Posts from — May 2011

Human Rights in Bahrain
Hearing Friday, May 13, 2011 10 AM B-318 Rayburn House Office Building

This hearing will take place at 10 AM on 5/13/2011, in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building.
The Hearing is open to members of Congress, congressional staff, the media and the interested public.
Date Friday, May 13, 2011
Time 10 AM
Location B-318 Rayburn House Office Building
Background *REVISED NOTICE*

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the current human rights situation in Bahrain. Since mid-February, reports of human rights violations in Bahrain have increased significantly as Bahraini authorities have attempted to suppress anti-government protests. [Read more →]

Bahrain court adjourns high-profile trial; sentences man to 15 years for attempted murder
Manama : Bahrain | May 12, 2011
By yasirqazi

Manama: A Bahraini court on Thursday sentenced a man to 15 years for attempting to murder policemen.

The court, made up of one military and two civilian judges, found Mohammad Yusuf Kadhem guilty of the murder attempt, and sentenced him.
He now has 12 days to appeal the verdict.

Separate case adjourned

In a separate case, the court adjourned the high-profile trial of 21 defendants, including seven who are being tried in absentia, to May 16 after lawyers requested more time to study the charges and testimonies. Some of the lawyers appeared for the first time before the court. The court on its first session postponed the start of the pleadings after some defendants said that they did not appoint lawyers. The court gave them time to ask their families to find legal representatives. Under Bahrain’s laws, no case can proceed without at least one lawyer for the defendant.

Political regime

The 14 defendants present at the court on Thursday, including Ebrahim Shareef, the head of liberal society Waad and activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, faced up to 12 charges, including incitement to topple the political regime.

A call by the lawyers to release them on bail during the investigation was rejected by the prosecutor who argued that the charges were too serious to allow them to go home regardless of the guarantees. In their opening remarks, the lawyers disputed the merit of the court, saying that it had no competence to look into the case.

Several activists were present at the trial and the judge allowed [some of] the defendants to meet their newly appointed lawyers and their relatives.

Defendants’ charges

The defendants are charged with establishing and managing terror groups to topple the state royal regime and change its constitution; intelligence with an overseas terrorist organisation to commit hostile acts against Bahrain; attempting to forcefully and change Bahrain’s constitution and toppling its political regime; inciting for the toppling of the political regime; collecting funds and paying terror groups, with knowledge of their terrorist activities; possessing documents and publications inciting the overthrow of the political regime; insulting the army; public incitement of hatred and contempt of the regime; disseminating false information, rumours and malicious propaganda that would disrupt public order and harm public interest; inciting non-compliance with laws and promoting a matter that is considered a crime; and taking part in rallies without notifying the competent authorities.

The defendants in custody are Abdul Wahab Hussain Ali Ahmad, Ebrahim Sharif Abdul Raheem Mussa, Hassan Ali Mushaima, Abdul Hadi Abdullah Al Khawaja, Abdul Jalil Abdullah Al Singees, Mohammad Habib Al Saffaf, Saeed Mirza Ahmad, Abdul Jalil Radhi Makki, Abdul Hadi Abdullah Hassan, Al Hur Yusuf Al Somaikh, Abdullah Eisa Al Mahroos, Salah Abdullah Hubail, Mohammad Hassan Jawad and Mohammad Ali Ridha Ismail.

The seven who are being tried in absentia are Sayyid Aqeel Ahmad Al Mahfoodh, Ali Hassan Abdul Imam, Abdul GhaniAbdul Ghani Eisa Ghanger, Saeed Abdulnabi Al Shehabi, Abdul Raoof Abdullah Al Shayeb, Abbas Nasser Omran and Ali Hassan Mushaima. …souce

Bahrain opposition leaders plead not guilty
May 12, 2011

Bahraini opposition leaders pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday of charges of belonging to a terrorist group and attempting to overthrow the monarchy, state news agency BNA reported. Fourteen out of a group of 21 defendants appeared before a special court set up in the wake of a mid-March crackdown on Shia-led protests demanding political reforms in the kingdom ruled by a Sunni royal family. The other defendants who are abroad are being tried in absentia.

