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

US embarrassment at terror list inclusion
7 December, 2013 – By Jo Biddle – Irish Examiner

In 2008, just before his 90th birthday, the United States gave Nelson Mandela a special present, striking him from a decades-old terror watch list and ending what US officials called “a rather embarrassing matter”.

By then the anti-apartheid icon had long left behind the jail cells where he was incarcerated for 27 years, and was already enjoying retirement and his status as one of the most revered statesmen of the 20th century after becoming South Africa’s first black president.

In past years, US officials have beaten a path to his door in his family village, hoping some of his almost saint-like aura would rub off on them.

On Thursday, when Mandela died, aged 95, US President Barack Obama hailed him as belonging “to the ages” and ordered that flags on US government buildings be flown at half-mast — a rare tribute to a foreign leader.

Yet decades ago, many in America did not share in the adulation of Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC), which had been billed a terrorist organisation by South Africa and the US. His severest right-wing critics painted him as an unrepentant terrorist and a communist sympathiser.

It was even reported that the CIA had helped engineer Mandela’s 1962 arrest when an agent inside the ANC supplied South African security officials with a tip-off to track him down.

In the 1980s however, late Democratic US senator Ted Kennedy drafted legislation with senator Lowell Weicker that would eventually become one of the global catalysts leading to the collapse of the apartheid system.

President Ronald Reagan sought to bury their 1986 anti-apartheid bill aiming to impose economic sanctions on South Africa, by imposing his veto, saying he believed it would only lead to more violence and repression for black South Africans.

But for the first and only time that century, Congress rebelled and overrode Reagan’s veto on a foreign policy issue, passing legislation that slapped sanctions on Pretoria, snapped direct air links and cut vital aid.

Some observers maintain that the story of Mandela’s redemption and the undeniable justness of his cause hold lessons for Washington as it grapples with other abuses of human rights by repressive regimes around the world.

Brian Dooley, who worked with Kennedy on the game-changing legislation and is now a director with Human Rights First, chafes at the rationale that the US pursues “constructive engagement” with autocratic regimes for the greater good and to ensure security interests. …more

Hagel says U.S. commitment to Mideast security endures
By David Alexander – Reuters – 7 December, 2013

MANAMA: Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told Gulf Arab leaders on Saturday that the United States has a proven and enduring commitment to Middle East security, backed by diplomatic engagement as well as warplanes, ships, tanks, artillery and 35,000 troops.

The U.S. defense secretary, speaking at a regional security forum, acknowledged Gulf leaders’ concerns about the direction of U.S. policy in the Middle East, especially negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. But he said the U.S. emphasis on diplomacy should not be misinterpreted.

“We know diplomacy cannot operate in a vacuum,” Hagel said. “Our success will continue to hinge on America’s military power, and the credibility of our assurances to our allies and partners in the Middle East.”

Hagel’s remarks to the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain came at a time of heightened tension with Washington’s longtime Gulf Arab partners.

Leaders in the region fear that the United States will lose focus on the Middle East as it strategically rebalances to Asia. They also are frustrated by the U.S. response to the Arab Spring protests and the Syrian civil war.

In particular, the United States distanced itself from Saudi Arabia’s decision to send forces to help Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim ruler put down protests by the island’s majority Shi’ites in 2011.

Washington has also irritated Gulf powers with its cautious approach in backing rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al Assad, informed by concern over divisions among the disparate groups and a reluctance to bring Islamist militants to power.

In Manama, Hagel said that, while the United States would continue to provide aid to Syrian refugees and the neighboring countries of Jordan and Turkey, the rise of violent extremism in Syria had to be addressed.

“We will continue to work with partners throughout the region to help bring about a political settlement to end this conflict,” Hagel said, calling for efforts to ensure that aid for the opposition “does not fall into the wrong hands”.

Hagel said an interim agreement that six world powers reached with Iran over its disputed nuclear enrichment program had “not diminished our focus on the challenges posed by Iran”, which has long vied with the Gulf Arabs for regional dominance.

” Iran has been a profoundly destabilizing influence, and a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an unacceptable threat to regional and global stability,” the U.S. defense chief said.

He said the accord “bought time for meaningful negotiation, not for deception”, and that U.S. diplomacy would ultimately be backed up by the military commitments and cooperation it has with its regional partners.

A former Iranian nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian, now a visiting scholar at Princeton University in the United States, asked Hagel from the floor why he had not mentioned Israel in his speech when, he said, it possessed 400 nuclear weapons. Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, though it will not comment on the issue.

