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

Al-Khalifa Forces Lay Siege on Protesting Town, Prevent Access to Food Stuff
21 October, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Bahrain’s police and security forces surrounded al-Akar town, South of Manama, and cut the roads and transfer of food supplies to the town after a bomb attack on Thursday killed one policeman and injured another following clashes between protesters and the Saudi-backed security services.

“The Al-Khalifa regime has imposed a siege on the al-Akar town and prevents its people’s access to food supplies under the pretext of the killing of one of its elements who was involved in the suppression of people’s peaceful protests in the town,” Secretary-General of Bahrain’s National Democrat Society Fazzel Abbas said on Sunday.

He stressed the necessity for an end to the al-Akar siege and investigations into the killing of the policeman in the city, and told the Iran-based al-Alam news network that the killed person was a foreign national.

Bahrain’s al-Vafa al-Islami stream also on Sunday condemned the al-Akar siege, and underlined, “The Bahraini regime’s story about the killing of a policemen in al-Akar village is an excuse to assume the extensive deracination of people as permitted.”

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

In a latest development a bomb attack on Thursday killed one policeman and injured another after clashes between protesters and the security services in a village near the capital which provided the government with a pretext to further arrest the Bahraini people. Bahraini security forces surrounded the village and increased their suppressive measures in the region.

After the escalation of uprisings in Bahrain, tens of protesters have been killed by al-Khalifa’s security forces, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Bahrain: Two martyrs as UK Government is criticised for pro-Alkhalifa stands
By davidswanson – 19 October, 2012 – War is a Crime.org

Two martyrs fell during the week. First was Huda, eleven year-old girl who was suffocated by chemical gases that has become the main tool of repression against the people. She developed breathing difficulties leading to the deterioration of her health until she succumbed to painful death. The second was Hajji Mahdi Ali Al Marhoon, 60. Few months ago he was subjected to intense inhalation of chemical gases deployed by regime’s forces against the people of Ma’amir Town. He was hospitalised but his condition deteriorated until he passed away on Wednesday 17th October. His funeral yesterday was attended by thousands of people who chanted anti-regime slogans calling for an end to the Alkhalifa hereditary dictatorship.

The repression has continued unabated. The security apparatus, commanded by John Timoney and John Yates has intensified its attempts to suppress dissenting voices or anyone attempting to uncover the truth. It is now illegal to tweet anti-Alkhalifa news. Anyone who criticises the dictatorship or its human rights abuses is liable for arrest, torture and imprisonment. Four people have now been targeted for tweeting anti-regime news. The situation has now deteriorated to levels far worse than in previous times. Instead of opening up freedoms, the Alkhalifa, encouraged by the Saudi occupation, Anglo-American military and security support, has become notorious for its human rights violations. It has made mockery of the recommendations by the Bissioni Commission and the Human Rights Council.

While Nabeel Rajab’s trial earlier this week was postponed other human rights activists have been targeted and warned of severe consequences if they continued criticism of the Alkhalifa bleak record of human rights. Mohammad Al Masqati, the President of Bahrain Youth for Human Rights was arrested, threatened and ill-treated for criticising the Alkhalifa. No word of condemnation has come from the UN bodies responsible for protection of human rights defenders. Nabeel Rajab’s ill-treatment has stained the human rights world which has failed to protect the most prominent human rights activist in the Gulf region from arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Rajab. AI has confirmed that at least one international observer was denied entry to Bahrain to observe the appeal against Mr Rajab’s conviction. Since John Timoney and John Yates were seconded by USA and UK to support the the Alkhalifa criminal regime last year international human rights activists were banned from entering the country. The Alkhalifa have kept an iron-fist policy against Bahrainis with tight grip on police, intelligence, army, judiciary and media. …more

Repression in Bahrain is continuing to alienate the Shia majority

How the police recruit radicals
13 October, 2012 – The Economist

Let’s make them really radical – ASIDE from corruption, the lack of democracy and a dearth of jobs, one of the things young Arabs have been protesting against most vigorously has been brutal policemen. The well-staffed, big-budgeted internal security forces in most Arab countries perform many tasks other than protecting citizens; they create jobs, form personal bases of support for powerful ministers, and of course spy on and intimidate potential troublemakers. Their behaviour often turns potential dissidents into real ones.