“They all answered not guilty” to all charges, except for Abduljalil al-Muqdad, who “admitted taking part in unauthorized demonstrations,” BNA reported.

Among those on trial is also Ibrahim Sharif, the Sunni leader of the secular group Waed, who played a prominent role in the month-long protests.
Hassan Mashaima, the leader of the Shia opposition Haq movement, and Abdulwahab Hussein, the head of Shia Wafa Islamic Movement, as well as Shiite rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, are included in the group.

The trial was adjourned until May 16.

The accused are charged with “forming and directing a terrorist group aimed at overthrowing and changing the constitution of the state and the monarchy system,” according to the charge sheet. They are also accused of “having contact with a terrorist group abroad that operates in the interest of a foreign country by conducting hostile acts against the kingdom of Bahrain,” in reference to Shia Iran.

The charges also include “raising funds for the terrorist group.” Bahraini authorities say 24 people including four policemen were killed in the unrest, and they turned over 405 detainees to military courts and have released 312 others.

A special court has already sentenced four Shia to death and three others to life in jail after convicting them of killing two policemen who were allegedly run over by cars. Another was sentenced to seven years in prison for the attempted murder of policemen during the protests.

Bahrain has come under strong criticism from international human rights organizations for its heavy-handed crackdown on the Gulf state’s majority Shia, including medical staff. …source

Bahrain court adjourns high-profile trial; sentences man to 15 years for attempted murder

Court on its first session postponed the start of the pleadings after some defendants said that they did not appoint lawyers
by Habib Toumi, Bureau chief – Published: 19:05 May 12, 2011 – Gulf News

Manama: A Bahraini court on Thursday sentenced a detainee to 15 years on charges of attempting to murder policemen. The court, made up of one military and two civilian judges, found Mohammad Yusuf Kadhem guilty of the murder bid and sentenced him. He now has 12 days to appeal the verdict.

In a separate case, the court adjourned the high-profile trial of 21 defendants, including seven who are being tried in absentia, to May 16 after lawyers requested more time to study the charges and testimonies. Some of the lawyers appeared for the first time before the court. The court on its first session postponed the start of the pleadings after some defendants said that they did not appoint lawyers. The court gave them time to ask their families to find legal representatives.

Under Bahrain’s laws, no case can proceed without at least one lawyer for the defendant.

The 14 defendants present at the court on Thursday, including Ebrahim Shareef, the head of liberal society Waad and activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, faced up to 12 charges, including incitement to topple the political regime. A call by the lawyers to release them on bail during the investigation was rejected by the prosecutor who argued that the charges were too serious to allow them to go home regardless of the guarantees. In their opening remarks, the lawyers disputed the merit of the court, saying that it had no competence to look into the case. Several activists were present at the trial and the judge allowed the defendants to meet their newly appointed lawyers and their relatives. The defendants are charged with establishing and managing terror groups to topple the state royal regime and change its constitution; intelligence with an overseas terrorist organisation to commit hostile acts against Bahrain; attempting to forcefully and change Bahrain’s constitution and toppling its political regime; inciting for the toppling of the political regime; collecting funds and paying terror groups, with knowledge of their terrorist activities; possessing documents and publications inciting the overthrow of the political regime; insulting the army; public incitement of hatred and contempt of the regime; disseminating false information, rumours and malicious propaganda that would disrupt public order and harm public interest; inciting non-compliance with laws and promoting a matter that is considered a crime; and taking part in rallies without notifying the competent authorities.

