URGENT Appeal: Prominent Human Rights Activist Threatened with Rape
16 May 2011

After refusing to apologize on camera to the King:
Prominent Human Rights Activist Threatened with Rape

Joint Statement of the BCHR and BYSHR

Today at the 3rd hearing of the 21 defendants standing trial for charges including attempting to topple the government, former MENA Coordinator of Frontline Defenders and Former President of the Bahrain Centre of Human Rights, Mr. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja was removed from court. This happened immediately after he spoke at the beginning of the trial saying that he was threatened with rape after he refused to apologize to the King on Camera. He also told the judge that he had complained to the court in the previous session that he had been threatened and that the court had not done anything to secure his safety. The court judge refused to listen to these statements and Mr. Alkhawaja was ordered out of the court room even though he said that was all he wanted to say.

After the meeting Mr. Alkhawaja was allowed ten minutes with members of his family and his lawyer in the presence of one of the soldiers in the courtroom. He told them that last Friday he was escorted by 4 individuals in a white Sedan to an unknown location in a room where there was a video camera; a man there told him that he was a representative of the King and he began to question him. After the questioning, he was asked if he would like to apologize to the King, Mr.Alkhawaja responded, that as he had said in the Military prosecution he will only apologize if it turns out that what he has said is based on anything but the truth. Mr. Alkhawaja added (speaking to his family) that he feared that his words would be edited to seem like an apology. He was then asked again if he would like to apologize and he refused. Then he was taken to another room where the 4 men started to use foul language and threatened him with rape and that they would catch his daughter, BCHR activist Maryam Alkhawaja (who had recently participated in a congressional hearing on Bahrain), and rape her too. At this point the men started undressing and showing their private parts after which they started touching Mr. Alkhawaja inappropriately. When they tried to take off his pants, he threw himself down and started hitting his head on the ground continuously until he almost passed out. Seeing this they returned him to his prison cell. The doctor that examined Mr.Alkhawaja is afraid that this incident might cause complications with his head injuries that he sustained when he was arrested and has therefore scheduled an x-ray for today. …more

Top U.S. diplomat presses Bahrain on rights
17 May 2011 14:41
Source: reuters // Reuters

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. diplomat urged Bahrain’s rulers on Tuesday to pursue political dialogue with the opposition and stressed “the importance of full respect for universal human rights,” the State Department said.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, the No. 2 official at the State Department, held talks in Bahrain along with Jeffrey Feltman, the department’s top Middle East official, and a senior official from the U.S. National Security Council. “Deputy Secretary Steinberg affirmed the long-standing commitment of the U.S. to a strong partnership with both the people and the government of Bahrain and stressed the importance of full respect for universal human rights,” the State Department said.

“He urged all parties to pursue a path of reconciliation and comprehensive political dialogue.”

The United States and other Western countries have been accused by rights activists of reacting too softly to the crackdown in Bahrain, which hosts an important U.S. naval base and is seen as a crucial U.S. ally facing Iran. At least 13 protesters and four police officers died during unrest that gripped the island kingdom in February and March until Bahrain declared martial law and invited in troops from Sunni neighbors to quash anti-government demonstrations.

The government has since cracked down on Shi’ite villages and opposition activists, arresting hundreds, and fired hundreds of workers from state-owned companies. At least three people have died in custody.

The government says it has targeted only those who committed crimes during the unrest. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Bill Trott)
…source

Iranian ships carrying aid to Bahrain turned back in Persian Gulf
By Thomas Erdbrink, Monday, May 16, 1:58 PM

TEHRAN — In an action that could increase the tensions between Iran and Arab monarchies, two Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf trying to carry Shiite activists to Bahrain were turned back Monday by warships belonging to the Gulf states coalition that is aiding the island kingdom in its crackdown on anti-government protesters, according to the activists’ Web site.

The Shiite activists, members of the Islamic Revolution Supporters Association, said the Iranian government did not prevent them from sailing. But halfway to Bahrain, they decided to turn back to Iranian waters, “due to the emergence of threats from the ships of the Peninsula Shield Force and the possibility of attacks,” their Web site Hameyema stated on Monday.