Many of the Arab uprisings started small and swelled after heavy-handed responses by the police. Some Syrians close to the regime still wonder if the bloodshed and chaos could have been averted if only President Bashar Assad had sacked his cousin, the secret-police chief in Deraa, where Syria’s rebellion began, after local security men shot young protesters there.

Police in most of the Gulf countries are usually subtler. Surveillance is high-tech and violence is exacted in prisons, away from the public view. But in Bahrain police are still engaged in near-daily fights with protesters, mainly in the rundown Shia villages that surround the wealthy commercial hub of Manama, the capital. Images of “martyrs” who died in the uprising are still being stencilled on village walls.

The latest is of 17-year-old Ali Hussein al-Nima, who died at the end of September. Opposition groups say police shot him in the back, nearly six weeks after a 16-year-old died in another clash with police. The authorities say both were killed when police responded to terrorist attacks from rioters with home-made petrol bombs.

Nearly a year after the publication of a report commissioned by the ruling royal family, which found that the security forces were responsible for killings and systematic torture, only a handful of police and no senior officials have lost their jobs. Since then police have been filmed looting Shia-owned shops and smashing parked cars with apparent impunity. By contrast, recent court rulings have upheld sentences against opposition leaders, human-rights activists, and nine doctors and medical workers accused, among other things, of “inciting hatred” against the government.

Bahrain’s Western-backed government has been trumpeting its reforms. British barristers have helped advise on new legal codes, while former police chiefs from London and Miami have been advising Bahrain’s growing police force, whose bosses prefer to bring Sunnis from overseas (including Pakistan) into its ranks rather than recruit from among local Shias.

The punishment of peaceful activists is making Bahrain’s opposition more radical. Some activists share jokes about the police, tweeting photos of broken-down doors and battered bodies with hashtags such as #bahrainstylereforms. Others swap recipes for Molotov cocktails, as protests evolve from peaceful calls for human rights and a proper parliament to angrier demands for the police to be bashed back, the closure of the American naval base and the end of the monarchy. …more

Western policy on Syria is failing on a monumental scale
Peter Hain – The Guardian – 21 October 2012

If Russia and Iran have been culpable, there has been a catastrophic failure of diplomacy by the west and its allies. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon’s call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo is a welcome challenge to the west’s floundering policy. Britain, France and the US, as well as their allies, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, need to recognise that neither side is going to win the civil war engulfing Syria. Nor will the Turkey’s call for western military intervention to halt the humanitarian disaster resolve the crisis. A political solution has to be the priority.

The Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, is reported to be willing to consider the proposal by the UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, for a ceasefire for the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday on 26 October. The western powers and the Arab arms suppliers should urge their friends in the opposition to declare they will reciprocate if Assad makes good on his tentative promise.

Western demands for regime change were never going to work because this isn’t simply a conflict between a savage regime and the Syrian people. Assad and the ruling Shia-aligned Alawite minority form a tenth of the population and fear being oppressed by the Sunni majority. Christians and other minorities are similarly nervous. Together, those behind Assad constitute nearly a third of Syrians.

The war has also become a wider proxy for Sunni versus Shia, and Saudi Arabia versus Iran. There is also bitter suspicion at the west’s real intentions from Russia and China and their allies. They insist that they never authorised UN backing for military force to depose Muammar Gaddafi last year, and refuse to be “tricked” again. The Iraq invasion also poisons trust of the west. Libya today – its people at the mercy of warring militias and jihadist opportunists, the US ambassador assassinated – is hardly a good advertisement for repeating that regime-change recipe in more complex Syria.

David Cameron’s recent high-minded rhetoric at the UN general assembly ignored the presence of al-Qaida fighters among the west’s favoured rebels.Assad and the minorities and other popular forces that support him fear becoming victims of genocide, so will fight on. If the Syrian regime was somehow toppled without a settlement being in place, the country would descend into even greater chaos.

Russia is determined not to allow that anarchy, mainly because Syria provides its only Mediterranean port in the region. Iran also has key interests, malevolent or otherwise. Syrian refugees have already flooded into Turkey and Lebanon, the latter destabilised, with its police chief assassinated, and now plunged into a political crisis. …more

Mossad behind latest Beirut bombing
Voltaire Network – 21 October, 2012

On October 19, Israeli Mossad car bombing killed Lebanese internal security chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan near Sassine Square in Beirut’s predominantly Christian district of Ashrafiya. Wissam al-Hassan, a close Sunni ally of President Michel Sulaiman, had recently earthed an Israeli spy cell in Lebanon. The deadly blast killed 8 people and injured another 78, mostly Lebanese Christians.