The defendants in custody are Abdul Wahab Hussain Ali Ahmad, Ebrahim Sharif Abdul Raheem Mussa, Hassan Ali Mushaima, Abdul Hadi Abdullah Al Khawaja, Abdul Jalil Abdullah Al Singees, Mohammad Habib Al Saffaf, Saeed Mirza Ahmad, Abdul Jalil Radhi Makki, Abdul Hadi Abdullah Hassan, Al Hur Yusuf Al Somaikh, Abdullah Eisa Al Mahroos, Salah Abdullah Hubail, Mohammad Hassan Jawad and Mohammad Ali Ridha Ismail. The seven who are being tried in absentia are Sayyid Aqeel Ahmad Al Mahfoodh, Ali Hassan Abdul Imam, Abdul Ghani Eisa Ghanger, Saeed Abdulnabi Al Shehabi, Abdul Raoof Abdullah Al Shayeb, Abbas Nasser Omran and Ali Hassan Mushaima.
…source

Bahrain military chief says Gulf troops to stay on
(AP)

12 May 2011, 4:18 PM
Saudi-led forces sent to Bahrain to help crush anti-government protests will remain even after emergency rule is lifted next month, the head of the kingdom’s military said. Saudi-led forces sent to Bahrain to help crush anti-government protests will remain even after emergency rule is lifted next month, the head of the kingdom’s military said in a move that is likely to deepen regional tensions with Iran.

In response, Gulf leaders have sharply warned Iran to stay out of their affairs and accused Bahrain’s protesters of having links to groups such as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The Bahrain military commander, Sheik Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, also threatened even harsher crackdowns if demonstrators return to the streets in the strategic US ally, which is home to the Navy’s 5th Fleet.

“I say to those who did not get the message, ‘If you return we will come back, stronger this time,’” Sheik Ahmed was quoted as saying late Wednesday by the official Bahrain News Agency. Meanwhile, the expected resumption of a trial against 21 opposition leaders and human rights activists was adjourned until May 16. The activists are accused of plotting against the state and having links to foreign factions — an apparent reference to Hezbollah.

Fourteen of the suspects are in custody and the rest are being tried in absentia in a special security court set up under martial law-style rule imposed in March. Separately, the same court also convicted another opposition supporter on charges of attempted murder of a police officer and participation in a protest aimed at disrupting public order, a report by the state-run Bahrain News Agency said Thursday. It added that the protester, Hamad Yousef Kazim, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Kazim’s court-appointed lawyer can appeal the sentence, the report also said.

Bahrain’s king said the emergency rule will be lifted June 1. But the military chief’s statements suggest a heavy security presence will remain along with the Saudi-led troops. Bahrain’s Shias comprise about 70 percent of the population, but claim widespread discrimination and abuses at the hands of the 200-year-old ruling Sunni dynasty. …more

Editors note: at todays trial, May 12 2011 – Breaking News – “Unlike others, AbdulHadi Alkhawaja was not allowed to meet his family after trial today, probably to prevent revealing more torture marks.” ….more to follow.

Story 9 May 2011
Bahrain: Serious concerns about torture and fair trial of former Front Line Protection Coordinator Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

Front Line expressed its shock and horror at the physical condition of its former Protection Coordinator Mr Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja when he was presented for trial in Manama on Sunday 8 May 2011. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja had visibly been brutally beaten and had reportedly been taken to the military hospital to undergo a 4-hour operation during his period in incommunicado detention. Witnesses to the opening of the trial process reported he bore the evidence of having endured severe torture. He was reportedly the victim of 4 fractures to the side of his face and continues to have problems eating.

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was one of 21 individuals presented for trial charged with a variety of charges including ”organising and managing a terrorist organisation” and “attempt to overthrow the government by force and in liaison with a terrorist organisation working for a foreign country.”

