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

Bahrain Grand Prix: Only 29% of Formula One Companies Respond To Human Rights Concerns
How Formula One companies responded (or failed to respond) to human rights concerns

18 April, 2012 – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

LONDON, Apr. 18 – CSRwire – Only 29% of firms linked to Formula One responded to Business & Human Rights Resource Centre about human rights concerns that various organizations raised relating to the Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for 20-22 April. Forty two companies or teams failed to respond.

See all the responses on this webpage, which also lists each company that failed to respond. That page also summarises human rights concerns raised by international human rights groups, human rights advocates in Bahrain, and others. Human Rights Watch warned Formula One that by holding the Bahrain Grand Prix, it would be endorsing the kingdom’s government despite claims that sport and politics don’t mix. Amnesty International said “Human rights violations are continuing unabated… Holding the Grand Prix in Bahrain in 2012 risks being interpreted by the government of Bahrain as symbolizing a return to business as usual.” The UK Labour Party urged Formula One to cancel the Bahrain Grand Prix, saying that proceeding with the event would “send the wrong signal.” Among the prisoners of conscience detained in Bahrain is human rights advocate Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is on hunger strike – there are fears that he may soon die.

The company responses were on the whole disappointing, given the gravity of the human rights concerns raised about Bahrain, and given that last year the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by consensus the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which confirmed that all companies have a responsibility to respect human rights.

“Seldom have we seen a response rate this low from a group of companies anywhere in the world”, said Christopher Avery, Director of Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. “And of the responses that were received, seldom if ever have we seen such a high proportion that completely fail to comment on the human rights concerns that they were asked to address.”

Chris Marsden, Chair of the board of Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said: “I encourage everyone to look at each company’s response and to draw their own conclusions about which companies are taking human rights concerns seriously, and which are not.”

On Wednesday, opposition supporters held a protest demanding Sunday’s Grand Prix also be called off, and calling for the immediate release of Mr Khawaja in Old Manama. A Bahraini journalist, who asked not to be named for fear of arrest, told the BBC that there were chaotic scenes outside Bab al-Bahrain, which marks the entrance to the main souq. The journalist warned: “If he dies the streets will explode.”

Clashes erupt after Bahrain Grand Prix exhibit protest
BBC – 18 April, 2012

Women protesters run after a stun grenade is fired at them in Old Manama (18 April 201″) Anti-government protests have been widespread in the run up to the Grand Prix

Bahraini security forces have fired stun grenades at protesters outside a cultural exhibition in Manama ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix.

A local journalist told the BBC the demonstrators in Old Manama were shouting “Down, down, F1” and demanding the release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

The activist has been on hunger strike in prison for more than two months.

Mr Khawaja’s lawyer earlier told the BBC that his client had removed the intravenous drip keeping him alive.

The 52-year-old told his wife on Tuesday afternoon that he was also now refusing anything but water, Mohammed al-Jishi said.

Mr Khawaja believed nothing was being done to resolve his continued detention, and this was the only way to force the issue, he added.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja in hospital (3 April 2012) Abdulhadi al-Khawaja’s lawyer released this picture of his client taken in hospital on 3 April

Mr Khawaja was convicted by a military court in June of plotting against the state, but human rights groups have said that his trial was “grossly unfair”.

They said his conviction was based on a confession he made under duress, and that no evidence was presented showing he had used or advocated violence during protests against King Hamad Al Khalifa.

Bahrain’s highest court is due to rule on Mr Khawaja’s appeal against his conviction on Monday – a day after the Grand Prix.

Last year’s race was cancelled after at least 35 people, including five police, were killed during a crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Activists ‘arrested’

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, only decided to go ahead with this weekend’s race at the last minute.
Continue reading the main story
At the scene
image of Rupert Wingfield-Hayes Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News, Manama

Although the number of activists was small, they managed to get right in to the centre of Manama’s old market, an area frequented by tourists and expatriates. Once there, they held up banners demanding the release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is in prison on the 70th day of a hunger strike, and reportedly close to death.

The protesters are determined to use this weekend’s Formula 1 race to draw world attention to their year-long campaign for democracy, and to the government’s continuing suppression.

The government, run by the ruling Al Khalifa family, is determined to stop them. Opposition groups say between 60 and 80 activists have been taken from their homes in the last few days as the government rounds up those it fears will cause most trouble.

On Wednesday, opposition supporters held a protest demanding Sunday’s Grand Prix also be called off, and calling for the immediate release of Mr Khawaja in Old Manama.

A Bahraini journalist, who asked not to be named for fear of arrest, told the BBC that there were chaotic scenes outside Bab al-Bahrain, which marks the entrance to the main souq.

Veteran activist Nabeel Rajab reportedly stood near Bab al-Bahrain chanting anti-government slogans, while others carried signs reading: “Your silence is killing al-Khawaja”.

The journalist warned: “If he dies the streets will explode.”

Riot police at first demanded the protesters leave. When they refused, officers fired deafening “sound bombs” into the crowd, sending protesters and bystanders running.

