Posts from — June 2011

Alert – Call for end to trial of five pro-democracy activists

(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) – Beirut, June 15, 2011 – The United Arab Emirates attorney general should immediately drop all charges against five pro-democracy activists to halt their trial, Human Rights Watch said today. The charges of “humiliating” top officials relate solely to the defendants’ peaceful use of speech to criticize the UAE government and therefore violate their freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. UAE authorities should release the activists unconditionally and without delay.

The five defendants, who include a leading human rights activist, Ahmed Mansoor, and a university lecturer, Nasser bin Ghaith, pled not guilty on June 14, 2011, during a closed-door hearing in Abu Dhabi’s Federal Supreme Court. The trial follows a campaign of harassment against the activists after they and dozens of other UAE nationals signed a petition published on March 9 that sought constitutional and parliamentary changes in the Emirates and free elections in which all citizens could participate. …more

Bahrain hunger striker sees husband for first time in two months
# guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 June 2011 12.42 BST
by Peter Walker

Zainab al-Khawaja allowed to spend six minutes with her husband Wafu Almajed, who was arrested in April

The young Bahraini woman who became a prominent voice of the Arab uprisings after going on hunger strike to protest at the detention of relatives has described in a series of heart-rending tweets her first meeting with her husband in more than two months.

Zainab al-Khawaja, who staged a 10-day fast in April following the beating and arrest of her father, a leading human rights activist, and the arrest of her husband and her brother-in-law, described being allowed to spend just six minutes with Wafu Almajed.

Much of Khawaja’s overseas profile comes from her much-read and prolific updates under the Twitter moniker angryarabiya. Friday’s brief reunion, in which Khawaja was allowed to bring along the couple’s 20-month-old daughter, Jude, was described immediately afterwards in a series of breathless and emotional 140-character missives. Beginning, “Hi every1, at long last, finally, I have seen my husband,” Khawaja described being let into the jail in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, by one of the police officers who arrested and beat up her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. He also remains in custody.

The description continued: “They took us to a room, after searching us. Then Wafi walked in. I dunno how to explain how I felt … We hugged Wafi, then he was asked to sit on a chair abt 4 mtrs away from us … There were at least 5 police with us in the small room, and 2 by the door. all looking and listening to us … I woke jude and walked over and put her in his lap. I cud tell he’s fighting tears … Wafi started singin Barneys ‘I love u song’ to jude, infront of all the police … Jude had just woken up and was staring at Wafi, probably surprised. Then wafi sang ‘if all the raindrops’ another of Judes favorites.” …more

Bahrain Shiite cleric demands rulers ease crackdown before talks on reforms
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, June 17, 6:15 AM

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s top Shiite cleric denounced the Gulf kingdom’s rulers for “damaging the country” and warned Friday that tension-easing dialogue cannot take place until authorities halt crackdowns used to crush protests demanding greater political rights.

Shiites comprise about 70 percent of the population in the strategic nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. But Shiites claim widespread discrimination at the hands of the Western-backed Sunni monarchy.

“The reactions of the security forces result in damaging the country, but the people are patient and peaceful,” Sheik Qassim told worshippers in a mostly Shiite area outside the capital Manama.

Bahrain’s ruling dynasty has proposed opening talks with opposition delegates July 1, but the outreach has met a cool reception from Shiite leaders demanding that authorities roll back security measures and halt trials against activists and others on anti-state charges. At least 31 people have died in the unrest and hundreds have been detained. …more

Crackdown Continues in Bahrain, Bloggers Go on Trial in Emirates
[Media News]
Thursday, June 16, 2011

Reporters Without Borders

BAHRAIN

Regime officials have reportedly taken over the Facebook and Twitter pages of Rasad News, a major source of news about human rights violations in Bahrain, and are posting anti-protest and pro-regime material after the arrest on 9 June of Hussein Ali Makki, administrator of the pages. Rasad News has since opened a new Facebook page to continue its work.

PalTalk, an audio and video chat group that was becoming increasingly political, especially one chatroom called Bahrain Nation, has been blocked since the beginning of the month.

