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

Bahraini activists: Seeking refuge in a storm
Many opponents of the island nation’s ruling family fear retribution and are claiming asylum in Europe.
by D. Parvaz – 12 Nov 2011 – AlJazeera

For a while, it seemed like there might be havens in the Arab world for political activists, especially in countries where there was either no uprising to start with, or where populist revolutions seemed to have succeeded, as in Tunisia and Egypt.

But things have not been that simple. Tunisia denied visas to 11 Palestinians wanting to attend a bloggers’ conference there in October, while Syrians have been harassed and even kidnapped in Lebanon. And now, Bahraini activists, including those who contributed to the Egyptian revolution, say they don’t necessarily feel safe there.

And just as Lebanon’s close ties with Syria are causing problems for Syrian activists there, Bahrainis worry that Egypt’s historically strong ties with Bahrain might lead to problems for them.

“You know, in Egypt and all Arab countries, police can catch you and give you to Bahrain,” Falah Ahmed Rabeea, a Bahraini activist, told Al Jazeera.

“The Egyptian police might give them our names or our information to Bahrain – maybe they were watching me, I don’t know. I did not feel safe.”

This unease has its roots in the relationships between Arab states and their leaders, in this case Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, and Egypt’s deposed President, Hosni Mubarak. Although Mubarak is no longer in power, Egypt’s ruling military has strong ties to his regime. The Bahraini ruler even visited Mubarak at the World Medical Centre in Cairo, where he is under medical care.

“This is frightening every human rights defender in the Arab world – how will they be treated in Egypt?”

– Nabeel Rajab, president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights

These close ties are also evident in how and where embattled leaders seek asylum at the end of their rule.

Before his fall, Mubarak was rumoured to have gone to Bahrain (among other places); Saudi Arabia rolled out the red carpet for Tunisia’s deposed President Zine Abedine Ben Ali and Reuters on Monday quoted Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state, as saying that some Arab leaders (he declined to name names) would welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Egyptian government has in the past denied entry to Bahraini activists and blocked human rights websites set up by Bahraini activist groups. The UAE also has a record of suddenly deporting hundreds of Shia families,”without receiving an explanation or an opportunity to appeal the decision”, according to rights group Human Rights Watch.

It seems possible that a form of pan-Arabism, on a civilian scale, will ultimately prevail, but for now, no one is really breathing easy.

Murtadha, a Bahraini activist who fled to the UK via Dubai in April, said that he did not feel the same emigrating to any other Arab country (with the possible exception of Oman, he stipulated).

“Because what do you expect from Dubai or Saudi?” said Murtadha, who wished to be identified by only his first name.

“If they [Bahraini authorities] want me, they’re going to put me back on a plane and send me back to Bahrain.”

Murtadha has been told by a family member that Bahraini authorities are now looking for him.

The 28-year-old aircraft engineer has a history with law enforcement that goes back as far as 1995, when he was arrested at the age of 12 for writing anti-state graffiti on walls. They kept him for three days, beat him and threatened to rape him if he didn’t say that Iranian agents had put him up to the graffiti. …more

Hundreds of Bahraini hajj pilgrims hold anti-regime demo
November 9, 2011 – Written by jafrianews

JNN 09 Nov 2011 Makkah : Hundreds of Bahraini Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia have held a demonstration against the Manama regime. Demonstrating Bahraini pilgrims marched in the streets of Makkah on Tuesday, demanding the fall of the Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain.

The move comes as anti-government protesters once again took to the streets in several cities in Bahrain on Monday, chanting slogans in support of their revolution.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military equipment and troops to Bahrain in mid-March upon a request from Manama to help quash the anti-regime protests in the country.

On Sunday, Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces in the northern village of Daih attacked mourners that were holding the funeral procession of 70-year-old Ali al-Dayhee, who died of injuries he sustained during an attack by government forces against peaceful demonstrators on Wednesday night and succumbed to his wounds in the early hours of Thursday.

Scores of people have been killed and many more have been injured in Bahrain during the regime’s brutal crackdown on the popular uprising that began in February. Hundreds of protesters have also been detained.
…source

This Is Not What Containment Looks Like

By Paul Mutter, November 9, 2011

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen”To strengthen Iran sanctions laws for the purpose of compelling Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and other threatening activities, and for other purposes,” begins HR1905, the so-called “Iran Threat Reduction Act” advanced by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee this week. The resolution, put forward by the chairwoman of the committee, Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has 349 co-signers, more than enough to pass a House vote. It will increase sanctions on Iran and limit U.S. contact with Iranian officials, and pressure to enact it will be strengthened by the release of a November IAEA report asserting that Iran has been secretly developing nuclear weapons (and a delivery system for them) since 2003.

But Congress is not really interested in discussing the matter with Iran. One of the measures bans virtually all contact between U.S. and Iranian officials unless the president can certify to Congress – at least 15 days in advance – that not meeting “would pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the vital national security interests of the United States.” The bill targets not only Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but justifies sanctions for “other purposes” as well – amounting to what William O. Beeman calls an agenda of “making certain that the United States and Iran never achieve formal relations.”