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is a former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and was until February 2011 employed by Front Line as its Middle East and North Africa Protection Coordinator. He stepped down from this international role with Front Line to engage with the peaceful protests in Bahrain. Front Line is profoundly shocked by the violent treatment Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja has received, and calls for an urgent independent inquiry into his treatment and for those responsible to be brought to justice. More than 120 human rights defenders across the Middle East and North Africa have called for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s release. …more

CONTACT: Jessica Rosenblum, Human Rights First,
C: 202-279-0005, W: 202-265-3000 | Jessica@rabinowitz-dorf.com
“When he was recovering from the operation they tortured him again,” Torture and Unfair Trial of Protesters in Bahrain
For Immediate Release: May 12, 2011

Manama, Bahrain— Human Rights First is gravely concerned at today’s unfair trial in Bahrain of 21 suspects involved in recent protests calling for greater respect for human rights and democracy in the island kingdom.

Human Rights First was refused entry at the courtroom door this morning despite assurances from the Bahraini authorities that human rights organizations and other observers would be admitted. “Relatives of the defendants who were permitted access told us they looked in bad physical and mental shape,” said Brian Dooley of Human Rights First. “Several were limping and others have suffered drastic weight loss. They have not had adequate time to consult their lawyers, and there are credible reports of their torture in custody.”

The 21 suspects before the Lower National Safety Court today include prominent human rights defenders and opposition leaders. They have been charged with various national security crimes, including “insulting the army,” “organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule,” and “seeking and correspond[ing] with a terrorist organization abroad working for a foreign country to conduct heinous acts.” Some of these charges carry the death penalty.

“The hearing today was conducted in a heavily militarized atmosphere,” said Dooley. “The court buildings were full of armed soldiers, some wearing black masks.” Leading human rights defender Abdulhadi Al Khawaja is among those charged. His wife and daughter Zeinab were allowed a 10-minute meeting with him on Sunday. Zeinab told Human Rights First that his face had been badly damaged with multiple fractures while in the custody of security forces. He had undergone a four-hour operation in the military hospital. “But when he was supposed to be recovering from the operation they tortured him again,” she said. …more

In Bahrain, a candlelight vigil can land you in jail
By ROY GUTMAN
McClatchy Newspapers

SITRA, Bahrain — In the back alleys and streets of this Shiite Muslim town, a police crackdown looms at any hour of the day, but never more so than at nightfall, when even innocuous civil disobedience can lead to jail and perhaps torture.

The angry young men here know from experience that the police will use helicopters, blunderbuss rifles and tear gas to confront them, but they plot their next nighttime protest march nevertheless, in what’s become a cat-and-mouse game under Bahrain’s state of emergency, imposed to crush what remains of the country’s protest movement.

The police, mainly Sunni Muslims recruited from Pakistan’s Baluchistan province as well as Yemen, Syria and other Muslim countries, deploy three or four vans at the entrances to this town’s residential neighborhoods. Inside are 12 to 20 men ready to pounce the first moment they hear of a demonstration – even a candlelight vigil – against the government.

They chase the protesters down the streets and alleys, firing birdshot from blunderbusses, while other protests spring up not far away. A visitor driving through Sitra one recent evening saw police chasing and firing in one quarter, and young men marching and chanting in another nearby.

The slogans aren’t ambiguous. “Down with the king,” a group of about 30 young men chanted as they marched about with small tea candles, referring to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the head of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

This is what passes for normal now in Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled island nation that’s home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and where most people follow the Shiite branch of Islam.

For the past two months, the country’s rulers have imposed a harsh crackdown on a protest movement that was among the first to spring up after Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was pushed from that country’s presidency in February.

The crackdown has included bulldozing Shiite mosques, arresting mainstream opposition politicians and closing the country’s main opposition newspaper. …more

Bahrain announces elections to replace 18 Shia MPs
Zoi Constantine
Last Updated: May 12, 2011

Lebanese doctors, supporters of Hezbollah, carry placards, one reading in Arabic ‘Why keeping silence about arrests of doctors in Bahrain’ and wave Lebanese and Bahrain flags during a demonstration in solidarity with the doctors and nurses arrested in Bahrain in Beirut yesterday. Lebanese doctors, supporters of Hezbollah, carry placards, one reading in Arabic ‘Why keeping silence about arrests of doctors in Bahrain’ and wave Lebanese and Bahrain flags during a demonstration in solidarity with the doctors and nurses arrested in Bahrain in Beirut yesterday.