Hagel did not mention Israel in his reply, noting that Iran was in violation of many U.N. resolutions and the world was “very clear-eyed” about the implementation of the interim deal.

…more

Third in a series of seven op-eds examining the history of US foreign policy in the Middle East
Dances on quicksand: US and the Arab Spring
Khaled Mansour – 7 Decemebr, 2013

It has been a truism for decades to attribute the drivers of US foreign policy in the Middle East to two realist drivers; free flow of oil from the major Gulf producers and Israel’s security, with the latter seen as part of the US power projection in this region since the cold war era and increasingly also a domestic policy concern since the late 1960s.

Glibert Achcar in his tour de force of the recent Arab revolutions in The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising (University of California Press and Saqi Books, 2013), views US foreign policy in the region as an exclusive domain for the realists (who care most about the free flow of oil and Israel as a strategic asset in the Cold War and now the only reliable one in a shaky region).

In this he is supported by former assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, Martin Indyk, who argues that unlike the balance the US had always to strike between the national interest and the nation’s values, “in the Middle East…every American president since Franklin Roosevelt has struck that balance in favour of the national interest, downplaying the promotion of America’s democratic values because of the region’s strategic importance.”

It has to be noted that national interest, according to Indyk who now works with the Brookings Institution, stands for economic and security interests which can be measured in the short term.

Timothy Mitchell, in his seminal work, Carbon Democracy (Verso Books, 2011), argued for seeing democracy, human rights and the Wilsonian tradition in general as instruments deployed to stabilise the capitalist project in the region, and the world at large, in a much more effective way compared to brutal autocracies. In other words, democracy and human right are necessary instruments sometimes.

Let us look more deeply into the vast oil question.

The US is the ultimate guarantor of energy supplies from the Middle East, which provides about a third of global oil production (nearly 14 percent of total global energy production) and is the main provider for Europe, China and Japan. The Arab region has about 50 percent of world oil reserves.

Although the US does not primarily depend on this oil for own energy needs, it is extremely important for main players in the world economy, whose financial health affects that of the US in the interdependent global economic environment. This policeman function should also provide Washington DC with a clout when negotiating trade and other economic issues with the rest of the industrialised world.

Historically, it was oil that attracted the US to the region, especially after WWII when the US became the region power broker and security guarantor. The 1956 Suez Crisis signaled the end of 40 years of imperial control by the French and the British following the 1904 Sykes-Picot agreement.

Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer in the world, provides the best example of how American values can become so subservient to hard interests. With no constitution nor real parliament, the royal family exercises absolute authority, which is formally vested in the king but legitimated by an alliance with an extremely conservative clergy, which controls education, public space and is financially well-endowed.

Mitchell, and others, argue that this political and social arrangement in Saudi Arabia is not primarily natural or an expression of indigenous factors only, but has been as well built by external intervention, mainly British, and then sustained by the Americans who punished deviations from this model. …more

Visiting service members in Bahrain, Hagel vows continued U.S. presence in Persian Gulf
By Ernesto Londoño – 6 December, 2013 – Washington Post

MANAMA, Bahrain — Speaking to American sailors standing at attention on the deck of the USS Ponce, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel vowed on Friday that the United States would keep a robust military presence in the Persian Gulf and build stronger ties with the region’s Arab states, even as it pursues negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

The service members, part of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet, were likely to be the secretary’s easiest audience during a three-day trip to this tiny gulf kingdom.

As the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit Bahrain since the spring of 2011, when popular revolts roiled the Arab world, Hagel waded into a region where the U.S. faces a tide of criticism. Bahrain’s pro-democracy activists charge that Washington has not done enough to curb the kingdom’s crackdown on dissidents from the country’s Shiite majority because it wants to safeguard a strategic alliance.

Gulf Sunni monarchs, meanwhile, are angered by Washington’s talks with Iran, a country they view as an existential threat. A six-month temporary accord with Tehran over its nuclear program, and the prospect of a permanent deal, have further strained relationships frayed by the robust support some Sunni states have given to Syrian rebels with ties to al-Qaeda.

Hagel appeared more interested in mollifying the monarchs than the protesters.

“I will assure our partners that we’re not going anywhere,” Hagel told troops aboard the Navy ship, one of several docked in Bahrain. He said U.S. officials were “clear-eyed” about the complexity of negotiating with Iran and remained committed to keeping a robust military deterrence architecture in a region he described as “dangerous, combustible and unstable.”