Access to a new anti-government news site, http://bahrainmirror.com, has been blocked since 5 June.

Ali Omid, administrator of an online forum arrested on 10 May, was released on 22 May but is still liable for prosecution.

Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, a member of parliament for the Al-Wefaq party and leading pro-democracy activist, was charged by a military court on 12 June with “calling openly for the overthrow of the ruling system, disseminating tendentious rumours and taking part in illegal gatherings.” He had been arrested on 2 May after warning of the possible arrests of opposition leaders in a interview with Al-Jazeera.

Hussein Al-Durazi, a sports reporter for the daily Al-Ayam arrested after a police summons in Riffa on 23 May, was freed on 2 June. The paper has reportedly dismissed him.

The trial of the editors of the newspaper Al-Wasat has been postponed until 19 June. (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/m…).

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The trial of human rights bloggers Ahmed Mansour, Farhad Salem and Nasser bin Ghaith began on 14 June for undermining state security, disturbing public order and insulting the head of state, the vice-president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. He was arrested in early April after signing a petition calling for democratic reforms. He is being tried with two other signatories, Hassan Ali Al Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq.

All pleaded not guilty and asked for a trial behind closed doors to avoid any pressure on the federal supreme court, which postponed the hearing until 18 July.

Reporters Without Borders calls on the authorities to drop all charges against them and release them immediately.

The United Arab Emirates is one of the countries “under surveillance” on the Reporters Without Borders list of worldwide “Internet enemies.”

KUWAIT

A Kuwaiti Internet user, Nasser Abul, has been imprisoned since 7 June after strongly supporting online the rebellion in Bahrain. He reportedly has no access to a lawyer and has only been allowed to make one phone call to his family.

YEMEN

The regime’s Republican Guard seized 5,000 copies of the daily paper Akhbar Al-Youm at the Qahaza checkpoint in Sanaa on 12 June as they were on their way to the Taiz, Ibb and Dhamar provinces.

Security forces seized copies of the daily Al-Oula and the weekly Al-Sharia in Sanaa on 9 June, the ninth time Al-Oula had been seized since pro-democracy demonstrations began four months ago.

LIBYA

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the release on 13 June of Al-Jazeera cameraman Kamel Al-Tallou, a Libyan-born British citizen arrested on 19 March near Zawiya with three other Al-Jazeera journalists – Tunisian Lotfi Al-Masoudi (freed on 31 March), Mauritanian Ahmad Val Ould Eddin (released on 11 April) and Iraqi-born Norwegian Ammar Al-Hamdan (freed on 14 April). …source

Facebook Facial Recognition Draws EPIC Privacy Concern
By: Clint Boulton
2011-06-16

EPIC and Congressman Edward Markey complained to the Federal Trade Commission that Facebook abused users’ privacy rights with its new facial recognition feature for tagging photos.

Facebook is facing pressure from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, other consumer advocates and Congress members over its use of facial recognition software for its tag suggestions feature in its photo application.

When users upload new photos, Facebook scans them with facial recognition software to match new photos to other photos a user is tagged in. Similar photos are then grouped together, with Facebook suggesting the name of the friend in photos.

Facebook revealed plans to use facial recognition in its tag suggestions feature last December. The original launch was contained to the United States, but the company recently changed its privacy settings to enable the tag suggestions feature more broadly — without explicitly warning users of its intentions.

However, tag suggestions are only made to people when they add new photos to the site, and only friends are suggested. Moreover, all suggestions can be ignored and if someone doesn’t want their name to be suggested to their friends, they can disable the feature in their privacy settings. …more

WSJ and Al-Jazeera Lure Whistleblowers With False Promises of Anonymity
Legal Analysis by Hanni Fakhoury – EFF
June 7th, 2011

The success of Wikileaks in obtaining and releasing information has inspired mainstream media outlets to develop proprietary copycat sites. Al-Jazeera got into the act first, launching the Al-Jazeera Transparency Unit (AJTU), an initiative meant to “allow Al-Jazeera’s supporters to shine light on notable and noteworthy government and corporate activities which might otherwise go unreported.” AJTU assures users that “files will be uploaded and stored on our secure servers” and that materials “are encrypted while they are transmitted to us, and they remain encrypted on our servers.”