BEIRUT: The Bahraini government announced yesterday that parliamentary elections will be held in September to replace members who resigned in protest in February after the start of a crackdown on pro-reform demonstrations. Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al Khalifa, Bahrain’s justice minister, announced that a by-election would be held on September 24, according to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, with a second round scheduled for October 1. Eighteen MPs from Al Wefaq, the main Shia opposition group, resigned after the government’s violent response to demonstrations that began in mid-February, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Since then, more than 30 people have been killed, mostly protesters but also policemen, and hundreds more arrested as the government moved to quell protests. It declared a state of emergency in mid-March which is due to end, it announced this week, on June 1. …more

Bahrain: Award and prize winning photographer arrested
May 11th, 2011

On 11 May 2011, Mr.Mohammed Salman Al-Sheikh – Head of the Bahrain Society of Photography- arrested early morning from his apartment in Sanabis village. He is a prominent freelance photographer. A winner of more than 13 world Photography prize and member of international organizations of Photography.

Most important prize : Silver medal in international competition “Slovenia” 2009 “Exposed”

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is deeply concerned about Mr.Mohammed Salman Al-Sheikh and calls on international organizations to act urgently to protect him. ..source

Bahrain Human Rights Hearing Includes PHR Testimony

By Megan Prock on May 11, 2011

On Friday, PHR’s Richard Sollom will testify before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the current human rights situation in Bahrain. Since mid-February, reports of human rights violations in Bahrain have increased significantly as Bahraini authorities have attempted to suppress anti-government protests. The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission works to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of Congress.

Last month, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) released an emergency report which documents and decries systematic human rights abuses in Bahrain. For the first time, the report, “Do No Harm: A Call for Bahrain to End Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients,” provided forensic evidence of attacks on physicians, medical staff, patients and unarmed civilians with the use of bird shot, physical beatings, rubber bullets, tear gas and unidentified chemical agents.

Friday’s hearing will focus on human rights aspects of the Bahraini government’s response to the February protests. Specifically, the hearing will examine the targeting of medical professionals and reports of extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate shootings of unarmed peaceful protesters, torture, beatings, arbitrary and warrantless arrests and detentions, and general harassment. The hearing will take place at 10 AM on Friday, May 13, 2011 in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building. The Hearing is open to members of Congress, congressional staff, the media and the interested public. …more

Bahrain denies abuse of schoolgirls
Officials deny Al Jazeera report that police raided girls’ schools and beat them during its crackdown on protesters.
Last Modified: 11 May 2011 23:22

Officials in Bahrain have denied an Al Jazeera report that police carried out raids on girls’ schools, detaining them and beating them, during its crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, Bahrain news agency reported. “The allegations made by Al Jazeera English are totally baseless and without credibility”, the sources were quoted by the agency as saying.

“Reports that police have targeted students or beat them or threatened them are a blatant and malicious fabrication,” they said. Bahraini authorities were responding to secret filming conducted by Al Jazeera correspondent, Charles Stratford, that revealed shocking evidence of the brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in the Gulf state, including that police carried out periodic raids on girls’ schools since the unrest began. …more

May 11, 2011
Bahrain should set up torture investigation body: HRW
Al-Khawaja is now facing military trial Thursday April 21, 2011, in connection with recent protests against the Bahraini regime. — PHOTO: AP

DUBAI – BAHRAIN should suspend prosecution of civilians in military courts and set up an impartial commission to look into allegations of torture during a clampdown on those involved in street protests, a US-based rights group said.