Stun grenades and rubber bullets were also used to disperse the protesters, while helicopters circled overhead and interior ministry officers filmed the clashes, the journalist said.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights meanwhile told AFP news agency the authorities had arrested about 80 pro-democracy activists from villages outside the capital ahead of the Grand Prix.…more

14,600 Days in Solitary Confinement
Bryna Subherwal – 16 April, 2012 – Amnesty International USA

No human being deserves this.

23 hours a day isolated in a small cell, four steps long, three steps across. Three times a week for exercise in an outdoor cage, weather permitting. A few hours every week to shower or simply walk. Rare, fleeting human contact with prison guards, let alone with family.

This describes four decades of existence for Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace in Louisiana, two members of the so-called “Angola 3″ who pass their remaining hours “in the hole” to this day.

April 17th will mark 40 years — 14,600 days — of their nightmare. The conditions in which these two men are held, as well as the tragically absurd duration of this punishment, violate a host of human rights treaties to which the US is a party, including those covering basic standards for treatment of prisoners. Prisons simply shouldn’t operate this way in the US.

Woodfox and Wallace may be in isolation, but they are not forgotten. Our calls for justice will ring loud — on April 17 we’ll make sure Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal hears us when we arrive at his Baton Rouge doorstep with tens of thousands of petition signatures from people in 125 countries in hand.

We can’t let more days pass without justice. Herman Wallace is now 70 years old, Albert Woodfox is in his mid-60s, and both men are suffering from serious health problems — made worse by the appalling deprivation in which they live.

Ill, advancing in age, with clean disciplinary records for the last 20 years — what is so dangerous about these men that could possibly warrant this inhumane treatment, for so long?

Because the prison authorities see them as a threat. The “Angola 3″ organized their fellow prisoners against inhumane treatment and racial segregation in the early 1970s. Angola Prison’s warden, Burl Cain, has suggested that Woodfox and Wallace’s continued isolation is based on their political activism — particularly their association with the Black Panthers.

The “Angola 3″ case highlights the failings of a Louisiana justice system that is undermined by discrimination. No physical evidence links Woodfox and Wallace to the 1972 murder of a prison guard. Inmate testimony is questionable. And judges who twice overturned Woodfox’s conviction for the murder cited racial discrimination, prosecutorial misconduct, and more.
…more

Bahrain Grand Prix 2012: ‘no Formula One over our blood’ cry protesters ahead of weekend’s race
18 April, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

They poured past in their thousands: men of all ages, chattering children, women dressed head to toe in black abayas, many of them holding placards, all of them chanting slogans. You did not need to be able to speak Arabic to get the gist of what they were saying: “Down with King Hamad” mostly. That and: “No Formula One in Bahrain.”

Every so often a protester would peel off from the crowd and shake the hands of visiting journalists, thanking us for being there in person and imploring us to help them get their message out.

We had been told to see with our own eyes what the situation was in Bahrain. So there we were; at a protest march in Al Dair, a small Shi’ite village north east of Manama, near the airport. It was the largest of several such protests yesterday.

This was the acceptable face of the opposition. While tear gas was used to disperse protesters armed with Molotov cocktails during Monday’s march in Salmabad, yesterday’s in Al Dair was peaceful, almost joyful.

But there was an edge. Rubber bullets, remnants from previous clashes, lay scattered about. A 13-year-old girl, Reem, whose father was killed in police custody last year – allegedly beaten to death – came up to introduce herself. She was with her uncle, a politician in Bahrain’s main opposition party, Al Wefaq, which has called for seven days of protest to capitalise on the presence of F1.

Our guide for the day, Dr Ala’a Shehabi, an activist who met with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone in London earlier this year in an effort to have the race cancelled, told us about some of the other faces in the crowd; a nurse, Rola Alsaffar, who was allegedly beaten by police last spring after helping to treat injured protesters; a doctor, Huda Alawi, whose husband is a prominent local lawyer representing hundreds of protesters in jail.
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With the grand prix coming up this weekend, she told us, many activists had been rounded up in the past few days. One of her colleagues, a 19-year-old student, told us he had slept in three different houses over the past three nights after the police had come looking for him.

In Al Dair, the police kept their distance and everyone headed off after an hour or so to answer the call for evening prayer.

One man, who was wearing a red Ferrari polo shirt, approached us. “I love F1,” he said. “But not over our blood. They are forcing it on us.”

I had heard much the same thing from my taxi driver after landing in Bahrain yesterday. On our way into town, which, as we were assured it would be by Bahrain’s authorities, was ghostlike, he gave me his thoughts on Sunday’s race. “I have two emotions,” he said. “One is that I am proud to have such a big event in Bahrain. But the other part of me feels shame. You will be welcome here because you are guests in my country but you will be racing over blood this weekend.”

Asked if the race was not vital to the economy, he insisted that the average Bahraini would see little of the $400-500 million which the Bahrain GP organisers estimate it generates. “The government and their supporters own all these buildings,” he said, sweeping his hand in a wide arc to indicate the smart hotels of the diplomatic quarter. …more

Carlos Latuff

Forty-eight IFEX members and partners call for freedom for Bahraini human rights defenders, bloggers and activists
17 April, 2012 – Joint action – IFEX

(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a letter signed by 48 IFEX members and partners to the King of Bahrain:

His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa
King of Bahrain
Office of His Majesty the King
P.O.Box 555
Rifa’a Palace
Kingdom of Bahrain.
Fax: +973 176 64 587
17 April 2012

Your Excellency,

In the face of growing international concern about human rights violations in Bahrain as you prepare to welcome people to the Formula One on 22 April, we the undersigned 48 members and partners of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) call on you to free detained activists, bloggers and human rights defenders and drop all charges that violate the right to peaceful expression.

