Bahrainis without charge and reports of torture during interrogations.

He voiced support for the dialogue proposed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa but called for transparency during the forthcoming trials of dozens of people charged with illegal activities during this year’s protests.

Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s regionally strategic Fifth Fleet, quashed weeks of protests in March.

It called in troops from neighboring Gulf Arab countries and imposed emergency law, which it lifted just last week.
…source

see it here Kuwait self appointed GCC Twitter Police

Kuwait wins UN rights seat after Syria withdraws
AFP

Kuwait wins UN rights seat after Syria withdraws AFP/File – A general view shows the assembly hall during the opening of the 16th session of the United Nations Human …
– Fri May 20, 2:09 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Kuwait secured a seat Friday on the UN Human Rights Council after Syria’s withdrawal following international pressure over its crackdown on opposition protests.

Rights groups quickly turned their attention to Kuwait’s record and said it must improve.

Kuwait was among 15 new nations to secure seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council following a vote at the UN General Assembly. The others include India, Indonesia, Philippines for Asia, along with Italy and Austria from Europe.

Syria withdrew from the race for a seat last week after coming under intense international pressure. But it has indicated plans to run for a seat again in 2013. Syria had been planned to be part of an agreed Asian slate of candidates for four available seats. …more

Kuwait: Free Speech and Assembly Under Attack
Some Protections Promised for Non-Citizens
January 31, 2011

This year, Kuwait’s government grew more and more comfortable harassing Kuwaitis who dared criticize the government. Watching what’s happening in the streets of Egypt and Tunisia, the Kuwaiti government should think long and hard about depriving people of their basic human rights to free speech and assembly.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch

(Kuwait City) – Kuwait carried out a major crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly during 2010, Human Rights Watch said today, in issuing its World Report 2011.

The 649-page report, the organization’s 21st annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights issues in more than 90 countries worldwide. During 2010, the government tightened restrictions on public gatherings and began using violent methods of enforcement, Human Rights Watch said. Kuwait should allow activists to assemble peacefully and halt both state security cases and criminal defamation prosecutions against peaceful political activists, Human Rights Watch said.

“This year, Kuwait’s government grew more and more comfortable harassing Kuwaitis who dared criticize the government,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Watching what’s happening in the streets of Egypt and Tunisia, the Kuwaiti government should think long and hard about depriving people of their basic human rights to free speech and assembly.” …more

Kuwait: Dozens Injured, Arrested in Bidun Crackdown
State Security Disperses Hundreds of Stateless Residents
February 20, 2011

Kuwaiti authorities should look around the neighborhood to see that violent attacks on demonstrators only fuel the protests. The government should allow demonstrators to speak and assemble freely – as is their right.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch

(New York) – Hundreds of stateless residents of Kuwait took to the streets on February 18, 2011, to demand their rights, with dozens seeking treatment for injuries in local hospitals and dozens more detained by state security, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch called on Kuwaiti authorities to release the “Bidun” protesters or charge them with a criminal offence and bring them immediately before an independent judge.

The Kuwait government has issued repeated warnings that people should not gather in public, despite the country’s commitment under international law to protect the right to peaceful assembly.

Kuwait: Stateless ‘Bidun’ Denied Rights
Fifty Years of Waiting, but Government Offers Only Handouts
June 13, 2011

During February and March 2011, hundreds of stateless Bidun took to the streets in Kuwait to demand government action on their claims for citizenship, as well as access to other rights.

For 50 years, Kuwait has dawdled in reviewing Bidun citizenship claims, while creating a straightjacket of regulations that leave them in poverty and extreme uncertainty. Kuwait has every resource it needs to solve this problem, but chooses to stall instead.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch

(Kuwait City) – Kuwait has not made good on its decades of promises to address citizenship claims for more than 106,000 stateless Bidun residents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 63-page report, “Prisoners of the Past: Kuwaiti Bidun and the Burden of Statelessness,” describes how in Kuwait, one of the world’s richest countries, the Bidun live under the radar of normal society, vulnerable and without protection. Many live in poverty. Kuwait considers the Bidun “illegal residents.” The government has denied them essential documentation, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as access to free government schools and legal employment opportunities. …more

Kuwait Workers death due to heat stroke; Human rights request investigation
Posted on 6/14/2011

Chairman of the basics of Human rights committee Dr Adel Al-Damkhi has requested to open an investigation into the death of an unidentified worker who allegedly feel down from atop a telecommunication tower in Ahmedi due to heat stroke so that officers responsible for his death are punished, reports local daily.

Al Damkhi added the death of the worker proves human rights of workers are still being violated.

It also proves the law issued by ministry of social affairs and labor to prevent people working under direct heat of the sun between 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm is not being implemented by some companies. …source

Kuwaiti Twitter user arrested for criticizing Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
Nasser Abul, a Shi’ite Muslim, tweeted information about anti-government protests in Bahrain; this is not the first time a blogger has been detained in Kuwait.

A young Kuwaiti man was detained recently for his criticism of the Bahraini and Saudi royal families.
Bahrain mosque – AP – June 10 2011

Nasser Abul, a Shi’ite Muslim, published the critical remarks via his Twitter feed, at a very high frequency, until June 7. Notable among his tweets was information about the recent anti-government protests in Bahrain. He also uploaded photographs of people killed in the protests. In most of the cases, he re-tweeted other users’ messages via his own feed.

This is not the first time that a blogger has been detained in Kuwait. Three months ago, a local blogger was released from a two-month stint in prison for slandering the name of the prime minister. ...more

[success!!! – Zainab tweets – @angryarabiya: We have been released!!! :) ]

[latest update – The three girls have now been moved to the public prosecution’s office. On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 6:41 PM]

[follow-up, Asma Darwish,Sawsan Jawad and Zainab Alkhawaja – Sit-in – see previous post]
This is the statement by the Ministry of Interior saying:

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

A police report has been written about the incident which is considered as a
crime punishable by the law, he added.