Why bother with that, after all, when we want regime change, which would please the U.S. government, as well as two of the lobbying groups behind HR1905, AIPAC and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies? …more

Arrest of Poet, Blogger and Media Professional Jaafar AlAlawy in Bahrain, Arab Capital of Culture 2012
by BCHR

Update 9 Nov 2011 – Jaafar has been released this evening, after spending over 24 hours at detention.

earlier today, his lawyer went to the public prosecution but was told Jaafar’s file is not there yet and he will be presented to public prosecution after the end of the legal detention period of 48 hours, which was supposed to be tomorrow morning.

It’s still not clear if there will be official charges or there will be any kind of compensation for the damage caused to Jaafar. …source

Absurd charges brought against reporters covering Occupy Wall Street movement
9 November 2011 – Reporters without Borders

Sometimes they are arrested and then set free almost immediately. Sometimes they are arrested and, before being released, are charged with unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct or lack of press credentials.

Journalists covering the Occupy Wall Street movement’s protests and marches are not only exposed to police brutality but also to a sort of judicial lottery when detained. The situation varies from state to state, according to local laws, but the freedom to report news and information is being violated almost everywhere, not only for professional journalists but also for bloggers and for activists who want to cover the protests themselves.

“Wherever it takes place, each tale has something in common,” Reporters Without Borders said. “In all the cases brought to our attention, the persons concerned said they had identified themselves as journalists to the police, but to no avail. The attitude of law-enforcement officers supports the theory that not only the movement itself but also coverage of Occupy Wall Street is being obstructed. Are they doing everything possible to suppress news in which the public is clearly very interested? If so, the First Amendment has become a dead letter.

“The other question is the very variable nature of the charges – sometimes maintained, sometimes dropped – that are brought against these people for ‘offences’ that are essentially identical. In the name of the constitutionally-enshrined right to receive and impart news and information, we call on the courts to dismiss all the charges against individuals who have been covering these demonstrations peacefully.”

Reporters Without Borders is aware of two such contrasting cases on 2 November, involving Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer Kristyna Wentz-Graff (photo) and freelance journalist and cartoonist Susie Cagle. …more

Moscow Slams IAEA New Report
10 Novemebr, 2011 – Local Editor – moqawama.org

Russia has strongly criticized the release of the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran, describing it as a “source of a new increase in tension over Tehran’s nuclear program.”

Considering that “it was so regrettable that the IAEA report turned into media ballyhoo before even being released,” the statement said that the “release of information from the IAEA report was driven by destructive logic aimed at the intentional demolition of the political-diplomatic process.”

“Russia is gravely disappointed and bewildered that the report is being turned into a source adding to the tensions over the problems connected to the Iranian nuclear program,” the statement stressed.

As Iran dismissed the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly US,” Moscow expressed “serious doubts about the justification for steps to reveal contents of the report to a broad public, primarily because it is precisely now that certain chances for the renewal of dialogue between the sextet and Tehran have begun to appear.”

“The analysis must take place in a calm atmosphere, since it is important to determine whether some new, reliable evidence strengthening suspicions of a military element in Iran’s nuclear program has really appeared, or whether we are talking about an intentional and counterproductive whipping up of emotions,” the Russian ministry said. …source

IAEA Report on Iran Released, US Officials Vow More Sanctions
10 November, 2011 – Local Editor – moqawama.org

As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published its report concerning the Iranian nuclear program, US senators and administration officials reiterated their concern of a military strike that would lead to a “disastrous war” in the region.

In this context, the US officials further expressed it would be better to increase sanctions already imposed on Iran, rather than dive into unknown repercussions of a military attack.

Senior US administration officials expected that President Barack Obama’s government would increase sanctions on Iran, without giving any further details.

In an interview with The Cable, Senator John Kerry stated, “It’s of enormous concern to everybody and a lot of conversations are taking place right now about how to respond. It clearly means we have to ratchet up on Iran, probably tougher sanctions and other things”.

Senator John McCain on another hand affirmed to The Cable, with reference to sanctions imposed on Iran, “The first thing we should do is talk to the Russians and the Chinese and tell them to get with it and pass the increased sanctions through the U.N.”.

Also, Senator Joe Lieberman issued a statement in which he stressed that a military threat must be credible, further calling upon the Congress to pass a new Iran sanctions bill, which was previously regarded as unnecessary.

“It is time for an unequivocal declaration that we will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability — by peaceful means if we possibly can, but with military force if we absolutely must”, Lieberman claimed.

Moreover, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein indicated, “Now is the time for Iran to answer these concerns, to abide by its commitments and demonstrate to the world that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon”.

The US stances come as mere evidence to the US-led western interferences in all UN, and international resolutions. The West will not allow any nation to become developed and self-sufficient, especially if stands against the western dominating scheme. …more

Obama to Aid Uzbek Dictatorship
By Stephen Zunes – November 9, 2011 – FPIP

Stephen ZunesThe U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, in a move initiated by the Obama administration, has voted to waive Bush-era human rights restrictions on military aid to the Islam Karimov dictatorship in Uzbekistan, one of the most brutal and repressive regimes on the planet. The lifting of the restrictions, now part of the Foreign Operations bill, is before the full Senate and appears to have bipartisan support. The Obama administration has indicated that it intends to provide taxpayer-funded military assistance to Uzbekistan once the legislation passes both houses of Congress.