In particular, we call on you to immediately release human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, founder of IFEX member the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, whose life is at risk from a hunger strike undertaken since 8 February 2012. He has been transferred to a hospital and could die if he is not released and allowed to seek medical treatment in Denmark, where he is a dual citizen. In an open letter, Al-Khawaja pledged to stay on hunger strike to protest his life sentence until “freedom or death”. A renowned human rights activist, Al-Khawaja is also the co-founder of the Gulf Center for Human Rights and a former Middle East and North Africa director of Front Line Defenders.

After being violently arrested in April 2011, Al-Khawaja was treated for fractures to his face, among other abuses alleged to have been committed while he was tortured in prison. Two journalists are reported to have died of torture in prison last year, according to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), an independent inquiry which you mandated. We call on the Bahraini authorities to independently investigate the torture claims, as recommended by BICI.

Al-Khawaja, blogger and activist Abduljalil Al-Singace and blogger Ali Abdulemam of BahrainOnline are among 21 men accused of being leaders of anti-government protests that began in February 2011 and charged with attempting to overthrow the monarchy, despite there being no evidence to support this claim nor the claim that they advocated violence. Fourteen of them are in detention, while seven others were sentenced in absentia by a military court in a grossly unfair trial in June 2011. The whereabouts of Abdulemam, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, are unknown. He has not been seen for over a year.

Al-Khawaja and Al-Singace were both sentenced to life in prison in June 2011 and were among those found to have been tortured in custody to extract confessions, in contravention of international law.

On 2 April, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation refused to release the 14 detained activists and human rights defenders. The court said it would announce a verdict in their case on 23 April.

The BICI called for all prisoners tried in military courts to be transferred to civilian courts and for investigations into allegations of torture to be carried out. Despite the recommendations of the BICI, human rights defenders, political activists and bloggers – as well as doctors, medics, teachers and even athletes – remain in jail, merely for exercising their right to peaceful expression, assembly and association.

We urge the Bahraini authorities to follow through with the BICI recommendations and to abide by their obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and ensure the unconditional release of and the dismissal of all charges against Al-Khawaja, Al-Singace and of all those currently detained in Bahrain solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions.

Hundreds of people have been charged for participating in protests, most of them peacefully. Arrests and crackdowns on demonstrations are ongoing, including of those calling for the release of Al-Khawaja and other political prisoners, as well as those opposed to the holding of the Formula One in Bahrain, under the current circumstances. Al-Khawaja’s daughter, twitter activist Zaynab Al-Khawaja, was twice arrested for protesting her father’s ongoing detention and for trying to visit him in a military hospital earlier in April.

You cannot continue to silence dissent with teargas and detention without alienating the international community further and risking Bahrain’s reputation. Releasing these detainees would send a strong message that Bahrain will uphold its international obligations and follow through with its promises for reform.

Failing their release, we urge the Bahraini authorities to allow immediate access to necessary medical treatment, regular family visits and lawyers for all detainees, and for international observers to be allowed to attend the Court of Cassation’s ruling scheduled for 23 April.

Some of the groups below are among signatories to a letter of protest published in the UK Guardian on 9 April. Many are also among those who previously sent you a joint appeal to free Al-Khawaja, dated 5 March 2012. Al-Khawaja simply cannot wait until 23 April to find out if justice will be served.

Respectfully yours,

IFEX members:

…more

How the Arab Spring was sapped dry
SPEAKING FREELY – By Ismael Hossein-zadeh – 18 April, 2012 – Asia Times

Within the first few months of 2011, the United States and its allies lost three loyal “friends”: Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Zine el-Abbidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Saad Hariri in Lebanon. While Mubarak and Ali were driven out of power by widespread popular uprisings, Hariri was ousted by the parliament.

Inspired by these liberating developments, pro-democracy rebellions against autocratic rulers (and their Western backers) soon spread to other countries such as Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

As these revolutionary developments tended to politically benefit the “axis of resistance” (consisting of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas) in the Middle East, the US-Israeli “axis of aggression” and their client states in the region mounted an all-out counterrevolutionary offensive.

Caught off-guard by the initial wave of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia, the US and its allies struck back with a vengeance. They employed a number of simultaneous tactics to sabotage the Arab Spring. These included: (1) instigating fake instances of the Arab Spring in countries that were/are headed by insubordinate regimes such as those ruling Iran, Syria and Libya; (2) co-opting revolutionary movements in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen; (3) crushing pro-democracy movements against “friendly” regimes ruling countries such as Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia “before they get out of hand,” as they did in Egypt and Tunisia; and (4) using the age-old divide and rule trick by playing the sectarian trump card of Sunnis vs. Shi’ites, or Iranians vs. Arabs.