U.S. defense officials said Hagel intended to use his visit to Bahrain — where he is attending a yearly meeting of defense chiefs known as the Manama Dialogue — to counter the notion that America’s budget crisis and a renewed focus on Asia have made it an unreliable ally in the Middle East. …more

Manama Rocked by Mass Protest Ahead of International Forum
7 Decemebr, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Anti-regime protesters in Bahrain staged a mass demonstration near Manama ahead of an international forum on Middle East security to be held in the capital city.

Thousands of people rallied in the village of Sa’ar, West of Manama, responding to a call of the main opposition bloc al-Wefaq to protest against a crackdown on opposition activists, press tv reported.

The protesters were carrying pictures of jailed opposition leaders and banners containing messages for top international officials who are attending the two-day Manama Dialogue forum opened on Friday evening.

“To those meeting at the Manama Dialogue (conference): Are you aware that there are female detainees in Bahraini jails?” read one banner.

“Why do you support democracy for people of other countries… (and not) in Bahrain?” read another banner.

Police attacked the protesters with tear gas and sound bombs trying to disperse them.

Similar protests were also held in the villages of Sanabis, Deraz, Sitra and Diya, where protesters burned tires and at some points clashed with security forces.

The protests come as British Foreign Secretary William Hague is planned to deliver the keynote address at the annual security forum upon its opening.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will also give a speech on Saturday, the second day of the forum which is organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa ruling family to step down.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government to crush the peaceful protests.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the Saudi-backed crackdown. …source

Hagel, King of Bahrain Discuss Regional Security Issues
American Forces Press Service – 6 Decemebr, 2013

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with His Majesty King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain at Safria Palace in Bahrain and the two leaders exchanged views on shared regional security challenges, including Iran and the signed joint plan of action between the P5+1 and Iran, Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a statement issued today.

Woog’s statement reads as follows:

Secretary Hagel met with His Majesty King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain this afternoon at the Safria Palace.

Secretary Hagel and the king discussed the long history of the United States – Bahrain bilateral relationship. Secretary Hagel emphasized the U.S. commitment to Gulf security and discussed the speech he will present to the IISS Manama Dialogue tomorrow.

The secretary and the king exchanged views on shared regional security challenges, including Iran and the signed joint plan of action between the P5+1 and Iran.

The meeting included significant discussion of reform in Bahrain and the importance of political inclusiveness for long term stability. The secretary thanked King Hamad for hosting the U.S. 5th fleet and ongoing security cooperation. …source

Bahrain: Authorities attack religious rituals preserved by Constitution
7 December, 2013 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) In November 2012, Al-Wefaq Islamic Society has sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, regarding restrictions on religious freedom on one of the religious sects in Bahrain, stating, “The authorities in Bahrain, during the religious season of (Muharram 1434 AH) are following an approach based on directions from high influential bodies in the State, stirring public anger and undermining the people’s right to practice their religious rituals. Citizens of a certain sect of the population feel that their religious beliefs and rituals are being targeted, without any reason, whether related to maintaining security, the State’s safety or any other claims. This attack is similar to what happened during the National Safety period, in March/May 2011, as had been reported by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and the UN Human Rights Council delegation during its visit to Bahrain in December 2011.”

Included with the letter was a list, prepared by the Liberties and Human Rights Unit in Al-Wefaq Society, that contained 42 documented cases of preachers, religious performers and a group of individuals responsible of “Matams” (Shi’a religious places) who were summoned to police stations for interrogation. The interrogation “focused on the usual phrases that were included in their religious speeches, and which are related to ideological, religious and historical beliefs. The authorities considered repeating these sayings, in the Shi’a culture, as an incitement toward hatred of the regime!” In addition to this, there are 9 other cases of attack on the rituals of the Ashura religious commemoration. …more

UK foreign secretary seeks to reassure Gulf allies
By ADAM SCHRECK – 6 December, 2013 – The Bellingham Herald

MANAMA, Bahrain — Britain’s top diplomat voiced his country’s strong commitment to the security of the Gulf states on Friday, seeking to reassure wary Arab allies in the wake of last month’s nuclear deal with their regional rival Iran.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told representatives at a regional security summit in the Bahraini capital Manama that last month’s deal between world powers and Iran in Geneva does not imply any lessening of the U.K.’s commitments to its alliances in the region.