On May 5, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co., Inc., launched its own site, SafeHouse. That same day, the Atlantic published a story describing SafeHouse as a “secure uploading system” with “separate servers,” two layers of encryption, and a policy of discarding information about uploaders “as quickly as possible.” You can “keep yourself anonymous or confidential, as needed,” the SafeHouse site promises, as you “securely share documents with the Wall Street Journal.”

Immediately after its launch, however, online security experts ripped SafeHouse apart. The Atlantic published its story online at noon on May 5 and by 5 p.m., the page was updated with a link directing readers to the Twitter feed of Jacob Appelbaum, a security researcher and Wikileaks volunteer, who had already exposed an embarrassing number of security problems with SafeHouse.

EFF’s review of the legal side of these websites doesn’t fare any better. While some of the more egregious technical problems with SafeHouse have been fixed since its launch, its terms of use haven’t changed. We read through the Terms of Service for both SafeHouse and AJTU (pdf). Don’t fall for the false promises of anonymity offered by these sites. Here’s what you should know.

They Reserve the Right to Sell You Out

Despite promising anonymity, security and confidentiality, AJTU can “share personally identifiable information in response to a law enforcement agency’s request, or where we believe it is necessary.” SafeHouse’s terms of service reserve the right “to disclose any information about you to law enforcement authorities” without notice, then goes even further, reserving the right to disclose information to any “requesting third party,” not only to comply with the law but also to “protect the property or rights of Dow Jones or any affiliated companies” or to “safeguard the interests of others.” As one commentator put it bluntly, this is “insanely broad.” Neither SafeHouse or AJTU bother telling users how they determine when they’ll disclose information, or who’s in charge of the decision. …more

The Proxy Battle in Bahrain
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: March 19, 2011

CAIRO — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has demonstrated one lesson learned from the course of pro-democracy uprisings across the Middle East: The world may cheer when autocrats resign, but it picks carefully which autocrats to punish for opening fire on their citizens.

That cynical bit of realpolitik seems to have led the king to send troops last week over the causeway from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, where they backed up a violent crackdown on unarmed protesters by Bahrain’s own security forces.

The move had immediate consequences for Middle East politics, and for American policy: It transformed Bahrain into the latest proxy battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for regional dominance. And it called into question which model of stability and governance will prevail in the Middle East, and which Washington will help build: one based on consensus and hopes for democracy, or continued reliance on strongmen who intimidate opponents, sow fear and co-opt reformist forces while protecting American interests like ensuring access to oil and opposing Iran.

For Saudi Arabia, the issue in Bahrain is less whether Bahrain will attain popular rule than whether Iranian and Shiite influence will grow.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have sparred on many fronts since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 — a Shiite Muslim theocracy in Tehran versus a deeply conservative Sunni Muslim monarchy in Riyadh — in a struggle for supremacy in the world’s most oil-rich region. The animosity was evident in Saudi Arabia’s support for Iraq during its war with Iran, and it still shows in Iran’s backing for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Now, after a decade that seemed to tilt the regional balance toward Iran, Saudi Arabia decided that Bahrain was the place to put its thumb more heavily on the scale. It sent troops under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council to help crush pro-democracy demonstrations because most of the protesters were Shiites challenging a Sunni king. …source

Noam Chomsky (2011.03.13) – Amsterdam Westerkerk – NOAM TALKS about EGYPT, TUNISIA, SAUDI, BAHRAIN, IRAN, US IMPERIALISM & FAKE DEMOCRACY with his usual intelligence and diamond-cutter precision AN ABSOLUTE MUST… Heard on one of his talks recently when the US government invades it is called stabilization. If a “rogue” sate invades it is interference or even invasion.