Human Rights Watch said Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent rights activist who appeared before a special military-style court on May 8, a month after he was arrested, bore visible signs of ill-treatment and perhaps torture. ‘It appears that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja’s jailers tortured him during the month they held him in incommunicado detention,’ said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for the New York-based group.Government officials were not immediately available to comment.

Human Rights Watch said Khawaja, who it said was maltreated, was among a group of opposition activists charged with attempting to topple the government ‘in collaboration with a terrorist organisation working for a foreign country’. The government denies there is torture in Bahrain and officials say all such accusations will be investigated. The trial is due to resume on Thursday after being adjourned to allow defence lawyers to meet with clients and in some cases to appoint lawyers. — REUTERS …more

Police buy software to map suspects’ digital movements
by Ryan Gallagher and Rajeev Syal
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 May 2011 12.00 BST

Geotime software, bought by the Met, collates data from social networking sites, satnavs, mobiles and financial transactions

Police have bought software that maps suspects’ movements in space and time, in a step towards the futuristic crime detecting imagined in Minority Report. Britain’s largest police force is using software that can map nearly every move suspects and their associates make in the digital world, prompting an outcry from civil liberties groups.

The Metropolitan police has bought Geotime, a security programme used by the US military, which shows an individual’s movements and communications with other people on a three-dimensional graphic. It can be used to collate information gathered from social networking sites, satellite navigation equipment, mobile phones, financial transactions and IP network logs.

Police have confirmed its purchase and declined to rule out its use in investigating public order disturbances. …more

BYSHR: Nurse and active member of the Bahrain Nursing Society facing four charges
May 10th, 2011

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is deeply concerned about Mr. Hassan Salman Al-Matooq, 29 years old.

On 24 March 2011, Mr.Matooq was arrested from the Salamanyia Hospital.
He is nurse, active member of the Bahrain Nursing Society and Freelance photographer.
On 9 May 2011, He was before National Safety Court ( Military court ).

It was first hearing session.
Attended without a lawyer ( His sister was present).

facing four charges:

1-Participating in rallies without the permission of the specialized body.
2-Gathering for more than 5 people without a authorization ( at Pearl Roundabout).
3- Fabrication pictures for the wounded.
4-Broadcast false news and fabricated photos about Bahrain to distort its reputation.

The case has been adjourned till 12 May, 2011 for the sentence.
Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for protection of Medical Staff.
…more

May 11, 2011
THE ROVING EYE
Bahrain topples its own people
By Pepe Escobar

[excerpt] [is a must read – Pepe nails it like it is]

Break their skulls, no one is watching
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, state news agency BNA has announced, “The state of national safety is lifted across the kingdom of Bahrain from June 1, 2011.” That’s a decree by King Hamad al-Khalifa, who proves to be, in spite of himself, an admirer of English author George Orwell, as he characterizes a state of emergency as “a state of national safety”.

“National safety” in this case includes the state razing to the ground – with full Saudi input – over 20 Shi’ite mosques; the demolition of houses; the demolition of the Pearl roundabout – the symbol of the mass protests; and beating and jailing hundreds of protesters. The House of Saud’s Nayef best pal in Manama has got to be Bahrain’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman al-Khalifa, 75, who has held the cozy job for no less than 40 years – a world record.

In practice, what’s going on in Bahrain is a monarchy trying to get rid of its people. The tactics are straight out of the collective punishment playbook – as applied by the Americans in Fallujah in 2004 and the Israelis in Gaza for the past decades. The opposition to the al-Khalifas happens to be the absolute majority of Bahrain’s population, and is not exclusively Shi’ite, as the government insists on spinning. …more

Blindfolded, beaten and tortured: grim new testimony reveals fate of Bahrain’s persecuted doctors
Horrifying evidence sheds light on brutality of state crackdown on medical staff. Jeremy Laurance reports
Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Harrowing testimony of torture, intimidation and humiliation from a doctor arrested in the crackdown on medical staff in Bahrain has revealed the lengths to which the regime’s security forces are prepared to go to quash pro-democracy protests. Interviews obtained by The Independent from inside Bahrain tell of ransacked hospitals and of terrified medical staff beaten, interrogated and forced into signing false confessions. Many have been detained, their fate unknown.