“The U.K. and other Western countries must retain and also strengthen our commitment to stability in the Gulf,” Hague said, adding that Britain is extending “deliberately and for the long-term” its defense and security cooperation with the region.

“We will remain solidly committed to intensifying and building up these links based on common interest and the deepest possible mutual understanding,” he said.

Iran agreed to freeze parts of its nuclear program for six months in exchange for some relief from Western sanctions.

The Gulf states generally welcomed the deal, and Iran’s foreign minister this week paid visits to four of them — Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — in an early indication of the warming ties.

Even so, Gulf leaders remain suspicious of Iran’s broader intentions and fear that better relations with the West could embolden Tehran, destabilizing the region. Heavyweight Saudi Arabia in particular sees Iran as a threat to its own influence, and it and other Sunni-ruled Gulf nations are important backers of the Syrian rebels fighting to topple the Iran-allied government of Bashar Assad in Syria.
…more

Protesters, police clash in Bahrain Shia villages
7 December, 2013 – Gulf Times

Demonstrators calling for democratic reform clashed with police yesterday in Shia villages near Manama ahead of an international forum on Middle East security, witnesses said.

A Shia-led uprising to demand changes in the kingdom was crushed in March 2011 but almost weekly protests against the authorities have been since staged in Shia villages around Manama.

Yesterday, dozens of protesters, mostly youths, clashed with police in the villages of Sanabis, Deraz, Sitra and Diya, hurling stones and petrol bombs at the security forces, witnesses said.

The protesters also blocked roads with burning tyres, the witnesses said.

Police responded by firing teargas and sound bombs to disperse them, they added. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the village of Sar near Manama, thousands of people took to the streets at the call of the main Shia opposition bloc Al Wefaq to protest against a crackdown on opposition activists.

Witnesses said the protesters held up pictures of jailed Shia opposition leaders and banners carrying “messages” for top officials, including from Britain and the United States, attending the two-day Manama Dialogue forum.

“To those meeting at the Manama Dialogue (conference): Are you aware that there are female detainees in Bahraini jails?” read one banner.

“Why do you support democracy for people of other countries … (and not) in Bahrain?” read another banner.

Witnesses said police beefed up security in Shia villages ahead of the forum and set up checkpoints on roads leading to the hotel hosting the four-day conference in the Seef area near the capital.

Bahraini authorities have banned protests from taking place in Manama.

At least 89 people have been killed since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Authorities arrested hundreds of activists, mostly Shias, in the wake of the 2011 uprising. Dozens have have been sentenced to jail terms.

Rights groups have denounced the arrests and trials in Bahrain.

Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet, a crucial naval hub that oversees aircraft carriers and other warships patrolling the strategic Gulf sea lanes.

Washington views Bahrain of “great strategic importance”, but has withheld some military assistance as part of an effort to urge Manama “to lift restrictions on civil society” and “engage in a deliberate reform process”, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on Wednesday. …source

Protesters clash with police in Bahrain
7 December, 2013 – The Peninsula

MANAMA: Demonstrators calling for democratic reform clashed with police yesterday in Shiite villages near Manama ahead of an international forum on Middle East security, witnesses said.

A Shia-led uprising to demand changes in the kingdom was crushed in March 2011 but almost weekly protests against the authorities have been since staged in Shia villages around Manama.

Yesterday, dozens of protesters, mostly youths, clashed with police in the villages of Sanabis, Deraz, Sitra and Diya, hurling stones and petrol bombs at the security forces, witnesses said.

The protesters also blocked roads with burning tyres, the witnesses said.

Police responded by firing tear gas and sound bombs to disperse them, they added. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the village of Sar near Manama, thousands of people took to the streets at the call of the main Shia opposition bloc Al Wefaq to protest against a crackdown on opposition activists.

Witnesses said the protesters held up pictures of jailed Shiite opposition leaders and banners carrying “messages” for top officials, including from Britain and the United States, due to attend the two-day Manama Dialogue forum that opens last evening.

“To those meeting at the Manama Dialogue (conference): Are you aware that there are female detainees in Bahraini jails?” read one banner.

“Why do you support democracy for people of other countries… (and not) in Bahrain?” read another banner.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to deliver the keynote address at the annual forum that focuses on Middle East security when it opens at around 1800 GMT.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel will also give a speech today, the second day of the forum which is organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Witnesses said police beefed up security in Shiite villages ahead of the forum and set up checkpoints on roads leading to the hotel hosting the four-day conference in the Seef area near the capital.