American Jewish film-maker, political commentator and former personal secretary of Bertrand Russell, Ralph Schoeman 77, told Iranian Press TV that the bombing has all marks of Israeli Mossad.

“As 1992 to today in the day bombing of Beirut the identical scenario, who benefits from attempting to divide Lebanon and spread the turmoil, who benefits destabilizing the government in Damascus, who states to destabilize Beirut and subject Lebanon to civil war, the Zionist regime, the Mossad. It is a classical operation of Mossad,” he said.

Lebanese Islamic Resistance, Hizballah, has condemned the bombing. The pro-USrael opposition group March 14 lead by Sa’ad Hariri called for the resignation of Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati, which he did – but Lebanese president Michel Sulaiman refused to accept it saying that Mikati cannot be blamed for the security breach. Both Hariri and Mikati are Sunni billionaires and are not connected to Hizballah in any way. Hizballah is member of the ruling March 8 Alliance.

It seems, the Zionist regime is playing its old covert operations to pit Lebanese against each other. It carried a similar car bombing to assassinate Rafik Hariri in February 2005. It was part of Israeli soft revolution before its invasion of Lebanon in Summer 2006. However, to western powers’ great surprise – the Jewish army met its first major military defeat at the hands of Hizballah fighters.

Israel and western Arab puppet rulers are trying to influence the June 2013 parliamentary election by the western-sponsored armed insurgency in neighboring Syria. In March 2012, United Nations’ envoy for the Middle East, Israel-Firster Jew Jeffrey Feltman told pro-Israel-Saudi, ‘Lebanese American Organization’ that Hizballah and its allies will be defeated in June 2013 election.

However, the recent Hizballah’s successful launching of a spy drone over Israel proves that the Jewish army is to face worse surprises than it faced in 2006. …source

Detained Bahrainis deny defaming king on Twitter
22 October, 2012 – Agence France Presse

DUBAI, United States of America: Four Bahrainis arrested last week on charges of “defaming” the king on Twitter denied the accusations in court on Monday, saying they were innocent, their lawyers said.

The defendants, who appeared before a criminal court judge for posting on Twitter insulting comments about King Hamad bin Isa Al-Thani, “denied the accusations against them,” said one of their lawyers on condition of anonymity.

The lawyer said the defence team requested that the defendants be released pending further investigation, but so far it has not received any response.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 31.

On October 17, the government announced the arrest of the four defendants, promising a swift and “urgent trial before a criminal court.”

After the arrest, Bahrain’s public prosecution announced it had “interrogated the accused and ordered them to be held in custody for seven days pending trial.”

Regular demonstrations have shaken Bahrain since it crushed a Shiite-led uprising against the ruling Sunni regime in March last year.

The kingdom came under strong criticism from international rights groups over the deadly crackdown.

Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Shiite Iran, has continued to see sporadic demonstrations, though mostly outside the capital Manama.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, a total of 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence began on February 14, 2011.
…source

Bahrain court cuts jail terms of two Shiite teachers
21 October, 2012 – France 24

AFP – Bahrain’s appeals court on Sunday cut the jail terms of two Shiite leading members of the teacher’s union, charged with calling to topple the Sunni monarchy during last year’s protests, lawyers said.

The court halved the 10-year jail sentence against the head of the teachers union, Mahdi Abu Deeb, and reduced the three-year imprisonment sentence meted out against his deputy Jalila al-Salman to six months, lawyers said.

Abu Deeb, who has been behind bar since April last year, appeared in court, while Salman did not show up. She has been out on bail since August last year after spending around five months in jail.

The earlier sentences were issued by a special quasi-military court set up after security forces backed by a Saudi-led Gulf contingent quelled a month-long protest in mid-March last year.

The duo were charged with exploiting their union positions to instigate protests, calling for teachers’ strikes and shutting down of schools, as well as calling to topple the regime by force.

Scores of Shiites, including medics, have been tried and jailed for taking part in protests that demanded democratic change in the Shiite-majority Gulf state.