The force is a military collaboration by the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim royal family called for its help in March, following mass demonstrations by mostly Shiite Muslim protesters. Saudi Arabian tanks and about 1,000 troops entered the country, assisted by police from the United Arab Emirates, as Bahraini forces led a crackdown.

The council has stationed troops in Bahrain in what it says is an effort to counter threats from Iran, and Kuwaiti warships have been assisting in sea patrols around the island. Iran, which is almost completely Shiite, strongly condemned the council intervention and denied the accusations that it had been in any way involved in the protests. …more

Bahrain rights activist’s wife details torture, unfair trial

Bahrain’s crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising has shifted from the streets to courtrooms, workplaces, and schools. One prisoner’s wife describes sexual assault and psychological abuse. — By Kristen Chick, Correspondent – May 16, 2011 – Cairo

A prominent Bahraini rights activist tried to tell a judge today how he was sexually assaulted and threatened with rape while in government custody. But Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was forcefully removed from the courtroom. Another defendant, the elderly Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Jawad, also tried to show the judge signs of torture on his body, but was also silenced, say witnesses.

Mr. Khawaja and Mr. Jawad are among 21 Bahrainis – mostly Shiite human rights activists, clerics, and political leaders – charged with trying to overthrow the Sunni monarchy that rules this small kingdom and of having links to a “terrorist organization.” They were arrested amid the country’s pro-democracy uprising that began in February and though many have experienced jail before, family members say they have been treated much more harshly this time.

Bahrain protests: Five key facts

“It has never been like this,” says Khawaja’s wife, Khadija Moussawi, who was present at the court hearing today and was reached by phone in Manama. “Before he was in jail, [but] he wasn’t tortured like this, he wasn’t beaten up like this, he wasn’t psychologically tortured.”

Detainees’ allegations of sexual assault and physical abuse contradict the monarchy’s attempt to show the kingdom is getting back to normal.

Last week, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani announced that emergency declared in March would be lifted June 1. Supplementary elections will be held in September to replace the parliamentary members who resigned over the government crackdown. Bahrain Grand Prix officials have said they were ready to hold a Formula One race, which had been called off amid the protests.

But activists say the widespread crackdown has simply moved from the streets to courtrooms, workplaces, and schools. …more

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is deeply concerned about forcing students to sign a pledge to support the government.

The official paper of the University of Bahrain (UOB) , spread in the Facebook and Twitter, this paper contains a pledge of loyalty to the government. ِA pledge contain: ” I acknowledge that not signing this document ( pledge ) means I do not wish to continue my education in the University of Bahrain”. On 15 May 2011 , Students returned to UOB after stopped since 13 March 2011.

Students told BYSHR: “They forced us to sign a pledge”. BYSHR have not been confirmed if they used attached pledge or not.

” UOB has turned into a big prison”Students told BYSHR. Security guards stationed in each of its colleges, new surveillance cameras have also been installed and use of fences around the colleges. University of Bahrain has suspended many of the students because of the demonstrations at the university or for expressing their opinion on Facebook. …source

Bahrain court adjourns trial of protest activists
May 16, 2011, 7:43 a.m. CDT
Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain’s special security court on Monday adjourned until next week the trial of 21 opposition leaders and political activists, mostly Shiites, accused of plotting against the state.

The suspects — 14 in custody and the others charged in absentia — are accused of attempting to overthrow the 200-year-old Sunni dynasty and of having links to “a terrorist organization abroad.” That is an apparent reference to Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Bahrain’s rulers have claimed was involved in the strategic island kingdom’s Shiite-led protests earlier this year.

Authorities are seeking to prosecute opposition leaders and others after months of clashes and protests in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The 21 accused are being tried in a special security court set up under martial law. Last month, the court sentenced four people to death for killing two policemen during the unrest.

Among those on trial are Hassan Mushaima, the leader of Al Haq movement. He was among the first opposition leaders arrested after emergency rule was declared in March to quell weeks of anti-government protests. …more