1. Fake springs, post-modern coup d’etats
Soon after being caught by surprise by the glorious uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the counterrevolutionary forces headed by the United States embarked on damage control. A major strategy in pursuit of this objective has been to foment civil war and regime change in “unfriendly” places, and then portray them as part of the Arab Spring.

The scheme works like this: arm and train opposition groups within the “unfriendly” country, instigate violent rebellion with the help of covert mercenary forces under the guise of fighting for democracy; and when government forces attempt to quell the thus-nurtured armed insurrection, accuse them of human rights violations, and begin to embark openly and self-righteously on the path of regime change in the name of “responsibility to protect” the human rights.

As the “weakest link” in the chain of governments thus slated to be changed, Gaddafi’s regime became the first target. It is now altogether common knowledge that contrary to the spontaneous, unarmed and peaceful protest demonstrations in Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain, the rebellion in Libya was nurtured, armed and orchestrated largely from abroad. Indeed, evidence shows that plans of regime change in Libya were drawn long before the overt onset of the actual civil war. [1]

It is likewise common knowledge that, like the rebellion in Libya, the insurgency in Syria has been neither spontaneous nor peaceful. From the outset it has been armed, trained and organized by the US and its allies. Similar to the attack on Libya, the Arab League and Turkey have been at the forefront of the onslaught on Syria. Also like the Libyan case, there is evidence that preparations for war on Syria had been actively planned long before the actual start of the armed rebellion, which is branded as a case of the Arab Spring. [2] …more

Wave of arrests ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix: NGO
18 April, 2012 – France 24

AFP – Bahraini security forces have arrested some 80 leading pro-democracy activists in an attempt to contain the daily anti-government protests ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix race, a local rights group said Wednesday.

“About 80 people from several villages near (the capital) Manama have been arrested since April 14,” the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, Mohammed Maskati, told AFP, adding that the “mass wave of arrests is a preventive measure” by the authorities.

He said most of those arrested are “protest leaders” that have been organising near-daily demonstrations against the government in the kingdom’s Shiite villages.

Tensions have been mounting in the unrest-hit kingdom ahead of Sunday’s controversial Formula One race as the opposition and youth activists capitalise on renewed international attention on Bahrain’s year-long political and sectarian crisis.

On Tuesday, hundreds protested near Bahrain’s international airport as Formula One teams began arriving in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, carrying banners calling for a boycott of the race.

“Our demand: Freedom not Formula,” read one banner. “We are human without rights,” read another.

Prominent Shiite activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is on a hunger strike and has been convicted to life in prison has said that he will refuse intravenous infusions starting Wednesday and drink only water, according to his wife.

Khawaja’s deteriorating health has raised fears that his potential death could spark a wave of violence in the already tense kingdom.

Bahrain’s largest opposition grouping, Al-Wefaq, has called for a week of daily demonstrations and sit-ins to last through the end of the April 22 race.

The more radical February 14 Youth Movement, however, has called for “three days of rage” to coincide with the event.

The F1 race in Bahrain was cancelled last year in the wake of the Shiite-led uprising and the brutal government crackdown that followed in which 35 people were killed, according to an independent probe. …source

The fast and furious Sunni revenge
THE ROVING EYE – By Pepe Escobar – 18 April, 2012 – Asia Times

And the winner is … the Gulf Counter-revolution Club (GCC), also known as Gulf Cooperation Council.

Their collective celebration party is this weekend’s Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix – complete with buckets of Moet and Ferraris oozing by. See it as a coterie of Sunni sheikhs telling the “international community” – we won; it’s our way or the (boiling hot) desert highway.

How could they not gloat? The unruly waves of that noxious Arab Spring never had a chance of disturbing the placid waters of the Gulf. The arrival of the Fast White Man Formula 1 circus – a spectacular public relations operation – proves that the GCC is as “normal” as an Arab prince swinging through Monte Carlo with a blonde babe in a Ferrari 458.

Who cares that Bahrain activists sent a letter to Formula 1 emperor Bernie Ecclestone denouncing the state of siege in the placid al-Khalifa dynasty realm, the killing and torture of pro-democracy protesters, the thousands still in jail and the lack of the most basic human rights? This does not concern The Fast White Man.

Revenge!
Strategically, the GCC was invented – with essential American input – to defend those poor Gulf petro-monarchies from the evils of Saddam Hussein and the Iranian Khomeinists, with its members comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. But when the 2011 Arab revolt exploded in Northern Africa – and then reached the Gulf, in Bahrain, and even generated protests in Oman and Saudi Arabia – the petro-monarchies faced a larger evil that simply petrified them: democracy. The status quo had to be protected at all costs.

King Hamad al-Khalifa, technically, asked the GCC for “help” into smashing the Bahrain pro-democracy movement. The fact is the House of Saud already had masterminded an invasion across the causeway linking the capital Manama with Saudi Arabia. The Pearl roundabout in Manama – Bahrain’s Tahrir Square – had to be literally razed to the ground by the al-Khalifa dictatorship to erase any physical memory of the protests.