Torture is endemic in Karimov’s Uzbekistan, where his regime has banned all opposition political parties, severely restricted freedom of expression, forced international human rights and NGOs out of the country, suppressed religious freedom, and annually taken as many as two million children out of school to engage in forced labor for the cotton harvest. Thousands of dissidents have been jailed and many hundreds have been killed, some of them literally boiled alive.

In reaction to the Obama administration’s efforts, 20human rights, labor, consumer, and other groups signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying “We strongly urge you to oppose passage of the law and not to invoke this waiver.” The signers encouraged the administration “to stand behind your strong past statements regarding human rights abuses in Uzbekistan” and not move toward “business as usual” with that regime.

Signatories included the AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch, as well as organizations with close ties to the foreign policy establishment like Freedom House and the International Crisis Group.

White House Claims

Despite evidence to the contrary, Secretary of State Clinton, who visited Uzbekistan on October 23, has claimed that the regime was “showing signs of improving its human rights record and expanding political freedoms.” Similarly, when asked about the dictator’s claim that he was committed to leave a legacy of freedom and democracy for his grandchildren, a senior State Department official responded, “Yeah. I do believe him. I mean, he’s said several times that he’s committed to this. He’s made a speech last November where he talked about this.” In response to some skeptical follow-up questions by journalists, the official replied that “we still have some quite serious concerns about the situations on the human rights.” However, “we think that there is really quite an important opening now to work on that stuff, also work on developing civil society, which again President Karimov has expressed support for. So, yeah, I do take him at his word.” …more

…source

BPA: Journalist and Blogger Jaffer Al Alawi Arrested
09 Novemebr, 2011 – BCHR
It is part of the on-going media professionals intimidation in Bahrain

LONDON, November 9, 2011 – Bahrain Press Association (“BPA”), the London-based association concerned with defending and addressing issues related to Bahrain media and press people, condemns the arrest of the ex-anchor who was arbitrarily dismissed from his post in the state-run and only television channel in the country, Mr. Jaffer Al Alawi (27 years old) from his house in the village of Boori located to the south of the capital city of Manama[i].

On November 8, 2011, armed security forces surrounded the house of Mr. Al Alawi, the leader of the Youth Cultural Programme “Taa Al Shabab”, which is a programme run by the Bahraini ministry of culture. The house raiding came as a result of the security forces quelling a protest in the neighborhood. Soon after that, Mr. Al Alawi was summoned a notice by Hamad Town police station for interrogation. The arrest was later confirmed with Mr. Al Alawi calling his family from the ministry of interior headquarters (known as “The Castle” or in Arabic “Al Qala’ah’).

The BPA is very much concerned with the health of Mr. Al Alawi and demands his immediate releae. This arrest forms part of an organized crackdown led by the regime against Bahraini journalists, photographers, bloggers, and other media professionals. The crackdown has thus far claimed the lives of two media professionals namely Mr. Kareem Fakhrawi and Zakaria Al Asheeri who were murdered while in police detention amid the declaration of the state of national security (martial laws) back in March. The brutal crackdown was coupled with the mass arrests and dismissals of media professionals who were subjected to severe torture inside detention houses at the hands of the notorious department of the national security and ministry of interior personnel. …more

An interview with Matar Ibrahim Matar: A Political Activist and ex-Member of the Bahraini Parliament
أصوات بارزة – 11/02/2011 – ASWAT

Matar Ibrahim Matar is an ex-member of the Bahraini Parliament. He is a leading figure in the Wefaq Society, the largest political party representing the Shia majority in Bahrain. The Wefaq Society plays a big role in the current opposition movement, and in the 2010 elections they increased their representation by one seat, winning all the constituencies they contested, to take 18 out of 40 parliamentary seats. Matar was imprisoned for over a month and is currently facing charges for his support of the uprising. We reached him at his home in Bahrain by phone to ask him a few questions about his experiences in the past years.

1) Explain who you are, your involvement with the Bahraini government and your current role in political affairs.

My name is Matar Ibrahim Matar; I have an M.A in computer science from Kuwait University where I specialized in artificial intelligence. After university, I came back to Bahrain and developed the youth arm of the Wefaq Society: the largest Shi’a party in Bahrain. Some may refer to our society as a political party, but because Bahrain does not have a true democracy it acts more like a society. As I moved up professionally within the system, members elected me to the Shura al Wefaq, a legislative council which monitors al-Wefaq’s executive council. Later, I was chosen to represent the largest constituency in the Bahraini parliament and was elected with 85% of the vote. In parliament, I was placed on the Committee of Economic and Financial Affairs, which reviews budgets of various ministries and state organizations. On many occasions, some of the ministries, such as the Ministry of Defense or the National Guard, refused to submit their budgets. Also, other individuals from the government refused to attend their committee hearings. Unfortunately, their refusal to cooperate with our committee was not met with any penalties. This is one example of the undemocratic nature of the Bahraini government; Bahrain has had declining transparency, competence, and a worsening human rights record in the last ten years.