Inspired by the pro-democracy protests which swept Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year, Bahrainis took to the streets in their thousands in February, demanding greater political rights and more equality for the Shia Muslim majority, ruled over for decades by a Sunni monarchy.

The state launched a fierce counter-offensive in mid-March, swiftly and brutally crushing the uprising with the backing of Saudi security forces.

The campaign of intimidation against the doctors and nurses who bore witness to the bloody crackdown began two months ago at Salmaniya Medical Complex, the main hospital in the capital Manama. It has since been extended to at least nine health centres which have been systematically attacked by the security forces over the past month, an activist cataloguing the abuses says.

Each incident follows the same pattern: police jeeps surround the centre, before armed men and women in masks close the gates and line all those caught inside up against the wall.

Police dogs are also used to spread fear among the staff. Though it is impossible to corroborate the accounts, they correspond with others emerging from Bahrain and from reports by international monitoring groups.

The latest crackdown followed protests by doctors at the refusal by the regime to allow ambulances from Salmaniya Hospital to attend to those injured in the protests.

Details of the assaults, collected by the families of those detained and passed to The Independent, show that at least 40 medical staff were arrested in nine health centres between 10 April and 27 April. Dr Ahmed Jamal, president of the Bahrain Medical Society, was arrested at his clinic on 2 May. …more

Bahrain expels Reuters correspondent
LONDON | Tue May 10, 2011 12:12pm EDT
LONDON (Reuters) – Bahrain said on Tuesday that it was expelling the Reuters correspondent in the Gulf kingdom.

Frederik Richter, who has been based in the capital Manama since 2008, was told to leave within a week after officials complained Reuters had lacked balance in its reporting during the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. “Reuters regrets Bahrain’s decision to expel its correspondent,” Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said. “We stand by Frederik Richter’s reporting and we will continue to provide comprehensive and unbiased coverage from the country.”

An official at the Information Affairs Authority, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nezar al-Khalifa, said Bahrain was not closing down the Reuters operations in Manama and would accredit another correspondent nominated by the agency. We have no problem with Reuters. We’re not closing the office and (Reuters) can send in a replacement,” he said.

Popular protests across the Arab world this spring have put authoritarian rulers under pressure, leading many to impose curbs on the media. Before Bahrain, Syria, Libya and Saudi Arabia had expelled Reuters correspondents in recent weeks. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the intensity of recent repression and attacks on the media in the Middle East and North Africa unprecedented. …more

…features guests from across the Arab world including Bahrain’s Human Rights Activist Maryam Alkhawaja who’s father, Human Rights Activist, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja is currently awaiting trail on “terrorism” charges for being part of the recent Pro-Democracy Protests in Bahrain.

ANALYSIS – West turns blind eye to Bahrain crackdown
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
May 9, 2011

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The fate of Bahrain’s protest movement is a stark reminder of how Western and regional power politics can trump reformist yearnings, even in an Arab world convulsed by popular uprisings against entrenched autocrats. Bahrain is not Libya or Syria, but Western tolerance of the Sunni monarchy’s crackdown suggests that interests such as the U.S. naval base in Manama, ties to oil giant Saudi Arabia and the need to contain neighbouring Iran outweigh any sympathy with pro-democracy demonstrators mostly from the Shi’ite majority.

“The response from the West has been very timid and it shows the double standards in its foreign policy compared to Libya,” said Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. “Saudi influence is so huge on Bahrain now and the West has not stood up to it, which has disappointed many. They’re losing the hearts and minds of the democrats in Bahrain.”