For the GCC and its top dog the House of Saud, not only Bahrain was “contained”, Saudi subjects were placated with billionaire bribes. Ample possibilities of profiting from the geopolitical black hole in northern Africa were also opened.

Ever since the House of Saud and the emir of Qatar, Hamad al-Thani, got their act together, they have been on a roll – recent rumors of a military coup against the emir notwithstanding. The “humanitarian” bombing of Libya represented the apex of the NATOGCC embrace – with Qatar in the forefront and the House of Saud sort of leading from behind. …more

Bahrain arrests protest leaders ahead of F1 amid torture reports
By Andrew Hammond – 17 April, 2012 – The Star

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain has arrested at least 60 Shi’ite protest leaders in recent days to try to prevent widescale unrest ahead of a controversial Formula One Grand Prix this week, activists said on Tuesday.

News of the crackdown coincided with a statement from Amnesty International which said it was getting credible reports of the use of torture in the Gulf Arab state despite promises of reform.

“The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests,” Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director, said in a statement.

“Their reforms have only scratched the surface.”

Bahrain is gearing up to host a prestigious Grand Prix on April 20-22, an event that was cancelled last year because of unrest and one it hopes will improve its international image and show it is serious about reform.

In particular, it is eager to show that the country’s Sunni Muslim rulers have repaired relations with the majority Muslim Shi’ite community after last year’s protests, which were put down with the help of troops from neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain’s Shi’ites complain they are given fewer opportunities and access to jobs and housing than the Sunni elite.

But activists said on Tuesday that relations between the two communities were still badly strained by routine violence.

They said riot police had used live ammunition for the first time since last year’s pro-democracy protest movement was crushed, firing bullets into the air.

“We have evidence in photographs and video from April 13 in Diraz and Sitra,” said Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. …more

UN experts call for release of imprisoned Bahrain human rights activist
Dan Taglioli – 14 April, 2012 – Jurist

Photo source or description
[JURIST] Four independent UN human rights experts on Friday called for the immediate release [press release] of Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is serving a life sentence for terrorism-related charges after being tried before the Bahrain military National Safety Court in June 2011. Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Margaret Sekaggya [official profile] expressed concern that Al-Khawaja’s trial and sentence are linked to his legitimate work to promote human rights. Maina Kiai [official profile], the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and association, provided skepticism about both the proportionality and proper review of Bahrain’s “national security” restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly, noting such restrictions should not be used to suppress human rights activists. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul [official profile] expressed concern that Al-Khawaja and other civilian human rights defenders have been tried before military courts, particularly since allegations of defendants’ confessions being made under duress reportedly have not been investigated despite the confessions being admitted at trial, constituting a contravention of international law. Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez [official profile] condemned the Bahraini government for failing to adhere to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners [text] regarding Al-Khawaja’s physical and mental integrity. Al-Khawaja was allegedly physically mistreated and perhaps tortured [JURIST report] while in custody, displaying visible physical signs of abuse at trial. Special rapporteurs [UN News Centre report] hold unpaid honorary positions apart from UN staff, and are appointed by the Human Rights Council [official website] to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme.

Earlier this month Al-Khawaja’s lawyers and members of the Bahrain opposition appealed his conviction [JURIST report] to the Bahrain Court of Cassation, which is expected to issue a verdict on April 23. Al-Khawaja is a Danish citizen, the former protection coordinator with Front Line Defenders [advocacy website] and a leading Bahraini human rights defender. The UN experts’ call for his release came among international concern for his health due to repeated hunger strikes [JURIST report], the most recent of which he has been staging since February 8. Several parties, including Danish diplomats, have confirmed his deteriorating condition, and pictures and reports have surfaced documenting his poor state of health despite contrary assurances by Bahraini authorities. Last month Amnesty International [advocacy website] called for Al-Khawaja’s release when his hunger strike passed 50 days [JURIST report], which came a few weeks after Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] accused Bahrain of convicting hundreds of opposition activists in unfair and politically motivated trials in a 94-page report detailing alleged due process violations [JURIST report] in both civilian and military courts. …more

Mourners as Cemetery in Salmadbad Bahrain under attack by MOI Police

Bahrain Grand Prix 2012: former Bahraini politician fearful over ‘casualties’ at ‘three days of anger’ protests
By Tom Cary – 17 April, 2012 – Telegraph

Three to four thousand people, including women and children, marched peacefully through the village of Al Dair, near the country’s airport, for about an hour waving placards reading “Down with Hamad” [the King] and “We want Freedom not Formula”.

While the atmosphere at the protest remained calm and jovial, reports of an unscheduled gathering in Sitra later this evening are circulating.

Should it go ahead it could prove less peaceful as it has not been “scheduled” through the police and is therefore not considered above board. Protests that have not been announced are considered to pose a greater threat of violence.

Earlier today Jasim Husain, a former Bahraini politician who represented the primary opposition group, Al-Wefaq, for five years prior to resigning in protest following last year’s anti-government demonstrations, warned that one serious incident would be “very likely” to hit F1’s presence hard in Bahrain.

Husain has insisted his views are his own and not that of Al-Wefaq, saying: “I don’t see lots of protests throughout the country, especially outside the vicinity of the racing area.