Bahrain came under strong criticism from international rights groups over last year’s crackdown on protests.

An international panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe the clampdown found that excessive force and torture had been used against protesters and detainees.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, a total of 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence began on February 14, 2011.

Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, has continued to witness sporadic demonstrations, mostly outside the capital Manama. …more

Bahrain says it has identified suspects in police bomb attack
Reuters – 20 October, 2012

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s interior minister said on Saturday that the country had identified several suspects in a bomb attack on Thursday that killed one policeman and injured another following clashes between protesters and the security services in the U.S. ally.

The tiny Gulf Arab kingdom has been convulsed by unrest since February last year after mass demonstrations led by majority Shi’ites demanding democratic change in the Sunni-led monarchy.

Thursday’s explosion, which the government called a “terrorist attack” and which followed clashes in a village south of the capital, was the latest such bombing this year. Four policemen were injured in a similar incident in May.

“We have identified a number of suspects in the case,” said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa in a statement distributed by the government’s Information Affairs Authority.

Bahraini authorities have accused Shi’ite power Iran, which once ruled the Gulf island, of instigating the protests, a charge Tehran has denied, and have promised a tough response to violent demonstrations after talks with the opposition stalled.

“We won’t stop at just determining who committed the crime, but we will also determine who orchestrated the explosion and who trained the individuals in their bomb-making skills,” Al Khalifa said.

Shi’ites complain of discrimination in the electoral system, jobs, housing and education and say they are mistreated by government departments, the police and the army. Government promises of action to address their concerns have come to nothing, they say. …source

Dramatic footage of deadly attack
By Sandeep Singh Grewal- 21 October, 2012

SEVEN suspects have been arrested in connection with a bomb explosion in Eker that killed a policeman and left another critically injured. The Interior Ministry Crime Detection and Forensic Science directorate yesterday confirmed “legal procedures” were being taken against the suspects.

The arrests came as police released video footage of Friday’s explosion, which killed 19-year-old Imran Ahmed Mohammed, an officer of the Interior Ministry’s Special Security Force Command.

One of his colleagues, a Yemeni, suffered serious injuries in the attack and remains in a critical condition in hospital.

It happened at around 1am as they were on routine patrol.

The video shows a group of youths gathering to attack police and shining laser guns at a police helicopter. A Molotov cocktail is thrown at Mr Mohammed but misses and seconds later what appears to be a homemade explosive thrown in his direction blows up on a set of football goalposts.

Mr Mohammed then bends down as if he is trying to pick something up and the explosion erupts. Several of his colleagues then run towards him to try and help him.

Mr Mohammed is survived by his parents and four sisters, Afshan, 22, Batool, 17, Zainab, 15, and Fatima, 14.

It is the second tragedy for his family in four months as the policeman’s elder brother Mohammed Azhar, 26, also a policeman, was killed in an accident near Safra as he drove to work in June. The teenager’s cousin Kashif Ahmed Mandhour, another policeman, was also killed by anti-government protesters after being run over by a car near the former Pearl (GCC) Roundabout.

Minister of State for Human Rights Affairs Dr Salah Ali yesterday condemned the terrorist attack on policemen while they were performing their duties.

He said violence and terrorism have nothing to do with democratic practices used by some sides as a pretext to achieve demands, stressing that vandalism, blocking of roads and intimidation of citizens lead nowhere and achieve no agenda, and those who stage them will be brought to justice and held accountable, since “we live in a state of law and institutions”.

The US State Department condemned the attack during a daily Press briefing in Washington.

“We obviously strongly condemn the attack with an explosive device that killed one police officer and critically injured another in Bahrain,” said spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. …more

Bahraini Human Rights Group Urges Trial of Al-Khalifa Interior Minister
21 October, 2012 – Shia Post

Bahrain’s human rights association called on the International Court of Justice to try Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa for his direct involvement in the massacre of peaceful protestors in the tiny Persian Gulf country.

The human rights group’s demand came as anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

In a latest development a bomb attack on Thursday killed one policeman and injured another after clashes between protesters and the security services in a village near the capital which provided the government with a pretext to further arrest the Bahraini people. Bahraini security forces surrounded the village and increased their suppressive measures in the region.

Bahrain’s al-Vafa al-Islami stream condemned the move, and underlined, “The Bahraini regime’s story about the killing of a policemen in al-Akar village is an excuse to assume the extensive deracination of people as permitted.”