2) What happened to you? Why and how did they arrest you? What happened during and after your detention?

The political authorities were always preparing cases against me in an attempt to provide a legitimate reason to arrest me. The first attempt came from the television confession of Ali Sager who was tortured and was forced to give a false confession. On TV, he confessed that I had ordered him to run over security personnel and kill them with a car. This accusation meant that I could face the death penalty, if tried and convicted in court. Ali’s recent death in prison as a result of torture, however, reveals that the authorities must have coerced him into providing false confessions and accusations.

The second case fabricated by the government involved eleven detainees who were tortured until they confessed, falsely, that I had funded a program to create a media center that, according to the government, disseminated false information about the state. When I confronted the police and asked the security forces to show me one recording of a conversation I had with these detainees, they were unable to provide me with any proof.

The third and final case involved a woman calling me asking to meet her somewhere. When I told my wife she felt very uncomfortable with it and she accompanied me. When I arrived at the location, my wife came out of the car and met the woman. At the same time masked and armed civilians came and arrested me. They tried to accuse me of committing adultery but because my wife was with me, they could not justify such a claim. They arrested me anyway.

* What about your time in prison?

Only masked men interacted with me in prison so I never knew the identity of the guards (with the exception of two guards, who showed me their faces after a while). They first questioned me for two days and then sent me to the Bahraini national intelligence agency’s jail. I was placed in solitary confinement for 45 days in a very small room with no windows; the lighting never changed. I could not recognize the time or day, only the calls to prayer gave me some idea. Whenever I left the room, they covered my eyes. I was tortured, physically and psychologically. I was completely isolated for three weeks. They tortured me physically when they questioned me. They would even torture me after the questioning just to demonstrate their dominance. They saw it as a punishment for my actions. They made me stand up until I felt like fainting and they refused to help me when I was weak. They told me if I were to stop standing, they would move me outside and have me stand in the sun. The psychological torture was worse. I would hear the screams of others being tortured around me all the time. I began to imagine the horrible things that were happening to them. I could never sleep because whenever I heard noises outside my door, I would think that they were coming for me. …more

Bahrain: Time to support regime change and end occupation
07 November, 2011- VOB

Proceedings of seminar hosted by Lord Avebury, Vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group on 1st November, 2011.

Despite the lack of support from the West, the people of Bahrain have not been deterred from pursuing regime change which started on 14th February. The Al Khalifa regime, propped up by the Saudi army has failed to impress their allies with their continued repression and lack of any reforms. What is the reality on the ground, the prospects of a solution and the likely outcome?

LORD AVEBURY: The Secretary General of NATO was quoted on BBC Radio last night as saying that regime change in Libya was necessary for their mandate of protecting civilians to be implemented. What’s different in Bahrain? Nobody expects NATO to go in there and set off a war against the GCC, but we could start by asking the Saudi Arabians and the UAE to withdraw so that the people of Bahrain can exercise the same right of self-determination as the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and we hope, Palestine and Syria.

So what are the steps that could lead to the liberation of the people of Bahrain from the yoke of the al-Khalifa oppressors?

Whatever the Bassiouni Commission may say, the people have no confidence in their inquiry, Comments made by Cherif Bassiouni himself exonerating the king and the Prime Minister from responsibility for the extrajudicial killings, tortures, detention without trial, military courts, and manipulated court proceedings were highly improper and cast doubt on the independence of the whole inquiry.

In addition, we don’t know what the final deadline is for the scope of the inquiry. We certainly hope it will deal with the life sentences passed on leaders of the opposition and human rights activists, many of whom we have welcomed at previous meetings here in the Palace of Westminster: Abdul Wahab Hussain; Hasan Mushaima, who is being denied medical treatment for cancer; Mohammed Habib al-Muqdad, who was held incommunicado and tortured both physically and psychologically over several months as I expect to be confirmed by the doctors appointed by the Basiouni Commission; Abduljalil al-Muqdad; Abduljalil al-Singace, whose crutches were taken from him in prison so that he was forced to crawl along the passage to get to the loo Saeed Mirza al-Nouri, and the leading human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, whose whole family has been targeted by the regime whether they have been involved in the struggle or not.

Yesterday we were asked what would be the one thing the Foreign Office could do to help the campaign for democracy and freedom in Bahrain. We should demand that all these and the hundreds of other political prisoner victims of the al-Khalifas’ malice be unconditionally released and compensated for the injuries inflicted on them by the Government’s torturers. …source

Bahrain: The continued harassment and persecution of the Medics
6 November, 2011 – BCHR

Beirut, 6 November, 2011 – Bahraini authorities has ordered doctors who treated injured protesters during the government crackdown on Pearl Square, to stop their medical work in the private clinics. Most of the doctors were suspended from their work in Salmaniya hospital during April 2011, after they provided help for injured anti-government protesters in February and March 2011. Twenty medics has been put on trial before the National Safety Court -Military court- and sentenced in September 2011 to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years. They were charged with possessing weapons, occupying the hospital, and inciting hatred of the regime. Medics have said they were only doing their job and treating anyone who needed medical care.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights have received information and supporting documents show that the National Health Regulatory Authority in Bahrain ordered on November 2, 2011 the doctors to stop their work in private clinics, the only remaining source of income for the medics. This latest step of Bahraini authorities is a clear sign that harassment and persecution of the medics continue. Rula al-Saffar, one of the medics put on trial, told the Guardian that the reasons behind their persecutions “because we are a witness for what happened. We are a witness of the injured people, some of us were there when the hospital was seized…We are accused because we did our job.”