Bahraini authorities have banned protests from taking place in Manama.

At least 89 people have been killed since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Authorities arrested hundreds of activists, mostly Shias, in the wake of the 2011 uprising,dozens have faced trials and as many have been convicted to jail terms.

Rights groups have denounced the arrests and trials in Bahrain.

Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet, a crucial naval hub that oversees aircraft carriers and other warships patrolling the strategic Gulf sea lanes. …source

Nasrallah links Saudi Arabia to Iran embassy attack
NOW – 3 December, 2013

BEIRUT – Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday linked Saudi Arabia to the November 19 bombings that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

“We believe the Abdallah Azzam Brigades’ claim of responsibility for the attack, and it is my belief they are under the administration of Saudi intelligence,” he told OTV in an interview.

Nasrallah also purported a Saudi motive in the attack, saying that Riyadh “holds Iran responsible for the failure of its projects in the region.”

The Al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings outside the Iranian embassy hours after the attack and warned it would strike again in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia denounced the bombings that left 23 people dead outside the Iranian embassy, while pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akbhar on November 20 blamed Riyadh for the attack.

The bombing came days after the Syrian regime and Hezbollah troops launched an offensive against rebels in Syria’s mountainous Qalamoun region along the Lebanese border.

The fighting sparked a mass exodus of Syrian refugees into Lebanon’s Beqaa and raised fears of a spillover of fighting into Lebanon.

However, Nasrallah insisted in his interview with OTV that his party was safeguarding the country from terror attacks originating in Qalamoun.

“If militants take control of border areas with Lebanon, we would be prone to dozens of car bomb attacks.”

The Hezbollah chief alleged that “three car bombs were found in [Qalamoun’s] Nabak that were rigged to be sent to Lebanon.”

He also said that “the car bombs that exploded in Lebanon came into the country from [Qalamoun’s] Yabrud and Nabak through [the northern Beqaa’s] Arsal and its outskirts.”

“If Hezbollah did not fight in Syria, there would have been a civil war in Lebanon and hundreds of car bombs,” Nasrallah added.

However, he told OTV that his Shiite party had a “minimal” role in the fighting in the Qalamoun region, adding that the regime was bearing the brunt of the fighting.

Nasrallah also hailed the interim nuclear deal reached between Iran and the P5+1 world powers in Geneva on November 24.

He said the “region’s people are the biggest winners from the deal” because it forestalls any military action against Iran.

“Israel cannot possibly bomb nuclear facilities without a US green light.”

The Hezbollah chief delved into the regional ramifications of the deal, saying that “it is too early for Iran to head toward normalization with the US.”

Yemen says Saudis behind attack
6 December, 2013 – By AHMED AL-HAJ – Associated Press

ADEN, Yemen (AP) – Saudi militants were behind the massive car bombing and assault on Yemen’s military headquarters that killed more than 50 people, including foreigners, investigators said in a preliminary report released Friday. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes that have killed dozens of the terror network’s leaders.

The attack – the deadliest in Sanaa since May 2012 – marked an escalation in the terror network’s battle to undermine the U.S.-allied government and destabilize the impoverished Arab nation despite the drone strikes and a series of U.S.-backed military offensive against it. U.S. forces also have been training and arming Yemeni special forces, and exchanging intelligence with the central government.

Military investigators described a two-stage operation, saying heavily armed militants wearing army uniforms first blew up a car packed with 500 kilograms (more than 1,100 pounds) of explosives near an entrance gate, then split into groups that swept through a military hospital and a laboratory, shooting at soldiers, doctors, nurses, doctors and patients.

Officials earlier said 11 militants were killed, including the suicide bomber who drove the car. It was not clear if the 12th attacker was captured or escaped.

The investigative committee led by Yemen’s Chief of Staff Gen. Ahmed al-Ashwal, said militants shot the guards outside the gates of the military hospital, allowing the suicide bomber to drive the car inside, but a gunfight forced him to detonate his explosives before reaching his target. It said the 12 militants killed, included Saudis.

Two military officials told The Associated Press that wounded soldiers had told them the assailants who stormed the hospital separated out the foreigners and shot everybody in the head.

Other military officials said American security agents were helping with the investigations, but that could not be confirmed. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief reporters.

Yemeni commandos and other security forces besieged the militants before they could reach the ministry’s main building, preventing them from going further than the ministry’s entrance gate. All the attackers were killed by 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the committee.