“But yes, there is this fear, the fear is there that we could see some casualties.

“So it’s now a challenge for the security forces who have to handle things properly. They should avoid using force.

“Of course, people should be free to express their views, but the responsibility is with the authorities who have to show professionalism in managing any protest.

“The good thing is people are peaceful, protesters are peaceful, that violence is not really any particular part of the political challenge in the country.

“But things have to be handled properly by the authorities.”

F1’s rulers have naturally been eager to distance themselves from the political or moral argument, although there is the suggestion it is being used as a tool for the former.

Given the daily protests against the ruling Bahraini regime, operating under the slogan ‘UniF1ed – One Nation in Celebration’ would appear to underline F1’s significance when it comes to purporting all is well, when it is far from the case.

Instead, FIA president Jean Todt asserts his organisation “are only interested in sport not politics”, with Husein believing it wrong F1 is portrayed as being in support of the ruling al-Khalifa royal family.

“That’s the problem really. It should not be presented this way,” said Husein.

“F1 is a sport, an economic positive, and I hope neither side will see the race as a political tool.

“We do have political issues which have to be addressed, and F1 coming or not coming does not mean those problems will go away.

“But certainly this is not a political event and should not have political implications.

“However, we are suffering from this problem because it is being presented this way.

“People are simply pressing for democratic reforms, and ensuring there is equal opportunity for all, to have real participation in decision making.”

One unnamed protester, however, believes F1 does Bahrain no favours as he said: “People here are getting killed, and with F1 here we feel like they are driving on our blood, on our bodies.”

Further demonstrations are due to take place over the next few days, with one in particular today on the doorstep of the Gulf kingdom’s international airport.

It is understood the focus will not only solely centre on pro-democracy rights, but also anti-F1.

Tomorrow, when most F1 personnel are due to arrive, what has been described by a risk assessment group as “a vehicular rally” is to take place along the two highways that lead up to the airport. …source

‘My father has risked his life to defend human rights. He may die an innocent man in prison. Demand his release before it is too late’ – Maryam al-Khawaja

Bahrain: release hunger striking activist
Amnesty International

Unless the Bahrain authorities act quickly prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is likely to die in their custody. He is one of 14 prisoners of conscience arrested for their involvement in anti-government protests last year. He has been on hunger strike since 8 February, willing to die for justice in Bahrain.

Demand his release along with six other activists. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was tried before a military court and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is thought to have been severely tortured both before and after this unfair trial.

With the world’s eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host the Grand Prix, this is a vital time to call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. Despite attempts by the authorities to portray the country as being on the road to reform, no-one should be under any illusions that the human rights crisis is over.

The people of Bahrain continue to call for change. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja may pay for that goal with his life. Demand his release before it is too late, and call for the release of all 14 prisoners of conscience – imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly. …more

Amnesty calls government reforms ‘flawed’ and calls to cancel Grand Prix grow louder


Protests Multiply as Bahrain Human Rights Abuses Continue
17 April, 2012 – Common Dreams staff

Pressure to cancel the upcoming Formula 1 ‘Grand Prix’ in Bahrain is mounting after a scathing report by Amnesty International called the ruling government’s recent “reform” efforts deeply “flawed” and amidst ramped up protests on Monday that occurred both inside and outside of the Middle East island nation. The race, which was canceled twice last year because of concerns about safety, is due to run Sunday.

Protesters gathered in Bahrain to show their anger against the planned Formula 1 race. (EPA) “With the world’s eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host the Grand Prix, no-one should be under any illusions that the country’s human rights crisis is over,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director. “The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests. Their reforms have only scratched the surface.”

Though F-1 officials have tried to claim that the auto race wants no part of the ‘political or moral arguments’ circulating in Bahrain, one unnamed protester told the Daily Mail that the race could not extract itself from the nation’s turmoil. “People here are getting killed,” he said, “and with F1 here we feel like they are driving on our blood, on our bodies.”

On Monday, two men climbed to the roof of the Bahraini Embassy in London to protest the continued imprisonment of pro-democracy advocates in their country. One of the men’s father has been held in detention by authorities, he claimed, but his only crime was “was to demand human rights and democracy.”

“People here are getting killed and with F1 here we feel like they are driving on our blood, on our bodies.” – Bahraini pro-democracy advocate

And in the Bahrain capital of Manama on Monday, government security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesting crowds as they gathered to express their outrage against the continued repression of the pro-democracy movement and against the race planned for the end of the week. …more

Call for opposition protests ahead of Grand Prix F1
By Saad Abedine, CNN – 17 April, 2012

(CNN) — An opposition group called for a week of demonstrations ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Bahrain.

The Bahrain Youth Coalition, which has organized a number of anti-government protests, wants “popular days of overwhelming rage” after motorsport’s governing body elected last week to hold the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

The decision came after weeks of speculation amid continuing protests and civil unrest in the Gulf kingdom.

Amnesty International weighed into the controversy by releasing a 58-page report on its investigation of human rights violations, concluding recent reforms have been flawed and piecemeal.

“With the world’s eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host the Grand Prix, no-one should be under any illusions that the country’s human rights crisis is over,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the group’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director.