At the height of the protests, security forces stormed the Salmaniya hospital, Bahrain’s main and only public hospital, and arrested dozens of doctors and other health workers. According to one of Salmaniya doctors, he estimates that 500 doctors, nurses and paramedics were called to interrogation where they have been stopped from working or dismissed. Many Bahrainis has accused the government of having made systematic efforts to deny medical services to wounded protesters. It is worth mentioning that the international organization “Doctors Without Borders” stopped working in Bahrain in August 2011 after its offices were also raided.

This new order to stop them from exercising their profession completely might be another move to silence them. Dr Nada Dhaif, a surgeon sentenced to 15 years, told Al Jazeera that the number of doctors being jailed is a “unique case” in the “history of any revolution or unrest, and in the history of medicine.” …more

Canadian faces 5 years in torturous prison for peaceful protest
5 November 2011 – green party Canada

After visiting Bahrain, Naser al Raas, a Canadian citizen, was arrested, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for one month. He was then released but has now been sentenced to charges that could lead to five years in prison. Mr. al Raas, who is presently working in Kuwait, was visiting his sister in Bahrain when he made the mistake of watching a protest. He was at the airport to return to work when arrested.

Joe Foster, Green Party Human Rights Critic, urges the Canadian Government to take immediate action to put pressure on the government of Bahrain regarding Naser. Foster stated, “The charges should be dropped and the sentence should be quashed. He definitely should not go to prison.”

What Bahrain is calling a “crime” is the internationally recognized right of freedom of expression, association and assembly. It is a universal right (Article 20) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Bahrain is one of the Gulf States facing the Arab Awakening: people protesting for their rights and democracy. The Pakistan Green Party has also urged action, noting that Bahrain has also sentenced medics who treated protesters injured in the crackdown.

Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party stated, “It is essential that Canada takes its traditional role of championing human rights and democracy during the process of finding peaceful solutions in response to the Arab Awakening.”
…source

International call to help free Bahrain Medics – Saturday 26th November
November 7, 2011 – BJDM

Since the ludicrous sentencing of the 20 Bahrain medics we have been asking medical workers around the world to sign this petition to the Ministry of Health, demanding that the charges be dropped.

With hundreds of signatures and their re-trial set for Monday 28th November we are now calling for the petition to be handed in at Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates around the world.

We would like to do this in a coordinated way, on Saturday 26th November. A number of cities have already confirmed that they will be taking part but we need as many as possible.

We are asking people to contact us on info@bahrainjdm.org to let us know if they are willing to hand in the petition in their country. Please let us know where you are based and if the date is suitable for you.

See below for a list of Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates, but if there is not one in your country you can contact us and we will advise the best option. The more countries we have involved, the more likely it will have an affect, so please do help us if you can.

Thanks for your support.

List of Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates

Algiers, Algeria
Brussels, Belgium
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Beijing, China
Cairo, Egypt
Paris, France
Berlin, Germany
New Delhi, India
Mumbai, India
Tehran, Iran
Tokyo, Japan
Amman, Jordan
Kuwait, Kuwait
Rabat, Morocco
Muscat, Oman
Islamabad, Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan
Manila, Phillipines
Doha, Qatar
Moscow, Russia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Geneva, Switzerland
Damascus, Syria
Bangkok, Thailand
Tunis, Tunisia
Ankara, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
London, United Kingdom
New York, United States
Washington DC, United States
…source

Bahrain: Reports of Military Personnel Tortured, Imprisoned, and Killed by Regime
6 November 2011 – by Mona Kareem – Global Voices

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.

Release our activists, release our students, release our medics, release our women, release our teachers, and now release our military personnel. All of these are Twitter campaigns that Bahraini netizens have been pushing for to create awareness about the different segments targeted by the Bahraini regime since protests started on February 14.

Activists say there are scores of military and police personnel who have been arrested and trialed in military courts during the unrest for refusing to shoot protesters, sending text messages, attending funerals, protesting, or just for being members of the Shia’a sect. The sentences they have received vary between 1-12 years.