Bahrain’s dialogue with opposition groups met with skepticism
June 17, 2011 02:49 AM
By Brian Murphy
Associated Press

DUBAI: Bahrain’s ruler has canceled all vacations for top officials next month and a special center and mediator have been named for talks with opposition groups, proposed to open on July 1.Now the question is whether anyone will show up.

The Shiite groups that speak on behalf of protesters – who took to the streets four months ago to demand greater rights – have shown no rush to embrace the appeals for dialogue by the Sunni monarchs they accuse of creating a two-tier society in the Gulf kingdom.

The possible failure to open talks could be interpreted as far more significant than simply a payback snub by Bahrain’s Shiite majority after unrest that’s claimed at least 31 lives and left hundreds of people detained or expelled from jobs and studies.

It would serve as clear recognition that the complexities on the tiny island – drawing in heavyweight issues such as U.S. military interests and Arab worries over Iran – are too vast to solve over cups of tea between the rulers and the opposition.

“Events seem to have gone too far and too fast for some kind of quick fix through talks,” said Toby Jones, a Bahrain expert at Rutgers University.

Bahrain’s choice of mediator for the proposed talks is under question. The government appointed the Parliament speaker to head the dialogue, but opposition groups consider it a downgrade from the first pointman, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa. …source

U.S. to probe Bahrain labor rights concerns – AFL-CIO
WASHINGTON, June 16 | Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:22pm EDT

(Reuters) – The Obama administration has agreed to investigate concerns raised by the AFL-CIO labor federation that Bahrain has failed to live up to its obligations to protect workers rights under a free trade pact with the United States, the labor group said on Thursday.

“The egregious attacks on workers must end, and the Bahraini government’s systematic discrimination against and dismantling of unions must be reversed. These actions directly violate the letter and the spirit of the trade agreement,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Anthony Boadle) …source

Aiming to Preserve Autocratic Mideast Rule, Saudi Arabia Helps Crush Uprisings in Bahrain, Yemen

While the United States remains heavily involved in the Libya conflict, it has been noticeably silent on the violent suppression of popular uprisings against autocratic regimes in Bahrain and Yemen, both of which are close allies of Saudi Arabia. In March, Bahrain called in Saudi troops to help crush massive pro-democracy protests. We discuss the role of Saudi Arabia in recent regional uprisings with Toby Jones, assistant professor of history at Rutgers University and a former Persian Gulf analyst with the International Crisis Group. …source

Bahrain: an open letter
Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, 15 June 2011
A lawyer for Bahrainis detained in Guantánamo is now excluded from a country where he was once welcome. Joshua Colangelo-Bryan tells the story.

Joshua Colangelo-Bryan is a consultant to Human Rights Watch

The Bahraini government effectively barred me from entering the country in early May 2011. What makes this of more than personal interest is that I have a longstanding relationship with the country, as a lawyer who from 2004-07 represented the Bahrainis detained at Guantánamo Bay.

This involved over 3,200 hours’ work on my clients’ behalf, including twelve trips to Guantánamo – often despite great efforts made by the United States to keep me and other lawyers from going there. I saw clients through suicide-attempts and hunger-strikes. When my clients were sure Bahrain had forgotten them, I promised this was not true and remained committed to advocating for the “Bay Bahrainis”, as they were called.

My clients had strong allies inside Bahrain. During a visit to Manama in 2005, Sheik Adel al-Maawda invited us to parliament and delivered there an impassioned speech about my clients’ rights to due process and humane treatment. He said that my law firm had done more for his compatriots than anyone else, and led the other parliamentarians in a standing ovation. …more

Special Report: In Bahrain, a symbol at the heart of revolt
By Frederik Richter and Martin de Sa’Pinto

MANAMA/ZURICH, Jun | Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:25am EDT

MANAMA/ZURICH, Jun (Reuters)- Until a few months ago, the twin towers of the Bahrain Financial Harbour development — clad in green glass and shaped like over-sized toy sea-horses — were symbols of the island state’s role as a regional financial hub.

Today the towers have taken on a different significance: concrete expressions of the way business and politics so often merge in the Gulf and, as a result, targets in the unrest that has roiled Bahrain and the wider Middle East since the beginning of the year.