After the escalation of uprisings in Bahrain, tens of protesters have been killed by al-Khalifa’s security forces, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Urgent appeal: Medical supplies and food needed in AlEker, three human rights defenders arrested
21 October, 2012 – Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) issue an urgent appeal regarding the siege which has been ongoing for more than 2 days now on the village of AlEker. President of BYSHR, Mohammed AlMaskati, was able to get into the village despite the siege at approximately 9 am local time. A gathering of more than 100 people outside the entrance of AlEker which included medics, members of political societies and activists was dispersed by excessive force using sonic bombs and teargas and another gathering of AlEker residents inside the village was also attacked with excessive use of tear gas. Human rights defenders Zainab Al Khawaja, BCHR’s Said Yousif AlMuhafdhah and BYSHR’s Naji Fateel were arrested after peacefully matching towards Al Eker holding symbolic amount of food and medical supply to break the siege. According to the lawyer they are being charged with obstructing traffic despite walking on the pavement. Please refer to the last BCHR urgent appeal about the situation in AlEker: HERE .

According to AlMaskati’s testimony of what he witnessed, all entrances to AlEker are blocked. When people are allowed to leave (only from the main entrance), they are harassed and verbally attacked, in addition to getting thoroughly searched. AlMaskati stated that during the past two days, security forces have imposed an ongoing curfew, informing residents through loud speakers that they are not allowed to leave their homes. Security forces also used loud speakers to threaten the residents and used insults and sectarian derogatory terms.

Security forces have reportedly forbidden mosque caretakers from opening mosques for prayers for the past two days, and in one instance they raided a mosque breaking furniture inside. In addition, the village’s elementary school was closed today (Sunday 21st October) and it was surrounded by security forces who refused to allow students into the school. The residents of AlEker are suffering from food shortage, as the usual food deliveries from outside the village were prohibited from entering. Some residents have been attempting to bring food into the village on foot from other areas.

Residents of AlEker confirmed to AlMaskati that more than 36 their homes had been subject to arbitrary house raids without warrants. The raids were reportedly very violent, insides of their homes were broken and electronic belongings were confiscated. People inside the homes were subjected to physical and verbal assault demanding they disclose whereabouts of relatives.

The Residents who were in constant need of access to medical care were prohibited from exiting AlEker to go to the hospital. Ambulances have not been allowed into the area. Two people were arrested and later released after reported ill treatment and torture. Family of one of those arbitrarily arrested, namely Aqeel Hassan Jassim, informed AlMaskati that their son has Epilepsy and constantly needs medical care to avoid seizures.

The area claimed to be the “crime scene” by the ministry of interior is a deep area covered in water which has now been covered with sand. Many were arbitrarily arrested as part of the “AlEker case” and were reportedly brought to the “crime scene” and videotaped there according to local residents.

According to lawyer Manar Maki, a group of lawyers made a request to be present during the interrogations of those arbitrarily arrested in what is now being called “AlEker case”, but their request was rejected.

There were many attempts to break the siege on Al Eker village. A group of members of political societies, doctors and activists was dispersed with the use of excessive force this morning. Activists, Said Yousif, Zainab Al Khawaja and Naji Fateel walked to Al Eker holding only symbolic amount of food and medical supply, however, denied entry and arrested. According to witnesses Zainab Al Khawaja was beaten and dragged by male policemen and men in civilian clothing. The three activists are being charged with obstructing traffic. ( Video shows that they were peacefully walking not obstructing the traffic)

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) calls on the international community to put pressure on the government of Bahrain to respect and guarantee human rights for all people under all conditions. It calls on the authorities to stop subjecting the citizens of Bahrain to acts of ill-treatment and collective punishment during the process of investigation of the death of the policeman. The BYSHR and the BCHR believe that an independent, fair and transparent investigation has to be carried out to look into the causes behind the death of the policeman as well as the death of dozens of civilians. …Source

Bahrain arrests 7 after police bomb death
(AFP) – 21 October, 2012

DUBAI — Bahrain on Sunday announced the arrest of seven people suspected of being responsible for a roadside bombing that killed a policeman during clashes with protesters in a Shiite village.

The seven suspects in the attack, which took place amid violence overnight on Thursday, were referred to the public prosecutor, a statement from the Information Affairs Authority said.