The report said Bahrain’s security forces are still not held accountable for mistreatment of protesters.

“The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests. Their reforms have only scratched the surface,” Sahraoui said.

A Bahrain government spokesman accused Amnesty International of seeing “the glass half empty and not half full.”

“There are a lot of judicial, security, social economic measures that have been taken that have been put into place that will make Bahrain a better place,” Abdulaziz bin Mubarak al Khalifa said Monday.

In a news release issued Friday, the race’s governing body said its president traveled to Bahrain in November and met with “a large number of decision-makers and opinion formers, including elected Shia members of parliament, the president of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, ambassadors from the European Union countries, the Crown Prince, the Interior Minister and many members of the business community. …more

Bahrain adviser says F1 security plans in place
By Michael Casey – 9 April, 2012 – boston.com

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Security at the Bahrain Grand Prix will be “low key and discreet” but will include plans to deal with potential disruptions, such as demonstrators running onto the course, an adviser to the Gulf Kingdom’s Interior Ministry said Monday.

John Yates, a former assistant commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service, told The Associated Press he reviewed the plans for the April 22 race. He said authorities aim to provide adequate security for Bahrain’s biggest sports event without showing overt force.

“It is very much hoped that the policing will be low key and discreet,” Yates said. “But if there are problems, they … must be able to escalate their response if need be. People can be assured that if problems arise, then there will be a plan to deal with that as there would be with any public event in the world.”

The 2011 race at Bahrain International Circuit was canceled because of anti-government protests. The subsequent crackdown left at least 50 people dead.

There are still daily clashes between demonstrators and security forces, but the country’s Sunni rulers are intent on holding the race to show the country is recovering from the protests. The protesters, however, are demanding the race be put off until authorities address their concerns over human rights abuses and greater equality for the Shiite majority.

Yates acknowledges there are “pockets of violence” in Shiite villages but said that “95 percent” of the Gulf island is safe.

He said he expects some protests will be allowed but warns that anyone trying to shut down the race would be treated harshly. …more

Press Release: Comments on the Recent Escalations in Bahrain and the International Biased Stance
14 April, 2012

Following our close observation over the recent political and on-ground escalations, we would like to emphasize on the following points for local and global parties concerned:

First: the increasing intensity of civil resistance and Sacred Defense is a natural consequence of the continued Saudi occupation, continued killing and state oppression of our people, continued arbitrary detention of prominent leaders and prisoners of conscience, the serious deterioration in Alkhawaja and Almushaime’ health and absence of the right of expression and peaceful assembly.

Second: we hold the Alkhalifa illegitimate regime, the Saudi invasion and the USA and UK administrations fully responsible for the recent violence outbreak. Our people have shown admirable tolerance and have endured severe pain and even presented flowers to the killers, but the West led by the USA and UK administrations have insisted on maintaining complicit silence over the crimes committed by the Alkhalifa regime and even conspired against the popular revolution in Bahrain. All statements issued by the USA and UK administrations were biased in favor of the illegitimate regime of Alkhalifa despite the fact that our people have exercised maximum restraint and flexibility. Whoever responded to our peaceful people by violent repression and systematic murder shall suffer the consequences and shall have a taste of the pain that our people have patiently endured.

Third: the statements issued by some administrations – especially the USA and UK – concerning the recent incident in AlEker village is a major scandal and is a clear evidence of their double-standards when it comes to matters related to the popular revolution in Bahrain. On the one hand, these administrations have deliberately turn blind eye on the several murder cases committed by the illegitimate regime of Alkhalifa in cold-blood (using live ammunitions in some cases including the case of martyr Ahmed Ismail), and on the other hand, the very same administrations have quickly condemned AlEker incident where a few invaders and mercenaries got injured. Does the life of invading forces and mercenaries killing for money have more value than our peaceful people? What a twisted logic! Therefore, the Coalition of Youth of February 14th Revolution is considering appropriate response to these administrations who are conspiring against our popular revolution. We shall no longer tolerate hypocrisy and double-standards.

Forth: the insistence on holding the F1 race in Bahrain is considered a major provocation to the feelings of our people and it displays irresponsible ignorance toward the victims of the illegitimate regime of Alkhalifa. Such insistence is surely to fuel further anger and violence in the next days. We hold the regime and its supporting administrations as well as the F1 organizers and participants (teams, sponsors, etc.) fully responsible.

Finally, we reiterate that our nation has decided to continue resisting the invading Saudi forces and Alkhalifa mercenaries until the regime falls in order to achieve real democracy. Self-determination is no longer the demand of the Youth Coalition only but the vast majority of political and social communities in Bahrain. Everyone consents that the current ruling regime has lost legitimacy and must be gone.

By: Coalition of Youth of February 14th Revolution
Friday 13th of April, 2012

Todt finally talks about Bahrain GP as trouble between anti-government protestors and police flares in Gulf state
By Simon Cass – 16 April, 2012 – mail online

FIA president Jean Todt has broken his silence on the decision to press ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix as more trouble flared between police and anti-government protesters in the troubled Gulf state.

Todt was equally tight-lipped on the subject of Bahrain last year, when the race was initially cancelled and subsequently postponed.