Yemeni security forces launched a manhunt in the capital to find the perpetrators, sparking gunbattles that killed five suspected militants and a Yemeni commando, officials said. …more

Amid allegations of torture and abuse U.S. military remains supportive of brutal monarchy in Saudi Arabia
Robert Tilford – GroundReport – 6 December, 2013

The Department of Defense Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog today provided the following read out on the Pentagon webpage regarding advanced weapon sales to Saudi Arabia :

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel met with Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Salman bin Sultan on the eve of the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain to discuss regional issues, including Iran, Egypt and Syria.

The secretary underscored the strength of the bilateral relationship and noted the centrality of the defense partnership in maintaining the long-standing ties between the two countries. Secretary Hagel conveyed that the United States remained committed to regional security and stability, a shared objective with Saudi Arabia.

The secretary indicated U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation is essential to maintaining our shared priorities. He highlighted the Saudi purchase of F-15SA aircraft and advanced weapons as an example of future of improved interoperability and coordination between both militaries.

Source: DOD

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia record on human rights is abysmal:

“Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests and trials of peaceful dissidents, and responded with force to demonstrations by citizens. Authorities continue to suppress or fail to protect the rights of 9 million Saudi women and girls and 9 million foreign workers. As in past years, thousands of people have received unfair trials or been subject to arbitrary detention, and public and other executions continue. Human rights defenders and others regularly face trial for peaceful expression or assembly, or for demanding political and human rights reforms” (source: HRW ).

These abuses of human rights are so bad that you wonder how the United States can allow advanced weapons sales to that brutal monarchy., especially advanced fighter planes like the F-16? …source

Hussain AlMahfoodh

In the name of God

Official Statement of Sh. AlMahfoodh Recent Condition

We received confirmations that Sh. Mohamed Ali AlMahfoodh is sent to hospital as his health has dramatically deteriorated. Thus, there are serious concerns about his safety especially after six days passed since the recent attacks as reported from Jaw Center of Detention. Since six days, there has been no news or calls from Sh. AlMahfoodh and the rest of the detained in the Ward of Hope/Ward One. All what is confirmed is that the ward is on hunger strike since six days.

The last contact with Sh. AlMahfoodh was on Sunday December 1st 2013. In his short abrupt call, his voice was weak and thin, and the call was under strict supervision of the ward guards. He personally confirmed that the rumors about the incident are real and the ward is put under punishment. Consequently, the call increased the concerns among the family of Sh. AlMahfoodh.

As for the recent rumors that claim Sh. AlMahfoodh case to be comforted or settled, there is no certain reliable proof or trace, and the source is anonymous. There is no confirmation of any relief in the Ward’s condition especially after the new impunity restrictions enforced on the detained in the ward.

We, the family of Sh. Mohamed Ali AlMahfoodh send an urgent call to the concerned international community and the Human Rights organizations to investigate and follow the case if Sh. AlMahfoodh. We call to arrange immediately to meet him in person to check his safety and health status. We also demand the immediate unconditional release of Sh. AlMahfoodh and all the other prisoners of conscience.

The family of Sh. Mohamed Ali AlMahfoodh
Bahrain
December 3rd 2013

Bahrain court rejects jailed activist’s plea for release
by Rania El Gamal – The Star Online – 3 December, 2013

DUBAI (Reuters) – A Bahraini court has rejected a request by a prominent human rights advocate that he be freed after serving three-quarters of a prison term for taking part in unlicensed protests.

Bahrain, where the Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family rules over a majority Shi’ite population, has been in political turmoil since Shi’ite-led pro-democracy protests erupted in 2011.

The island kingdom is a base for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols oil shipping lanes in the Gulf region.

Lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi said rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab, sentenced last year to two years in prison for cases related to organising and participating in protests, had a legal right to early release after spending a year and half in jail.

“But the court rejected the request to release him without giving any reasons,” Jishi told Reuters by telephone from Manama after Monday’s ruling, which several foreign diplomats attended.

The government’s Information Affairs Authority confirmed the court had deemed Rajab “not eligible” for early release.

“Rajab has continuously called upon the citizens to defy the laws of public gathering which resulted in violence,” the IAA said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Tuesday.

It said many security personnel had been wounded by people throwing petrol bombs and steel rods as a result.