The search continued for others suspected of involvement in the attack in which an improvised explosive device was used in the Shiite village of Akar, south of Manama, the statement added. A second police officer was wounded in the attack.

Protests in Shiite villages late on Thursday took place after a call by an Internet-based group that wants to topple the minority Sunni Al-Khalifa monarchy.

“Security measures put in place in Akar in the form of checkpoints are aimed at verifying the IDs of those entering and leaving the village. This is part of ongoing efforts to search for a number of wanted suspects,” a police chief said on Saturday.

The opposition, however, condemned what it called a “siege” of the village. A statement from Al-Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition formation, said police denied entry to activists and doctors on Sunday.

Ten opposition groups and NGOs in a message urged United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to intervene and “lift the siege on Akar.”

The message, delivered to the UN office in Manama and quoted in an Al-Wefaq statement, said security forces were denying the village medical aid for the third consecutive day.

Regular unrest and demonstrations have shaken Bahrain since it crushed Shiite-led popular protests in March last year. The kingdom came under strong criticism from international rights groups over the deadly crackdown.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, a total of 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence began on February 14, 2011.

Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Shiite Iran, has continued to see sporadic demonstrations, mostly outside the capital Manama. …source

The regime forces have attacked a group of opposition figures, medics, activists and journalists that headed people toal-Eker which has been under the inhumane siege of the regime for three days.

Bahrain: A team including figures and activists head people to AlEker to break the siege, the forces respond
22 October, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – The regime forces have attacked a group of opposition figures, medics, activists and journalists that headed people toal-Eker which has been under the inhumane siege of the regime for three days.

The forces used lethal teargas and chased the people who gathered in attempt to break the siege. The area is under tight lockdown.

The team asked the forces for their legal justifications and reasons to lockdown alEker, but was not given any answers in response except striking violence that reached the traffic on the nearby main road.

People inside al-Eker gathered far enough from security checkpoints, to welcome the team but were attacked by the forces. The attacks included houses in the village which have already been subjected to repeated raids and vandalism during the past three days.

The area of al-Eker is still under siege and nobody is allowed in or out, even cars carrying food supplies are prevented from reaching the people there. Daily prayers in mosques are stopped and even garbage-collecting companies are not allowed in.

The opposition has announced steps to break the siege including the team’s visit to the area. A gathering is scheduled for this evening at 4pm to protest against the oppressive lockdown. The opposition has called on people to deliver humanitarian aids to alEker in every possible non-violet way. …source

Bahrain Update

21 October, 2012 – by As’ad AbuKhalil

From Angry Arab’s Bahrain correspondent: “I know I haven’t written for a while, but this is urgent. The tiny village of Al-Ekr has been under siege since Friday. I have no idea what’s going on inside. No one can go in. No one can go out. Goods can’t come in. Goods can’t come out. Its absolutely ridiculous and what I’m hearing reminds me of what happened in Bahrain in March 2011, except that no one is reporting whats going on. The siege came after a police man was apparently killed in an explosion in Al-Ekr. The thing is that the villagers of Al-Ekr claim that they never heard an explosion, so the entire story is suspect. Either way, there’s no excuse for collective punishment. Also when policemen and security forces are allowed to act with impunity, the government should expect that one of them will eventually get killed. Zainab AlKhawaja, Yousif AlMuhafdha and Naji AlFateel (you obviously know who Zainab is but the other two are also human rights activists that work for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights) tried to enter the village but were arrested (they were later released). Victoria Nuland is of course only condemning the policeman’s death (she didn’t bother condemning the twitter arrests that happened a few days before).

You can read more about the siege HERE

By the way, the situation in Bahrain is dismal. Nabeel Rajab is in jail. He’ll be there for the next two years. The five remaining doctors had their final appeal a few weeks ago. Their sentences were affirmed and they are now in jail. This was completely unexpected, given the high profile nature of the case. Anyone who is speaking up is being arrested. You posted about the people who were arrested for tweeting against the King. The two former heads of the Bahrain Teachers Association, Mahdi Abu Deeb and Jalila AlSalman (another high profile case) were just sentenced to five years and six months respectively. You can read more about their case HERE: ” …source

Urgent: Bahraini activists announce march to break siege on AlEker today at 2 pm local time