However, speaking to German television station RTL at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, the head of world motorsports governing body insisted the race in Bahrain will pass off without incident.

‘It has a date on the calendar and was always planned,’ said Todt, whose failure to speak out on the subject had previously drawn widespread criticism.
Breaking his silence: Bernie Ecclestone (left) poses with Jean Todt in China

Breaking his silence: Bernie Ecclestone (left) poses with Jean Todt in China

‘There has been some controversy about it, but the FIA is a sports organization. We are only interested in sport – not politics.

‘Our responsibility is that people can go there and have good and secure conditions. This will be the case.

‘We have spoken in this regard with representatives of the government, with the embassies and with neighbouring countries, as well as with European foreign ministries.

‘We have made an extensive examination with a lot of checks. It is clear that the Grand Prix can go ahead.

‘At the moment, a major golf tournament is going ahead in Bahrain. On one hand, there are unpleasant political aspects as well, but it’s the same thing all over the world.

‘On the other hand, we are a sport. We are confident that the next Grand Prix will go ahead just as successfully as this one here in China.’

Tuesday’s trouble took place in Salmabad, six miles from the Bahraini capital Manama and around ten miles north of the Sakhir International Circuit.
Up in arms: Anti-government protesters shout as they march in a procession to visit the grave of Ismael Abdulsamad in the village of Salmabad

Up in arms: Anti-government protesters shout as they march in a procession to visit the grave of Ismael Abdulsamad in the village of Salmabad

The confrontation occurred on the third day of mourning for the death of local cameraman Ahmed Ismael Hassan Al Samadi and followed the now customary pattern of protesters hurling petrol bombs and rocks at the police who responded by firing tear gas into the crowd to disperse them.

Meanwhile, two activists climbed onto the roof of the Bahrain Embassy in London to protest about what they claim are continued human rights abuses in the Middle East country and the decision by Formula One’s power brokers not to cancel the race.

Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani has admitted to taking ‘a calculated decision’ with regard to the staging of the race.

‘We wouldn’t take a decision on a gamble,’ insisted Alzayani. ‘But it’s a calculated decision, we’ve weighed up our options and we are committed to the grand prix and to its success. I don’t think anything drastic will happen. It’s not Syria or Afghanistan.’ A

week ago seven policeman were injured, three seriously, by a petrol bomb and during a march on Friday three teenagers were shot as police attempted to disperse the more volatile demonstrators.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2130693/Todt-finally-talks-Bahrain-GP-trouble-anti-government-protestors-police-flares-Gulf-state.html#ixzz1sJ3JsDN0

The Anti-Imperialist | To self-police police racism is to perpetuate it

By Adam Elliott-Cooper – Ceasefire – 15 April, 2012

As further evidence emerges of police racism in the UK, Adam Elliott-Cooper uncovers a pattern of consistent failings by the Independent Police Complaint Commission to meaningfully hold the police to account.

Anti-racist campaigners have welcomed the fresh evidence surrounding police abuse and racism, collected by quick-thinking members of the public with recording equipment on their mobile phones, as well as official complaints or reports from officers victimised by a culture of racial discrimination.

To much of the press, an expression of shock and disappointment emerged with an apparent realisation that institutional racism had not been eradicated over the decade since the Macpherson Report. As is the procedure, a number of the cases has been referred to The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) , and the victims and their communities have been implicitly told to wait until the findings have been confirmed.

Community organisers and activists, however, have been less surprised by the evidence and accusations of racism, which include a young man being strangled, and then told that his problem was that he’ll “always be a nigger”. Those who are familiar with the blunt end of racist policing are more surprised that someone has managed to get away with recording the police while in their custody, as the police have put in a huge effort to criminalise anyone recording them while on duty.

Brian Paddick has been alone in the mainstream in his honesty about the endemic nature of racism in the police force, although he’s been careful to avoid the term ‘institutional racism’. Many are not planning to sit tight until the IPCC releases the findings due to emerge from the numerous reports of abuse. As far as they’re concerned, the organisation has proved over the years to be as problematic as the police body it is supposed to investigate and monitor.

Indeed, the proposal to hand evidence over to the IPCC is viewed with scepticism for good reason. There have been a number of cases in which the police have withheld vital evidence from the IPCC. The most high-profile of these being that of Ian Tomlinson, in which the IPCC were misled by false accounts, given to them by serving officers, of ‘missiles’ thrown by anarchists, not to mention an inaccurate autopsy carried out by a doctor with a history of lying in order to cover up police killings. Other cases have involved IPCC staff who, instead of critically examining evidence, have chosen to unquestioningly regurgitate police press statements, as was the case in the recent killing of Mark Duggan in the first week of Auguest 2011.

Further to this, in cases where sufficient evidence is presented to the IPCC, police accountability prosecution rarely ensues. Solicitor Fiona Murphy explains that investigations into officers with a long history of complaints of abuse against them from African, Caribbean and Asian members of the public over their abuse of Babar Ahmad resulted in the investigation – despite its abject failure to gather and test the necessary evidence – still unearthed sufficient material to justify criminal and disciplinary charges.
…more