BAHRAINI OPPOSITION LEADER FEARED TORTURED

Ebrahim Sharif, one of several prominent opposition leaders detained in Bahrain in March, was transferred on or around 10 April to a military hospital in al-Riffa’, central Bahrain. His family has not had access to him since he was detained. Amnesty International fears he might be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Ebrahim Sharif, Secretary General of the National Democratic Action Society (Waad), a secular political opposition association in Bahrain, was arrested at his house in Manama on 17 March. Since that day his family has not been allowed to visit him and he is believed to be held in military custody. Amnesty International has received reports that he may have been subjected to torture or other ill-treatment after his arrest.

Ebrahim Sharif was admitted to the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) military hospital in al-Riffa’, central Bahrain, reportedly for the second time on or around 10 April and his family does not know if he is still there. According to information received by Amnesty International, a patient at the hospital saw Ebrahim on 10 April and recognized him despite his swollen face, raising concerns that he may have been assaulted and otherwise tortured in detention. His family has officially requested visits to Ebrahim Sharif twice; the first time days after his arrest and the second time in the week of 18 April, but their requests have not received any answer from the authorities. Amnesty International fears that Ebrahim Sharif remains at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. …more

PRESS RELEASE: Bahrain – Head of University Department Imprisoned – Tuesday, 19 April 2011 15:38

The crackdown on academics and free thought continues as Dr Masaud Jahromi is inexplicably imprisoned.

Dr Masaud Jahromi, Chairman of the engineering department at Ahlia University in Bahrain, was arrested at 2:30AM on 14th April 2011; having been beaten and dragged from his bed in front of his family. His family, students, friends and colleagues are unaware of his whereabouts and health.

Dr Jahromi is a widely respected academic and engineer. He was awarded his PhD from the University of Kent, UK; having already earned his MSc and BSc from the University of Manchester, UK, and the University of Bahrain respectively.

Professor Hamed al-Raweshidy, who supervised Masaud at the University of Kent, is shocked that a former student is being mistreated like this. “Masaud was one of the hardest working, cooperative, and mild mannered individuals I have ever come across. He was not only my top student, but also a wonderful professional. There is no doubt in my mind that the Bahraini authorities have got this completely wrong”.

Massoud Shadjareh, the chair of IHRC, said:
“The indiscriminate arrests in Bahrain continue, as the case of Dr Masaud Jahromi reminds us. His imprisonment highlights the sorry state of affairs where the Bahraini regime has ceased to feel obliged to even offer an excuse before imprisoning its citizens.” …source

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Payne, McGovern and Baldwin denounce human rights abuses in Bahrain.

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, came together with Congressman James McGovern and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin to issue the following statement:

“We would like to express our deep concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain and our support for the aspiration and peaceful struggle of the people of Bahrain. We are troubled by the deteriorating health of prominent human rights activist and nursing mother, Zainab al-Khawaja, who began a hunger strike on April 9th 2011 to raise attention to the violent arrest of her father, husband and brother-in-law.

Activists who speak out against the Bahraini government’s repressive campaign have endured arrests and threats to themselves or their families. Over the last two weeks, at least four protesters have died in police custody. We are deeply concerned with Bahrain’s attempt to stifle peaceful political opposition, including the attack on Bahrain’s largest opposition group, the Shiite bloc al-Wafaq.

The violent crackdown by Bahraini security forces on protesters and arbitrary arrests of political dissidents must not fall on deaf ears. The United States must not allow political alliances to prevent us from denouncing human rights abuses, particularly when they are perpetrated against peaceful demonstrators.

Bahrain must ensure the security of detainees and we urge the Administration to insist on the release of those detained for peacefully opposing the Bahraini regime. We also call for an independent international investigation into the deaths of government-held protesters.

The United States must continue to support the democratic aspirations of all people. ”
…source

Bahraini protester ends hunger strike

Zainab al-Khawaja says plight of her detained family is better highlighted if she uses her voice to support protest movement.

Zainab al-Khawaja had been on hunger strike for 10 days in protest at Bahrain soldiers’ treatment of her father, husband and brother-in-law. Photograph: Hasan Jamali/AP

Zainab al-Khawaja, the Bahraini human rights activist who witnessed her father, husband and brother-in-law being beaten and imprisoned by masked soldiers earlier this month has ended her hunger strike.

The 27-year-old mother of one told the Guardian that she has decided to stop her 10-day fast after becoming convinced that “being silent in a tomb and not able to speak is not in the interests of my family.”

Her decision follows pressure from human rights groups who tried to persuade her to use her voice in support of the protest movement, arguing that the Bahraini government would rather she were dead than alive.

Meanwhile, Khawaja’s hopes of seeing her family again were given a boost, after relatives received phonecalls from the authorities on Wednesday indicating that the three men were alive.

Khawaja’s husband, Wafi Almajed, called his mother from custody and asked for his father to bring clothes, a toothbrush and shampoo for him to the fort in Manama, the capital.

Bahraini officials also phoned making the same request for Khawaja’s brother-in-law, Hussein Ahmed, and asked the family to bring essentials to a military court for her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. The 50-year-old is a prominent critic of the regime who was targeted after he called for the king of Bahrain to face trial. It is thought that Almajed and Ahmed were seized because they were with him at the time.

“We feel so happy,” she said. “A few hours ago we were worried if they were dead. At least we know they are OK now. We had very little hope yesterday, so today is a great day.” …more

by PressTV – April 18, 2011

Bahraini security forces have reportedly arrested several teachers and students in the town of Hamad in a new wave of crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Reports say at least eight teachers and several pupils from an all-girl secondary school were arrested in the Bahraini city.