Activists insist they have not had fair trials, just like the rest of those prosecuted in Bahrain since pro-democracy protests shook the nation. They add that the military personnel, who work for the defense and interior ministries, were also not able to appeal their sentences and that the media has unfortunately neglected their cause, especially with the lack of information about their cases.
Free Ali Al-Ghanmi (who refused to shoot protesters) by Twitter user @HoPeGlObE

Free Ali Al-Ghanmi (who refused to shoot protesters) by Twitter user @HoPeGlObE

On Twitter, activist Hadeel Kamalaldin (@hadeeloosh) asked people to use the hashtag #FreeMilitary to demand the release of soldiers and to tweet their names and details of their cases [ar]:

Activists detained in Qurain Prison, are prisoners of conscience and must be released immediately
03 Nov 2011 – BCHR

Bahrain Center for human rights (BCHR) came to know that fourteen activists and political figures –currently imprisoned in Qurain Military Prison as a result of protests since Feb 14th, 2011 –have decided to instruct their lawyers to raise their cases to the Court of Cassation, after the military appeals court upheld the sentences of up to life imprisonment, on charges — according to the military prosecution —” incitement against the regime, attempt to bring down the Regime”. But members of the Group told their lawyers that they decided to go to court not because they trust the independency or the impartiality of the judicature in Bahrain, especially when it comes to political issues such as their, but to depletion the domestic adjudication mechanisms.

Bahrain Centre for human rights (BCHR) believes that all political prisoners or the so-called security cases do not have a real opportunity for a fair trial, whether in the Military Court, “National Safety Court” or in the Ordinary Criminal Courts. Justice in Bahrain missing the independence and impartiality, where oppositions and activists are being criminalized at laws incompatible with international standards, such as “The Terrorism Law” and The issues of State’s security of the Penal Code, which is being used effectively to restricting public freedoms, especially with regard to the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of Association. The court often ignore the requests of lawyers and hinder their work, including delaying their access to the case files, refusing to listen to the defendants, and refusing to refer them to an independent forensic doctor to investigate into allegations of torture, which has already led last December to the wave of withdrawals of a large group of over 40 lawyers in protest against the obstruction of their work and their exploitation in show trials which lacked the conditions of fair trials.

Regarding the Group of activists detained in Qurain Prison for nearly seven months, includes well-known activists and opposition political figures, they are:

1- Abdulwahab Husain (57-years-old) The Spokesperson for Al Wafa Party,
2- Ebrahim Sharif (54-years-old) General Secretary of the national democratic action Society (Waad),
3- Hasan Mushaima (63-years-old) General Secretary of Haqq Activity,
4- Dr. Abdul Jalil Al Sankis (48-years-old) President of the Human Rights of Haqq Activity,
5- Abdulhadi Al Khawaja (50-years-old) was an international Human rights activist and former President of the Bahrain Centre for human rights.

The Group also includes well-known opposition clerics such as:

6- Sheikh Abdul Jalil Meqdad (58-years old),
7- Sheikh Saeed Al Nouri (39-years-old),
8- Sheikh Abdel Hadi Al Mukhoder (42-years-old),
9- Sheikh Abdullah Al Mahroos (47-years-old),
10- Shaikh Mohammed Habib Al Meqdad,
11- Shaikh Mohammed Ali Al Mahfoodh (51-years-old)

Along with other activists:

12- Salah Al Khawaja (48-years-old),
13- Mohammad Hasan Jawad Parweez (64-year-old),
14- Al Hurr Al Sumaikh (30-years-old).

Through follow-up to arrest and prosecute members of this group and access to case files by lawyers, Bahrain Center for human rights (BCHR) recorded the following:

1. Defect in the procedures of arrest, investigation, and that was done in the name of the military authority within the national safety procedures – invalidity of investigations of the military prosecutor and the National Safety Courts due to lack of jurisdiction and conflict with the Constitution and international standards.

2. Dependence of the investigations and the courts on confessions extracted during a long period of solitary confinement and under the physical and psychological torture.

3. The case did not include any charges attributed to members of the group of committing any acts of violence, or what is considered as crimes according to international standards. Everything contained in the case of actual information is mainly concerning the defendants’ exercise of their fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of Assembly and freedom of Association.

4. All speeches and recordings which were provided in the case did not include any incitement to violence, but on the contrary they all contain clear terms calling for peaceful work and renounce violence.

5. Some members of the Group are independent activists and some of them belong to various political associations. Prosecutors did not provide any real evidence to prove they belong to “one active group”, or that this group — or any of the groups that belong to some of the defendants — had planned or initiated action to change the regimes by force. The statement that has been introduced into the case and calling for a Democratic Republic, it is the opinion and political position issued by a coalition of three political groups stressed the peaceful option, did not contain any indications to covert action or violent coups and has called to seek the people’s opinion to determine the political option.

6. Procedures of arrest, detention, investigation and trial were all greatly missing fair trial standards.

On the basis of the foregoing, Bahrain Centre for human rights (BCHR) demands:

a) The immediate release of all the members of this group and drop charges against them as they are prisoners of conscience who had been targeted for exercising their freedoms and fundamental rights.
b) Reparation and reform of laws and institutions and to punish the responsible for such violations to ensure it’s not repeated. …more

Bahrain’s Courageous Doctors
By Adil E. Shamoo – November 7, 2011 – FPIP

Bahraini medical personnel protesting in Manama (Photo: Dr. Nabeel al Ansari).The United States continues to ignore the thwarted Arab Spring in Bahrain. Recently, a quasi-military court in the small Gulf state sentenced 20 doctors and nurses to up to 15 years in jail. The charge against them? Treating injured demonstrators opposing the regime.