21 October, 2012

Dear Friends,

Bahraini human rights activists (including BCHR’s Said Yousif AlMuhafdhah, BYSHR’s Naji Fateel, independent activist Zainab Alkhawaja) have announced that they will head a peaceful march carrying food and medical supplies to AlEker village which has been under siege by security forces for more than two days now.
We will soon publish an urgent statement with pictures and testimonies about the situation inside AlEker. This is part of the testimony of president of the Bahrain Youth Society Mohammed AlMaskati:

He posted on social media that “the situation inside Al Eker is unbearable.” “It looks like a ghost town, empty streets, closed schools and mosques, stores without adequate supplies and injured people in need of medical attention.” “There is an armored vehicle in front of the school with no children playing on streets.” He was met with the cries of the mothers of the detainees and saw how people walk long distances to get food into their families.

For more background on the situation on AlEker please read our urgent appeal issued early this morning: HERE
Best regards,

—
Maryam Al-Khawaja
Acting President / Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Deputy Director / Gulf Center for Human Rights

Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani condemned on Saturday Achrafiyeh blast that targeted the head of the intelligence branch of the ISF, General Wissam al-Hassan.
20 October, 2012 – Moqawama.org

In his statement to the Lebanese people, Qabbani highlighted that “the statehood is led by the blood of the martyrs in Lebanon while the hand of treachery and criminality still lurks this country. ”
As he slammed the perpetrators of this crime, the Mufti confirmed that “the goals of this crime are clear, the people who benefit from it are known and the crime is a murder of all Lebanon,” he said.

In parallel, he prayed that God protects Lebanon and its people from more dangerous coming incidents.
Qabbani called on the Lebanese to maintain calm and wisdom, so that the martyrdom of General Hassan “proves the immunity of Lebanon in face of discord.”
“General martyr Wissam Hassan had foiled several criminal plans, he protected the national formula so that Lebanon remains a country of justice,” he viewed.

He further assured that “martyr Hassan’s blood will not go in vain and the criminal will be punished sooner or later. ”
“We call on political, judicial and security authorities to take part in revealing the parties involved in the killing,” the mufti concluded. …source

Shocked by Ashrafiyeh Terrorist Crime: Hizbullah Denounces Blast, Urges Lebanese to Foil Conspiracy
20 October, 2012 – Moqawama.org

Commenting on the blast, which targeted Ashrafiyeh region in Beirut, Hizbullah issued the following statement:

Hizbullah expresses its great shock by this tragic terrorist crime that hit Ashrafiyeh area and killed and wounded dozens of innocent people.

As Hizbullah condemns this terrorist blast, it calls the competent authorities to mobilize all their capacities to unveil the perpetrators and hand-cut those who seek to tamper with the homeland and people’s security.

In parallel, Hizbullah urges all Lebanese parties, political forces and citizens to foil any conspiracy against the security of the country and the safety of its citizens. …source

Hezbollah Hedges Its Bets on Assad
By Giorgio Cafiero – 19 October, 2012 – FPIF

When the Arab Awakening began last year, Hezbollah’s leadership expressed solidarity with revolutionary movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain. However, this support was not extended to those demanding political reform in neighboring Syria.

This double standard must be understood in the context of Damascus’ relationship with Lebanon’s Shiite “Party of God.” As Bashar Al-Assad’s regime has been a vital strategic ally of Hezbollah that provides it with logistical, economic, and military support, the prospects of regime change in Damascus gravely alarm Hezbollah.

In a tone of jubilation, some of Hezbollah’s adversaries have asserted that the Arab Awakening will constitute the Shiite organization’s demise. These voices, however, underestimate Hezbollah’s legitimacy among Lebanon’s largest sect as a provider of social services and a force of resistance against Israel and the United States.

The Party of God will not disappear even if the Assad regime does. Nonetheless, if the Ba’athist order in Damascus falls, Hezbollah will be compelled to operate in a more challenging environment, both domestically and regionally.

However, a post-Assad order in Damascus will likely continue to maintain cooperative ties with Hezbollah to ensure Syria’s strategic posture vis-à-vis Israel. Randa Slim, a Lebanese scholar at the Middle East Institute, summarized this point: “Irrespective of the makeup of the new Syrian regime, absent a peace agreement between Syria and Israel, this new Syrian regime will have to rely on Hezbollah’s military arsenal as an important component of its deterrent strategy.”