“Rajab’s speeches included encouraging youths to confront the authorities,” the IAA said. “Incitement of any sort is a violation of the constitution and laws of Bahrain that are in line with international standards.”

Rajab shot to prominence in 2011 when he campaigned against a crackdown on protesters. With 217,000 followers on Twitter he is one of the Arab world’s best-known online activists.

A hero to protesters but a villain to those Bahrainis who fear they will bring Shi’ite Islamists to power, Rajab is the founder of the non-governmental Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

An organiser of many protests against the powers of the Al Khalifa dynasty, he was sentenced to three months in jail last year in a separate case over a tweet criticising the veteran prime minister, the king’s uncle. The ruling was overturned, but only after Rajab had already served his sentence.

London-based Amnesty International and U.S.-based Human Rights First have called for him to be freed.

“It’s depressing but no big surprise that Nabeel Rajab was not released,” said Brian Dooley, of Human Rights First.

“Recent weeks have seen an increased targeting of human rights defenders by the authorities and freeing him would have gone against that trend.”

Bahrain, which effectively bans protests and gatherings not licensed by the government, has been caught up in a struggle for influence between Shi’ite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain quelled the 2011 revolt with help from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf states, but protests and small-scale clashes persist and bomb attacks have multiplied since mid-2012.

Talks between the government and opposition have failed to end the political standoff. Many Shi’ites complain of political and economic discrimination, a charge the authorities deny. …source

Al Wefaq writes to the Red Cross on the situation of Sheikh Al Mahfoodh and other prisoners
3 December, 2013 – SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Al Wefaq National Islamic Society demands the authorities to immediately reveal information on the situation of the detainees in Juw prison. The authorities must also reveal information on the condition of Secretary General of Amal Islamic Action Society Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al Mahfoodh, who is detained for reasons related to freedom of opinion.

The Authority is fully responsible for the safety of the prisoners.

Al Wefaq notes that the families of the prisoners are extremely worried because they had not being receiving any phone calls from them lately. In fact, some families have not received any information concerning the conditions of their jailed relatives since last Wednesday.

Al Wefaq has wrote to the Red Cross about the situation of the prisoners in building no.1 in Juw prison. The violations perpetrated against the prisoners in Juw prison reveal the reality behind the Authority’s claims on its implementation of the BICI recommendations. International parties and organisations have also issued reports urging for the implementation of the BICI recommendations which have not yet been implemented.

…source

Ali Al Taweel was recently beaten unconscious by prison guards as he resisted an attempt to take him from the General Population in what was preparation for his impending execution. A number of fellow Political Prisoners, intervened in an attempt to stop the brutal beating, many were also beaten to the point of requiring hospital. Others were put in Solitary Confinement where they are being held without proper medical attention and are being deprived of water. Others who have beaten and are in need of medical care are being held in solitary confinement. Phlipn.

Ali Al Taweel’s Death Sentence and Torture
15 November, 2013 – Bahrain – Anonymous Contribution

Ali Al Taweel is an extreme example of the illegal, violent nature of the Bahrain legal system. It also shows that torture is widespread in the prisons to degrade detainees and extract confessions.

Ali is an uneducated young man, unable to read or write and the son of a fisherman. He was picked up because he was in Sitra when the demos were going on. He was tortured for weeks including being strung up like a chicken and sexually abused. There has not been an execution of a Bahraini since 1990s, the last execution was of a Bangladeshi in 2010.

Ali was picked up by the police on April 19th 2011 and tortured for 13 hours at Isa Town Police Station. He was accused of running over a policeman. They wanted him to implicate Sheikh Moqdad, one of the eleven leaders sentenced to life.

He was forced to sign an unseen confession, which he couldn’t have read anyway and the trial was a farce with no real defence.

There were no witnesses to the accident and disagreement where it even took place. The prosecution said Sitra but the BICI report said GCC Roundabout, in Manama. ( Para 1030.)

The main prosecution witness was his torturer, who’s already in court for torturing the doctors. BICI Report mentioned its concern about the injustice of this case.

His lawyer, for some reason did not take his case on to the Court of Cessation, after being tried in a Military Court.

He was sentenced to death on 29th September 2011.

He is kept in solitary for 23 hours a day and only released once a fortnight for a family visit. This is affecting his sanity and he has had no treatment for the torture he sustained.

There was an appeal on February 10th 2013, which he lost. Lawyers are taking his case to the Court of Cessation where he might get his sentence reduced to life imprisonment. But he is innocent and needs to be helped to restart his life.