Built by Gulf Finance House, a listed investment company run by Bahraini businessman Esam Janahi, the towers have also come to embody the ruling al-Khalifa family’s fight to preserve its power and protect the vast wealth of the country’s economic elite.

Land in the Gulf Arab region is largely controlled by a small number of ruling families who use it as a kind of currency, doling out plots to favored families and developers to forge political relationships and make money. For it to work, the system depends on businessmen like Janahi, merchants who ostensibly operate independently from the state but whose success rests, at least in part, on political connections.

Janahi, whose net worth local bankers estimate was several hundred million dollars before the global financial crisis, used his close ties to the al-Khalifas to build the centerpiece of the Bahrain Financial Harbour. He could then point to the development as a model to help secure further land deals from rulers and governments across the Middle East and as far away as India, convincing investors to put up billions of dollars for property projects, most of which have never been built.

GFH was far from the only firm to turn sand into money. The basic game plan was played out dozens of times by various companies across the Gulf in the past decade or so. But Janahi and his firm were among the biggest. …more

Bahrain: A prominent lawyer is punished for defending political and human rights activists, demonstrators and exposing the torture of the prisoners.
June 16th, 2011 – BYSHR

Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer a prominent lawyer was arrested from his home on the 15th of April 2011.

Mr. Al-Tajer appeared in front of the Military Court on Thursday the 16th of June 2011, where he was charged with the following accusations: Inciting hatred towards the regime, spreading propaganda, tendentious news and the public incitement to kidnap and harm security men.

The third court hearing for Al-Tajer is on the 23th June 2011.

Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer contributed in the defence of human rights activists, political activists and demonstrators since the year 2008.

Mr. Al-Tajer was a primary information source in relation to the ill-treatments in custody.

On the 13th of October 2009, Mr.Al-Tajer was the head of a body defending political and human rights activists from the village of Karzakan, whom were accused of killing a policeman. The court acquitted the defendants after their ill-treatment in custody was proven.

On the 16th of December 2009, Mr.Al-Tajer participated in a seminar held by the British House of Lords regarding the human rights violations in Bahrain, where Al-Tajer confirmed the ill-treatment of the detainees.

In February 2010, Mr.Al-Tajer was granted the “Person of the Year” award, that Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society – An Islamic opposition society – presents annually to public figures whom accomplished achievements in Bahrain.

In December 2010, Mr.Al-Tajer was able to prove the innocence of the defendants accused of assaulting the chief editor of Al-Wattan Bahraini Newspaper (a pro-government newspaper) after proving the falsehood of their statements that were forcefully taken, and the pro-government newspaper launched a media campaign against the defendants.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern regarding Mr.Mohammed Al-Tajer’s health condition, and believes that Al-Tajer’s arrest and trial were due to his role in revealing the torture and ill-treatment in custody, and the BYSHR demands from the international organisations and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to take immediate action. …more

US envoy: Bahrain detainees need rights protection

By REEM KHALIFA and BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — American officials are concerned about claims of abuses against detainees following Bahrain’s crackdowns on Shiite-led protesters demanding sweeping reforms in the kingdom, a top U.S. rights envoy said Wednesday.

The State Department official, Michael Posner, also expressed hopes for proposed talks next month between Bahrain’s Sunni rulers and opposition groups.

At least 31 people have died since the unrest began in February – inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the region – yet Washington has made no moves to punish Bahrain’s monarchy.

Bahrain’s rulers have waged a harsh campaign to crush dissent but also play host to the highly strategic U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet.

“The challenge now is how to initiate dialogue with representatives of all sides and to ensure that this dialogue will address and resolves divisive issues,” said Posner, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.

Bahraini authorities detained three women activists who staged a sit-in Wednesday at a U.N. office in the capital Manama to call for the release of family members held in custody, according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Bahrain and its Gulf Arab allies are deeply concerned over expanding influence by Shiite power Iran and view any gains by Bahrain’s Shiite citizens as a possible new foothold for Tehran.