URGENT APPEAL: relatives of the detainees in Bahrain protesting inside the UN building
June 15th, 2011

Families of detainees in Bahrain, told Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) that they are now ( 1 pm – Bahrain Time- 15 June 2011) sit in the United Nations building to demand the release of detainees and urgent investigation into violations of human rights.

Asma Darwish,Sawsan Jawad and Zainab Alkhawaja, sent to the BYSHR the letter, which will be handed over to the UN office in Bahrain. ( Attached )

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) calls for urgent actions to protect the families of detainees by the United Nations. …more

Mexico Anti-Violence Protesters Arrive in U.S., Demand Change from American People, Government

A caravan of Mexican anti-violence protesters arrived in the United States over the weekend. Mexican poet, Javier Sicilia, led the traveling protest, which began last week south of Mexico City and ended in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday. Sicilia demanded the United States end the Merida Initiative, which provides training and support for the Mexican army in its “war on drugs.” The Mexican military has been criticized for contributing to the nation’s violence since President Felipe Calderón militarized the drug war in 2006. Sicilia also called on the American people to recognize their own role in fueling drug violence by purchasing and consuming narcotics. To date, more than 35,000 people have died in Mexico as drug cartels and the Mexican government struggle for control of the region. Javier Sicilia began speaking out after the murder of his son.

Javier Sicilia, Mexican poet and peace convoy leader: “We are asking for a national security law for the whole country and also for different forms of taking care of our own citizens, of which there are many ways. We are also asking for more money and investment into our students and for more opportunities for our students. We need to stop feeding violence and start feeding education and culture.” …source

FBI probe could be headache for President Obama
By REID J. EPSTEIN | 6/14/11 7:26 AM EDT

President Barack Obama’s Midwestern labor supporters are angry about a growing FBI investigation targeting peace and union activists in the Midwest, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The probe – which the report says could cause “political discomfort” for the president as he gears up for re-election – dates to the 2008 protests at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota and has led to subpoenas issued to 23 people, all of whom are vocal critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South America.

Backed by a coalition of labor – which includes local and statewide affiliates of key Democratic allies like AFSCME, the SEIU – a group calling itself the Committee to Stop FBI Repression has organized to protest the investigation. On its website, the group posted letters of support from seven members of Congress, including Obama allies like Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Schakowsky wrote in April to Attorney General Eric Holder to “convey concerns raised with me” about a September FBI raid that targeted antiwar activists in Chicago and Minneapolis.

The seven-term Chicago Democrat shared with Holder a letter from attorney Michael E. Deutsch of the People’s Law Office in Chicago claiming those targeted in the probe are being investigated because they have spoken out against U.S. foreign policy. …more

[Editor Note: cannot be independently verified at this time]

iReport —

Severely Tortured Bahraini “Jaber Ibrahim al-Alawiat” Martyred A “severely tortured” Bahraini anti-regime activist has martyred a day after he was released from jail, witnesses say. Witnesses say Jaber Ibrahim al-Alawiat was “severely tortured” by Bahraini regime forces while in detention. The activist had been imprisoned for taking part in anti-government protests that have been brutally suppressed by the Saudi-backed security forces in Bahrain. According to rights groups, including Amnesty International, at least 500 people have been detained in crackdowns since the country-wide protests began in mid-February. On Monday, a Bahraini military court tried 48 doctors, nurses and paramedics that were accused of supporting anti-government protesters. They face a whole host of charges, including an attempt to overthrow the monarchy, possessing weapons and stealing medicine. Rights groups have reportedly expressed concern about the military court proceedings, which have either been held behind closed doors or with only select media and family members allowed to observe.
…source

The Media Line:

Bahrain Backtracks on Workers’ Rights Reform
Written by Rachelle Kliger
Published Monday, June 15, 2009
BCHR
Bahrain has decided not to revoke a system that has been criticized for violating the rights of foreign workers.

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) said it would not be canceling the sponsorship system, which stipulates that foreign workers in the Gulf country must be sponsored by an employee in order to obtain a work visa and cannot switch jobs freely.

The decision to cancel the sponsorship system was announced last month and was praised by human right activists and labor organizations. But the BCCI is now saying the sponsorship system will remain intact. Under discussion instead are considerations that will allow workers to switch employers more freely, the BCCI said.

“There’s a lot of pressure from the business community and many of the business [people] are big officials in the government,” Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights told The Media Line.

Contrary to some reports, Rajab said the sponsorship system was never abolished but said “the government tried to market it that way.” Restrictions were alleviated to make it easier for the workers to change employers and this was indeed welcomed by human rights organizations, he said. …more

Journalists in Bahrain: The Murder of Free Speech and the Siege of Freedom
More than 68 journalists have been subjected to lay-off, arrest and threats because of their work
Bahraini journalists call for a helping hand and for the adoption of measures to insure their safety.
BCHR – 3 May 2011

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

Bahrain is currently considered a dangerous zone for the freedom of press and journalists. Bahraini journalists are hoping for a helping hand and for the adoption of measures to insure their safety. We firmly believe that any journalist arrested by the Bahraini government could die in view of the current security laws (the emergency law) implemented in the country, the severity of the situation, and the arbitrary procedures that the country has seen on multiple levels that go up against the international commitments concerning human rights; especially with the rise in the number of people killed in Bahraini interrogation centers to 4, asides from the 35 dead during the demonstrations so far, all in a country with a population that does not exceed 570 thousand people. …source