Sectarian Spillover

Lebanon has long been susceptible to political turmoil in the broader Levant. Numerous events in recent years—including Saddam Hussein’s ouster in 2003, Rafik Al-Hariri’s assassination in 2005, the Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, the Lebanese Army’s bloody confrontation with Fatah al-Islam militants in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in 2007, and Hezbollah’s incursion into West Beirut in 2008—inflamed Lebanon’s sectarian tensions. Nevertheless, the fragile peace in Lebanon survived each dramatic development. However, analysts have raised concerns about Lebanon returning to civil war if the spillover effect from Syria continues or intensifies. …more

Bahrain Prosecutes Human Rights Activist for his UN Work
18 October, 2012 – CIHRS

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) strongly denounce the arbitrary arrest, detention, and politically motivated charges brought against human rights defender Mohamed Al Maskati in Bahrain.

Yesterday, 17 October 2012, Mohamed Al Maskati, a well-known human rights activist and president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), appeared before Bahrain’s public prosecution on charges of participating in illegal protests. A day prior, he had been summoned to Al Hoora police station, where he was kept overnight before being referred to the prosecutor’s office. Although he has since been released, the prosecution may raise his case again at any time, which we view as a clear form of intimidation against the activist.

We fear that the arrest of Mr. Maskati and the charges leveled against him for taking part in “illegal protests” and “gatherings” are an attempt to intimidate and punish him for his engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, and, as such, constitute a reprisal for cooperating with the United Nations.

The arrest of Mr. Maskati follows his participation in the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva one month ago in September, 2012, during which time the activist received a number of threats via Twitter and in local Bahraini newspapers for his participation at the UN, including warnings of legal measures against him upon his return to Bahrain. From the period between 10-18 September, Mr. Maskati also received dozens of anonymous phone calls threatening his life and the safety of his family in Bahrain.

On 13 September, Maskati delivered an oral intervention before the Geneva council, informing its members of the acts of reprisals to which he was subjected for his participation at the session. He stated, “I have received more than a dozen anonymous phone calls threatening my life and the safety of my family for my engagement here. Nonetheless, I have chosen to speak today because my case is not unique.” …more

Steps Towards Greater Unity in Syrian Opposition an Opportunity for U.S. Policy
18 October, 2012 – Human Rights First

Washington, DC- In response to an announcement by rebel leaders on the formation of a joint command structure to coordinate ongoing efforts to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad Human Rights First today urged the U.S. government to welcome and encourage steps towards greater unity among these forces. A conference is scheduled to take place on November 4 in Qatar to further advance unity and cooperation between opposition forces. The meeting will include the “Friends of Syria,” an international group of countries including the United States that convenes periodically to address the crisis in Syria.

“The U.S. government should welcome this progress towards unity, inclusiveness and cooperation in the Syrian opposition,” said Human Rights First’s Sadia Hameed. “It should seize this opportunity to express its readiness, in cooperation with its allies in the Friends of Syria, to provide more support to a united Syrian opposition that is able to demonstrate capacity to exert control over military forces on the ground in Syria. In doing so foreign governments supplying weapons to the opposition must recognize that they bear as much responsibility for the prevention of atrocities as the fighters on the ground.”

Currently weapons are reaching opposition forces from a variety of sources, including private religious sources that are empowering extremist groups. By being able to deal directly with a more centralized authority, supporters of the opposition in the Friends of Syria, including the United States, could take practical steps to ensure that weapons supplied to the opposition do not fall into the hands of extremists and are not used to carry out sectarian killings or other mass atrocities.

The organization noted the Friends of Syria, could provide an incentive for the Syrian opposition to unify by linking the provision of military support to clear criteria, including pledges by opposition forces not to engage in war crimes, sectarian violence or other violations. This would be attractive to political leaders and fighters on the ground. By adhering to these criteria the Syrian opposition will develop the capacity to rule a united Syria, protecting the rights of all Syrians, after the eventual fall of the regime. This criteria also contributes toward due diligence requirements of foreign governments arming the opposition, who are obligated to ensure that any material support they provide will not enable atrocities in Syria or elsewhere. Such due diligence measures will be what set the Friends of Syria, apart from those countries currently arming the regime and knowingly enabling mass atrocities in Syria. …more