Iran has hardly been consistent either, fiercely criticising Bahrain’s treatment of its Shi’ites, and praising Arab revolts elsewhere as “Islamic awakenings” — except the uprising in its lone Arab ally Syria, which it blames on a U.S.-Israeli plot. …more

Iran foreign minister in UAE over Gulf tension
It is a good policy from Iran to move around in the Persian Gulf region and…
by fereydoun barkeshli

ABU DHABI, May 08, 2011 (AFP) – Iran’s foreign minister held talks Sunday with top officials in the United Arab Emirates amid tension between Gulf Arab states and Tehran over trouble in Bahrain, Emirati state news agency said. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, received Ali Akbar Salehi in the capital Abu Dhabi, WAM said of the previously unannounced visit.

Emirati foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, who has criticised Iran’s policy in the region, was present at the meeting, it said, without elaborating on the content of the talks. Tension has been running high between Iran and its Arab neighbours across the Gulf, with the two sides locked in a war of words since Shiite-led protests against Bahrain’s ruling Sunni dynasty broke out in mid-February.

Iran escalated its criticism of Sunni-ruled Gulf countries after they sent troops into Bahrain to boost the security forces of the government which cracked down on demonstrators in mid-March. Last week, Salehi warned while in Qatar of “bad repercussions” from the situation in Bahrain, where authorities are accused of oppressing the Shiite majority. …source

Obama Silent While Doctors, Teachers, and Bloggers Tortured in Bahrain
By: Siun Monday May 9, 2011 6:01 am

In the video at right, Bahraini Dr. Fareeda al-Dallal speaks about her arrest and torture — and the continued detention and upcoming trial of her husband Dr al-Dallal, a prominent physician arrested on March 17 during a military raid at Salmaniyah hospital in Manama. After this interview she was again detained by the regime.

Sunday, Bahrain began a “trial” for 21 opposition leaders, seven of them to be tried in absentia. The trial was suddenly announced on Saturday following public attention on Friday – including an urgent appeal by Amnesty International – when word spread that human rights leader Abdulhadi Alkhawaja had been taken from jail to a hospital for surgery for injuries caused by torture. (Alkhawaja is known to many FDL readers as the father of @angryarabiya)

According to reports received by Amnesty International, when ‘Abdulhadi Alkhawaja was admitted to the Bahrain Defence Force military hospital in al-Riffa’, central Bahrain, around the end of April, he had cracks on his jaw and skull and black marks on his arms, allegedly caused by torture. He was reportedly admitted for six days and had several operations on his head and face. He was hastily returned to prison where he was said to have been tortured again. …more

As Bahrain’s Abuses Grow, U.S. Stays on Sidelines
by Marian Wang
ProPublica, May 9, 2011, 1:10 p.m

[excerpt]

State Department Democracy Fellow gets little backing from State Department

In February, we noted that when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first visit to Bahrain in December, she was asked a little-noticed question [7] about Bahrain’s decline in the areas of democracy and human rights. The question, from then-Bahraini parliament member Matar Ibrahim Matar, was upstaged in the U.S. media by another question about whether Clinton would run again for president.

Matar was upstaged again last week [8] when news of his arrest—by armed, masked men—was buried by news of Osama bin Laden’s death. In an opinion column in the Washington Post, freelance writer Michael Bronner and Rutgers Law School dean John Farmer Jr. noted that Matar in fact received training on how to organize and advance the cause of democracy as part of a State Department fellowship [9]:

In 2008, he traveled here under the State Department’s Leaders for Democracy Fellowship Program [10], the flagship of President George W. Bush’s Middle East Partnership Initiative. The program seeks to impart practical organizing tools and a deeper understanding of democracy to emerging civic leaders.

In a meeting with then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Matar raised his views about representative democracy in Bahrain and his concern that Washington has given the kingdom’s ruling family a pass in exchange for hosting the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet’s large base that supports the war in Afghanistan. After the program ended, Matar returned home and focused on getting elected to Bahrain’s parliament.

Matar—along with several other politicians from the moderate, mainly Shia opposition party—recently resigned from the Bahraini parliament in protest. …more