This leaves Washington caught between backing its traditional Gulf partners – led by Saudi Arabia – and expressing support for the greater political openness and rights pushed by the demonstrators in Bahrain.

Shiites comprise about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, but claim they face systematic discrimination such as being blackballed from top government or military posts. …more

Retired Admirals and Generals to Senate: No Torture, No New War Authority, No Expanding Guantanamo
For Immediate Release: June 15, 2011

Washington, D.C.—Today, members of a non-partisan group of forty retired generals and admirals addressed a letter to Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) urging the Senators to oppose several controversial provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that may appear in the upcoming mark up by the Senate Armed Services Committee today and tomorrow. The members believe that the United States’ national security policies should adhere to our domestic and international legal obligations.

The letter asks Senator Levin and Senator McCain to oppose any effort to return to torture of terrorism suspects, or so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques”, which are “counterproductive, unreliable, immoral and illegal.” The signatories also oppose the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that passed in the House of Representatives’ National Defense Authorization Act, which expands the war on terror worldwide and cedes Congress’ war making decision authority to the President. Members also oppose provisions that passed in the House NDAA that would require that all future foreign terror suspects be sent to Guantánamo or tried before a military commission.

“There are several provisions of the NDAA that may significantly weaken our counterterrorism operations and undermine our national security. Strong policies adhere to the rule of law and American values,” said Human Rights First’s C. Dixon Osburn. …source

U.S. Lists Ally Bahrain With Human Rights Violators Iran, Syria
By Nicole Gaouette – Jun 15, 2011 4:45 PM MT

The United States put Bahrain, a Persian Gulf ally, in the company of Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe on its list of human rights violators presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has tried to crush protests that have wracked the country since February, as the Shiite majority population has agitated for the Sunni Muslim monarchy to allow greater economic opportunities and freedoms.

“The Bahraini government has arbitrarily detained workers and others perceived as opponents,” said Eileen Donohoe, the U.S. ambassador to the council, in a statement to the council today. “The United States is deeply concerned about violent repression of the fundamental freedoms of association, expression, religion and speech of their citizens.”

The U.S. notes “signs of hope” in the Bahraini government’s recent moves to lift some restrictions and to launch a national dialogue on reforms, she added.

Bahrain’s crackdown has put the United States in the position of speaking out against a country that is both a close ally and which received security assistance from Saudi Arabia in putting down the protests.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called on Bahrain to exercise restraint amid reports that it has detained doctors for treating injured protesters. President Barack Obama welcomed Bahrain’s crown prince last week and praised news that the country will lift the martial law declared in March.

Donohoe’s statement also listed Belarus, China, Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen for council attention because of human rights abuses. …more

Even in Custody, Bahrain Activists Use Twitter to Protest
By ROBERT MACKEY

After their arrest during a protest in Bahrain on Wednesday, Zainab Alkhawaja, left, and Sawsan Jawad filed updates to Twitter from a detention center. This photograph was taken and posted online by another activist, Asma Darwish, who was also detained.Asma Darwish, via YfrogZainab Alkhawaja, left, and Sawsan Jawad, two of the three Bahraini activists who used Twitter to document their detention on Wednesday.

Three women who were arrested in Bahrain on Wednesday as they tried to stage a sit-in at a United Nations office turned to Twitter to explain and document their protest, continuing to file updates even after they were taken into custody.

The women, Zainab Alkhawaja, Asma Darwish and Sawsan Jawad, who are all closely related to men who were detained during the recent protests, were finally released at about midnight local time. Throughout their seven hours in captivity, they managed to hold onto their phones and called on their followers on the social network to apply pressure on Bahrain’s government and on the United Nations.

I think the UN might have misunderstood, we wanted the release of political prisoners, not to join them ;)Wed Jun 15 18:52:03 via Twitter for BlackBerry®angry arabiya
angryarabiya

Ms. Alkhawaja, who writes as @AngryArabiya on Twitter, is the daughter of one of Bahrain’s leading human rights activists, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is currently on trial in a military court. Her husband, brother-in-law and uncle are also in detention. Ms. Darwish, who writes as @Eagertobefree, is the sister of a photographer who has been detained. Ms. Jawad, who writes as @sparweezj, is also the daughter of a detained human rights activist.