The new arrests came as Bahraini anti-government protesters are preparing to start the world’s largest joint hunger strike to show their anger with the regime’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

The organizers have called on all Bahrainis around the world to begin a hunger strike from Monday in protest against the regime’s brutalities against the opposition.

The move was inspired by rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja who was hospitalized on Sunday after seven days of hunger strike.

She is protesting the detention of several of her relatives, including her father and husband. The human rights activists were detained earlier this month by Bahraini security forces, backed by troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. …more

Interview with Nabeel Rajab, president for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Manama – PressTV April 20, 2011 [excerpt]

The Bahraini Government seeks to cause conflict between the Sunnis and Shias by systematically targeting the Shia population and their institutions.

In an interview with Press TV, Nabeel Rajab, president for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, elaborates on the crisis in Bahrain.

Press TV: You’ve been quoted by the Center for Research and Globalization in an article as saying that what’s going on now in Bahrain is “a campaign of sectarian cleansing.”

I find that interesting considering that we’ve always been speaking about how this is not a sectarian issue and that the government in Bahrain, and even the Saudi government, have been using this sectarian issue a lot. Do you see that issue at all, scaring some people off from the streets?

Rajab: Well, first of all, since this issue is very sensitive I have to clarify that when I say sectarian, I mean the government is targeting the Shias, and I don’t mean the Sunnis are targeting the Shias.

The government, who happens to be Sunnis targeting Shias, is not based on religion but on a political dispute, a political crisis, and they try to use religion to mobilize more people with them. This is a long story by our nation and around the countries, and the international community as well.

When you put hundreds of people in jail from one sectarian background, when you terminate thousands of people from their jobs based on a sectarian background, when you stop studies and pull all sorts of students studying abroad based on a sectarian background, when you kill more than 30 people in those few weeks with four of them in custody being tortured until death based on a sectarian background, when you demolish their mosques and their worshipping places, shrines which have been there for hundreds of years before the existence of the ruling family in this country, all this together, you can call it “sectarian cleansing.” …more

Urgent UN rights meeting on Mideast unrest planned
The Associated Press Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | 5:25 a.m.

Western diplomats say several nations are negotiating for an emergency session of the U.N.’s top human rights body to examine the government crackdowns on popular unrest that have swept the Middle East and North Africa.

Diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a special session of the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council could take place in Geneva as soon as next week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The meeting on protecting human rights amid peaceful protests avoids publicly singling out any countries. But diplomats confirmed that Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria would be among the nations whose violent suppression of protests would be on the agenda.

(Manama) – Unknown assailants lobbed teargas grenades at the home of a leading Bahraini human rights defender in the early hours of April 18, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack, which took place at 3:30 a.m. in the village of Bani Jamra, targeted the home of Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and a member of the Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee.
Rajab said two of the grenades spread gas into the adjacent home of his 78-year-old mother, who suffers from respiratory disease, causing her great distress. The third grenade did not detonate. To Human Rights Watch’s knowledge, only Bahrain’s security forces have access to the types of grenades that were thrown into the Rajab family’s compound. ..more

The US, Western powers and human rights groups are silent on the crimes underway in Bahrain because of their own interests in the region rather than of true democracy.

In an interview with Press TV, Dr. Syed Ali Wasif, professor from Trinity University, says that President Obama would be liable for participating in war crimes under UN International Peace and Security rules because of his support of dictatorial and brutal regimes directly involved in the Bahraini bloodshed.

Press TV: Regarding the brutality being used by the Bahraini regime and Saudi forces towards these protesters who just want democracy and equal rights in the country, we do know that the US is going into Libya to protect its people, but of course things change when the country in question is a financial hub as well as housing the US Navy’s fifth fleet. How long can the US maintain its silence as far as Bahrain goes?

Wasif: Unfortunately, all these actions which we have just heard taken by the Bahraini government are all against international legal norms, all against international human rights law, all against the Geneva Convention.

We have a typical example of what we call in international legal circles as an internal and international armed conflict, and that is basically the case of Bahrain. It’s an international as well as an internal armed conflict.

Though it’s not exactly an arms conflict, the offices of those conventions employ such a dispute. We have brutal force being used against the innocent and unarmed protesters there. It’s a total matter of war crimes, human rights violations and crimes against humanity. ..more

THE ROVING EYE
Fear and loathing in the House of Saud
By Pepe Escobar

Early last week, US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Saudi King Abdullah, delivered in person in Riyadh by US National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon. This happened less than a week after Pentagon head Robert Gates spent a full 90 minutes face to face with the king.

These two moves represented the final seal of approval of a deal struck between Washington and Riyadh even before the voting of UN Security Council resolution 1973 (see Exposed: the Saudi-US Libya deal, Apr 1, Asia Times Online). Essentially, the Obama administration will not say a word about how the House of Saud conducts its ruthless repression of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain and across the Persian Gulf. No ”humanitarian” operations. No R2P (”responsibility to protect”). No no-fly or no-drive zones.

Progressives of the world take note: the US-Saudi counter-revolution against the Great 2011 Arab Revolt is now official.

Those ‘pretty influential guys’
The wealthy, truculent clan posing as a perpetual absolute monarchy that goes by the name House of Saud wins on all fronts. Last month’s ”Day of Rage” inside the kingdom was ruthlessly preempted – with the (literal) threat that protesters would have their fingers cut off. …more