Doctors and nurses in the Middle East have a long and proud tradition of treating the ill, regardless of the situation. In ninth-century Baghdad, for example, Hunayn ibn Ishaq was the Caliph’s physician. The Caliph asked this physician to prepare a poison to kill his enemies. The physician refused, risking his life, and was eventually jailed for one year. After serving his sentence, the Caliph inquired as to why he refused. The physician replied, “My profession is instituted for the benefit of humanity and limited to their relief and cure.”

So the doctors and other healthcare providers in Bahrain who treated the injured demonstrators were acting not only in the noblest tradition of the Hippocratic Oath but also in keeping with centuries-old Arab tradition. Medical ethics requires all physicians to be medically neutral toward those they treat.

Last February, Bahrain’s citizens joined the Arab Spring by holding massive demonstrations against the country’s corrupt, minority royal government. Bahrain’s security forces, assisted by Saudi-led troops sent by the Gulf Cooperation Council, brutally suppressed the peaceful demonstrations by force, resulting in the deaths of around 30 people, as well as hundreds of others wounded and arrested. At least 1,200 people were dismissed from their jobs. Opposition leaders were arrested, quickly tried, and sent to jail. Many detainees were tortured, and some women were sexually abused.

The government of Bahrain soon turned its attention to doctors and other healthcare providers, arresting, jailing, and torturing those accused of treating protesters. One female doctor told NPR that she was tortured and threatened with rape. In the same story, a man claimed that he was beaten unconscious. The authorities threatened the arrested individuals, saying that the security forces would arrest and torture members of their families if they didn’t sign a confession.

The doctors and nurses in Bahrain have called for support from the international community, especially from the United States. But the U.S. State Department has been muted in its comments about Bahrain’s abuse of hospital staff. This has led some medical professionals and other observers to lament that if such abuses had occurred in Syria or Iran, the United States would have condemned them vocally and emphatically.

U.S. policy toward the Arab Spring has been two-faced and unprincipled since its outbreak. When a hostile regime – in Syria or Iran, for example – has abused human rights, the administration has taken the moral high ground. However, in the case of friendly regimes – like those in Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia – the administration has toned down its criticism or remained silent altogether. In the case of Bahrain, the United States still maintains a naval base there with 15,000 personnel.

The British Medical Association (BMA) issued a statement strongly condemning Bahrain’s behavior, stating, “BMA is shocked that these doctors are being persecuted for acting in accordance with their code of ethics.” The World Medical Association issued a similar statement. However, the American Medical Association merely invited physicians, if they wish, to write directly to Bahrain’s rulers to voice their opinion. The U.S. bioethics associations are silent.

Over the course of history, humanity has carved out zones of ethical conduct, whether in the conduct of war or the treatment of the sick and wounded. Medical ethics has a long and honorable history that U.S. officials and medical professionals must uphold for the doctors and nurses in Bahrain. Otherwise, the Arab Spring won’t bloom for long. …source

Listen to Part Two HERE

Iran Sanctions Act Definite Step Toward War
by Rep. Ron Paul, November 05, 2011 -AntiWar.com

Statwement on Mark-up of HR 1905, the Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011, House Foreign Affairs Committee

I would like to express my concerns over the Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011 and my opposition to it being brought to the Floor for a vote. Let us be clear on one critical matter: the sanctions against Iran mandated by this legislation are definite steps toward a US attack on Iran. They will also, if actually applied, severely disrupt global trade and undermine the US economy, thereby harming our national security.

I am surprised and disturbed that the committee viewed this aggressive legislation to be so bipartisan and uncontroversial that a recorded vote was not even called.

Some may argue that we are pursuing sanctions so as to avoid war with Iran, but recent history teaches us otherwise. For how many years were sanctions placed on Iraq while we were told they were necessary to avoid war? Thousands of innocent Iraqis suffered and died under US sanctions and still the US invaded, further destroying the country. Are we safer after spending a trillion dollars or more to destroy Iraq and then rebuild it?

These new sanctions against Iran increasingly target other countries that seek to trade with Iran. The legislation will severely punish foreign companies or foreign subsidiaries of US companies if they do not submit to the US trade embargo on Iran. Some 15 years after the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 failed to bring Iran to its knees, it is now to be US foreign policy to threaten foreign countries and companies.

During this mark-up one of my colleagues argued that if Mercedes-Benz wants to sell trucks to Iran, they should not be allowed to do business in the United States. Does anyone believe this is a good idea? I wonder how the Americans working at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama would feel about banning Mercedes from the United States. Or perhaps we might ask the 7,600 Americans who work in the BMW factory in Spartanburg, SC how they would feel. Should the American consumer be denied the right to purchase these products? Is the United States really prepared to take such aggressive and radical action against its NATO ally Germany? …more

Saudi Arabia Names New Defense Minister
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -5 Nov 2011 13:22

RIYADH – King Abdullah on Nov. 5 named his half-brother Prince Salman, who is governor of Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia’s defense minister to succeed the late Crown Prince Sultan, state television Al-Ekhbariya said.

Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Riyadh’s governor in Prince Salman’s place, the report said, citing a series of royal decrees, under which Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the late crown prince’s son, was named deputy defence minister.

King Abdullah late last month named Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince succeeding his brother Sultan, who died in a U.S. hospital on Oct. 22.

Salman, who was born in 1935 and served as Riyadh’s governor since 1955, and Nayef are full brothers. He was considered close to Sultan, who he accompanied on his trips abroad for medical treatment. …source

AP Exclusive: CIA following Twitter, Facebook
By KIMBERLY DOZIER – AP Intelligence Writer

Va. (AP) — In an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building, the CIA is following tweets — up to 5 million a day.

At the agency’s Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the “vengeful librarians” also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms — anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly.

From Arabic to Mandarin Chinese, from an angry tweet to a thoughtful blog, the analysts gather the information, often in native tongue. They cross-reference it with the local newspaper or a clandestinely intercepted phone conversation. From there, they build a picture sought by the highest levels at the White House, giving a real-time peek, for example, at the mood of a region after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden or perhaps a prediction of which Mideast nation seems ripe for revolt.

Yes, they saw the uprising in Egypt coming; they just didn’t know exactly when revolution might hit, said the center’s director, Doug Naquin.

The center already had “predicted that social media in places like Egypt could be a game-changer and a threat to the regime,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press at the center. CIA officials said it was the first such visit by a reporter the agency has ever granted.

The CIA facility was set up in response to a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, with its first priority to focus on counterterrorism and counterproliferation. But its several hundred analysts — the actual number is classified — track a broad range, from Chinese Internet access to the mood on the street in Pakistan.

While most are based in Virginia, the analysts also are scattered throughout U.S. embassies worldwide to get a step closer to the pulse of their subjects.

The most successful analysts, Naquin said, are something like the heroine of the crime novel “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” a quirky, irreverent computer hacker who “knows how to find stuff other people don’t know exists.”

Those with a masters’ degree in library science and multiple languages, especially those who grew up speaking another language, “make a powerful open source officer,” Naquin said. …more

Why Israel Won’t Go It Alone
November 04, 2011 – By Meir Javedanfar – The Diplomat

With speculation intensifying over whether Israel is planning to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, it’s worth remembering that it’s the U.S. that will have the ultimate say.

If you want to know whether Israel is about to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities then you’d be better served looking at Iran-related policy and statements emanating from Washington DC than speculative reports from the Israeli press.

The possibility of an Israeli strike has been thrust into the spotlight again following reports in the Israeli media speculating that an agreement has been reached between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Netanyahu to take the military option against Iran’s facilities. Although these reports were later denied by Barak, new reports quickly emerged that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had also been convinced to back a military strike. Meanwhile, other members of the security cabinet, including Interior Minister Eli Yishai, are reported to be undecided and “losing sleep” over this matter.

The fact that Israel tested a new missile in the midst of all this added credibility to speculation that something could be afoot, especially with reports emerging that the Israeli Air Force recently took part in a joint NATO exercise focused on practicing long-range attacks.

Still, regardless of whether Netanyahu and Barak really do intend to attack Iran, it’s exceedingly unlikely Israel’s leaders, as hawkish as they may be, would attack Iran without U.S. permission. The Israeli government may feel comfortable challenging the United States over the issue of settlements, but striking Iran is a very different matter.

It wouldn’t matter who is in charge at the White House and how pro-Israel they may or may not be – a unilateral Israeli attack on Iran, without U.S. consent, would likely have severe consequences for Israel-U.S. relations. After all, the building of settlements doesn’t directly risk American lives and the U.S. economy. Attacking Iran without U.S. permission could and would.

For a start, the United States still has troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and any unilateral attack by the government of Israel against Iran could put the lives of U.S. soldiers there in jeopardy of Iranian retaliation. It could also create a massive spike in oil prices, something which could have severe consequences for an already struggling U.S. economy. To take such action without securing U.S. approval would risk undermining American interests in an unprecedented way, a reality that successive Israeli governments have been fully aware of. …more

Tensions rise over an Israel-Iran conflict
by Staff Writers – Washington (UPI) – Nov 4, 2011

Anxiety is rising in world capitals over possible pre-emptive military strikes by Israel against Iran over the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, together with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, are said to be lobbying Cabinet members to agree to attacks on Iranian military facilities, Israeli news reports state.

Punctuating those reports was news that Israel recently tested a Jericho missile, said to be capable of striking Iran.

British media are reporting that the country’s Ministry of Defense has ordered services to draw up contingency plans for supporting possible U.S. military operations against Iran if Washington were to back up Tel Aviv in any such scenario.

Tehran, meanwhile, is warning that any “Zionist regimes attack against Iran would lead to heavy damages to the U.S. as well as to the Zionist regime.”

The saber rattling and hand-wringing coincides with the imminent release of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that apparently will give unprecedented detail on Iran’s nuclear program and new evidence suggesting Tehran, despite repeated denials, is attempting to produce nuclear weapons. …more