Ali was 17 when captured and should not have been placed in an adult prison like many Bahraini children. He must be released.

Bahrain is really dangerous now with young men being picked up at night and four ladies were detained, for stopping the police abducting a relative.

If this young man is executed it will lead to demonstrations and more people will be killed and detained. Please contact your Congressman/woman and ask them to help Ali.

Ref: Biased Court. 23rd August 2012. BCHR

Ref: Bahrain – Court upholds death sentence based on coerced confession. 10th Feb 2013. BCHR

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Bahrain will release political prisoners ‘only if pressured by US and UK’
30 Novmber, 2013 – TV-Novosti

The most well-known political prisoner in Bahrain, Nabeel Rajab, has become legally eligible for release, but remains behind bars. Bahrain Watch’s, Bill Marczak, believes the activist is unlikely to be freed unless the US and the UK insist.

As of November 29, Nabeel Rajab, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist, served three quarters of his 2-year prison term, which means he may be released. He was detained in July 2012 for taking part in an anti-government protest.

Amnesty International has called for Rajab’s immediate release.

“A failure to release Nabeel Rajab on Friday would make it crystal clear that his imprisonment is not about justice or the law but about silencing him,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the watchdog’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

Bahrain Watch sees the release of political prisoners as something that would help the country move toward solving its political crisis. However, Bill Marczak, a founding member of the organization, told RT that Bahrain could only be pressured into doing so by its Western allies.

This comes as a group of British and American rights lawyers, gathered by Bahrain Watch, are taking legal action to prevent a South Korean firm from supplying the Bahraini authorities with over 1.6 million rounds of tear gas. …more

Bahrain: Summoning 10-Year-Old Child for Investigation
27 November, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Bahraini regime authorities summoned a 10-year-old child for investigation and a martyr’s father was also suspended by the general prosecution for 15 days pending investigation.

Ali Issa, who hails from the town of Bani Jamra, was summoned for unclear reasons amid public astonishment for summoning a child in this age, Al-Manar reported Tuesday.

The martyr’s father was suspended for participating in the opposition demonstrations.

His son, 15, was killed by the regime troops who were not tried for shooting the youth.

It is worth mentioning that the Bahraini authorities summon, interrogate and arrest the martyrs’ fathers.

These measures were termed as insolent by the opposing Wefaq association.

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Bahrain arrests human rights activist for “inciting hatred” against the Monarchy
27 November, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Bahraini human rights defender Hussain Jawad was arrested on Saturday over allegations of inciting hatred against the government, his organization confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

Hussein Jawad is a human rights activist, and Chairman of European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR), an international organization that works to defend human rights across the Middle East.

In addition to Jawad, EBOHR declared that “a number of prominent Bahraini activists were accused in the press of, inter alia, arming opposition militant factions, inciting xenophobic violence, and propagating sectarian discrimination during peaceful protests.”

According to EBOHR, Jawad has repeatedly and publicly called for a peaceful struggle towards democracy in Bahrain.

State-affiliated Bahraini media have engaged in negative coverage of pro-democracy activists, human rights NGO Front Line Defenders claimed.

According to EBOHR’s statement, Jawad went to the Central Province Center on November 23 to file a complaint against Bahraini media organizations and the chief editor of Emirati publication Gulf News, Anwar Abdul Rahman. Meanwhile, Jawad was notified that a police patrol was on its way to arrest him.

Jawad initially refused to be handcuffed by two officers dressed in civilian clothing, before relenting and being escorted to a police station for further questioning in the presence of his lawyer, Saeed Sarhan.

The interrogation focused on a speech Jawad delivered in the Bahraini capital Manama at an event commemorating the religious holiday of Ashura, declaring that it “incited hatred against the regime.”

EBOHR said that Jawad has been shuttled between at least three security facilities since his arrest. He is currently being held in a short-term detention unit.

On November 24, EBOHR confirmed and condemned the public prosecutor’s demand that Jawad remain in custody for fifteen days pending further investigation.

Front Line Defenders expressed their “grave concern that the Bahrain authorities persist in their habit of systematically targeting human rights defenders one after another through arrests, defamation, threats and prosecutions.”

In 2011 the Gulf state – ruled by the al-Khalifa monarchy – was shaken by an uprising calling for democratic reform.

Protesters were met with overwhelming military force leading to at least 89 deaths, according to the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). The Bahraini government has since continued its crackdown on protests. …source