As their Twitter feeds make clear, the protest began on Wednesday afternoon, when the women presented United Nations officials with a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which they urged the international body to ask Bahrain to release all political prisoners and investigate allegations that detainees have been tortured. (The full text of the letter is embedded at the end of this post.) …more

Jun 16, 2011
Bahrain women arrested in sit-in released, says UN

UNITED NATIONS – THREE young women arrested by Bahraini police while holding a sit-in protest on Wednesday at the UN offices in Manama have been released, the United Nations said.

‘The United Nations Development Programme in New York has been advised that three women who conducted a peaceful protest at the organisation’s offices in the capital Manama have been released by police and that charges will not be pressed,’ the UNDP said in a statement.

It said the UNDP had made ‘urgent representation to Bahrain’s authorities to release the three women,’ and that the UN agency has ‘launched a formal investigation into how the incident at its office was handled’.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights had said on its website that the women, including Ms Zaineb al-Khawaja, daughter of activist Abdelhadi al-Khawaja, were detained three hours into their sit-in.

They were protesting against the arrest of family members and delivered a letter to UN chief Ban Ki Moon calling for their release, it said.

Bahraini authorities in mid-March crushed a month-long protest movement on the streets led by Shi’ite demonstrators calling for democratic reform in the Sunni-ruled state. — AFP ..source

US-backed Bahrain regime stages military trial of doctors and nurses
By Bill Van Auken
15 June 2011

The US-backed dictatorship of the al-Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain proceeded this week with the military trial of 47 doctors and nurses rounded up during mass protests last March.

This judicial travesty, which is emblematic of the ferocious repression unleashed by the regime of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa against the demonstrations that swept the country last February and March, has elicited no word of protest from Washington.

While the Obama administration has daily demanded “regime-change” in Libya and questioned the “legitimacy” of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, it last week welcomed a Bahraini crown prince to the White House and praised the regime for its commitment to “reform” and “dialogue.”

Bahrain is the site of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters and is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, which sent troops to assist in the crackdown against the protests.

The hearing in the military court in the Bahraini capital of Manama had to be adjourned Monday after defendants rose to denounce the fact that they had been tortured during the 90 days they were held without trial. …more

U.S. Says Concerned By Bahrain Detentions, Urges Dialogue
June 15, 2011

The United States says tensions in Bahrain are very high ahead of a planned national dialogue after weeks of pro-democracy protests and urged the authorities to encourage people to speak out.

Visiting the Bahraini capital, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner said Washington remained concerned about the detention of Bahrainis without charge and reports of torture during interrogations.

He voiced support for the dialogue proposed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa but called for transparency during the forthcoming trials of dozens of people charged with illegal activities during this year’s protests.

Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s regionally strategic Fifth Fleet, quashed weeks of protests in March.

It called in troops from neighboring Gulf Arab countries and imposed emergency law, which it lifted just last week.
…source

see it here Kuwait self appointed GCC Twitter Police

Kuwait wins UN rights seat after Syria withdraws
AFP

Kuwait wins UN rights seat after Syria withdraws AFP/File – A general view shows the assembly hall during the opening of the 16th session of the United Nations Human …
– Fri May 20, 2:09 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Kuwait secured a seat Friday on the UN Human Rights Council after Syria’s withdrawal following international pressure over its crackdown on opposition protests.

Rights groups quickly turned their attention to Kuwait’s record and said it must improve.

Kuwait was among 15 new nations to secure seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council following a vote at the UN General Assembly. The others include India, Indonesia, Philippines for Asia, along with Italy and Austria from Europe.

Syria withdrew from the race for a seat last week after coming under intense international pressure. But it has indicated plans to run for a seat again in 2013. Syria had been planned to be part of an agreed Asian slate of candidates for four available seats. …more