Ali Abdulla Hassan Al Sinkees and Abdulaziz Abdul Ridha Ibrahim Hassan were convicted on Apr. 28 for killing two policemen – Kashef Ahmed Mandhour and Mahmoud Farooq Abdulsamad – during the protests.

The execution was issued by the National Safety Court, a special court created when Bahrain declared a state of national safety – a close approximation to martial law – in March 2011. …more

A Look Back at Americas Haymarket Executions

Strike at the McCormick reaper plant

On May 1, 1886 (later known as May Day), labor unions organized a strike for an eight-hour work day in Chicago and across the US. By 21st century standards, working conditions in the city were miserable, with most workers working ten to twelve hour days, often six days a week under sometimes dangerous conditions. On May 3 striking workers met near the Cyrus McCormick reaper plant. Chicago police attacked the strikers without warning, killing two, wounding several others and sparking outrage in the city’s working community.

Rally at Haymarket Square

The rally began peacefully under a light rain on the evening of May 4. Anarchist leader August Spies spoke to the large crowd while standing in an open wagon on a side street. According to many witnesses Spies said he was not there to incite anyone. Meanwhile a large number of on-duty police officers watched from nearby. The crowd was so calm that Mayor Carter Harrison, Sr., who had stopped by to watch, walked home early. Some time later the police ordered the rally to disperse and began marching in formation towards the speakers’ wagon. A lit, fused bomb whistled over the heads of onlookers and landed near the police line, killing twelve people including a policeman, Mathias J. Degan [[1]] (seven other policemen later died from their injuries). The police immediately opened fire on the crowd, injuring dozens. Many of the wounded were afraid to visit hospitals for fear of being arrested. A total of eleven people died.

Trial, executions and pardons

Eight people connected directly or indirectly with the rally and its anarchist organisers were charged with Degan’s murder: August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg, Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden and Oscar Neebe. Five (Spies, Fischer, Engel, Lingg and Schwab) were German immigrants while a sixth, Neebe, was of German descent. The trial was presided over by Judge Joseph Gary. The defense counsel included Sigmund Zeisler, William Perkins Black, William Foster, and Moses Salomon. The prosecution never offered evidence connecting any of the defendants with the bombing but argued that the person who had thrown the bomb had been incited to do so by the defendants, who as a result were equally responsible. The jury returned guilty verdicts for all eight defendants, with death sentences for seven. Neebe (who seemed to have been almost forgotten by the prosecution) received a sentence of 15 years in prison. The sentencing sparked more outrage in labor circles, resulted in protests around the world and made the defendants international political celebrities and heroes.

After the appeals had been exhausted Illinois Governor Richard James Oglesby commuted Fielden’s and Schwab’s sentences to life in prison. On the eve of his scheduled execution Lingg committed suicide in his cell using a smuggled stick of dynamite, which he reportedly held in his mouth like a cigar (the blast blew off half his face and he survived in agony for several hours). The next day, November 11, 1887, Spies, Parsons, Fischer, and Engel were hanged together before a public audience. August Spies was widely quoted as having said, “The time will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today.” Witnesses reported that the condemned did not die when they dropped, but strangled to death slowly, a sight which left the audience visibly shaken.

On June 26, 1893 Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld signed pardons for Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab after having concluded all eight defendants were innocent (the pardons signalled his own political end).
…more

New Bahrain visa application form on way
Manama: Sun, 12 Jun 2011

The General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence (GDNPR) will launch a new application form on July 1.

It follows directives from Interior Ministry Under-Secretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and aims to streamline visa and residence applications.

The new-look form will be used to apply for all types of visas and residence permits and features the applicant’s data, rules and regulations governing all types of visas and residence permits as well as the required documents to expedite issuance procedures for citizens and residents. …source

Group to DFA, POEA: Clarify Advisory on the lifting of OFWs travel ban in Bahrain
– June 2, 2011Posted in: Pinoy Global Online News

Group to DFA, POEA: Clarify Advisory on the lifting of OFWs travel ban in Bahrain

As it creates confusion among returning and new hire overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound to Bahrain, an alliance of Filipino migrants’ rights group today urges the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to clarify the Advisory (No.26, Series of 2011) it issued yesterday, June 1.

Issued and signed by POEA administrator Carlos S. Cao Jr., Advisory No.26, Series of 2011 states “Pursuant to travel advisory and report dated 16 May 2011 issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs announcing the forthcoming lifting of the State of National Security in the Kingdom of Bahrain on June 1, 2011, thereby downgrading the security classification of Bahrain from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 1, the processing and deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Bahrain shall thereupon be allowed for both new hires and returning workers/vacationing workers of balik manggagawa..”

“Despite the issuance of the aforementioned advisory by the POEA, we have been receiving reports from Bahrain-bound OFWs that today they were told by POEA officials that the ban is still in effect, hence no processing yet of deployment in Bahrain,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator.

Monterona noted that the said advisory had just been issued 24 hours ago. This coincided the lifting of the declared State of National Safety by the Bahrain government yesterday.

He added there were OFWs who conveyed that they came today to POEA in order to process their deployment formalities as per the advisory issued by the POEA only to be told that the travel ban is still in effect.

Monterona said if the advisory had been withdrawn, the POEA must arrange to issue a clarificatory note for the guidance of our fellow OFWs, returning and new hires.

“Clarification coming from the POEA is needed to avoid confusion and stir disappointment of thousands of OFWs, returning and new hires, who are hoping for work amid grinding poverty in the Philippines,” Monterona ended. …source

Home / Middle-East / Double whammy for Bahraini peace and prosperity drive
Double whammy for Bahraini peace and prosperity drive

By DAVID E. MILLER | THE MEDIA LINE

Published: Jun 12, 2011 21:00 Updated: Jun 12, 2011 21:00

Bahrain’s efforts to restore peace and prosperity received twin blows over the weekend as opposition forces staged their first rally since martial law was lifted and the governing body of world Formula One racing rescinded a decision to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix in October.

A mass demonstration by the country’s majority Shiites on Saturday was peaceful. Under the slogan “Bahrain, a homeland for all,” thousands of protesters gathered in the city of Sar to demand political reforms and a more democratic legislature. But human rights activists warned that the rally was organized by moderates and that demands for more far-reaching reforms would be testing the government’s tolerance.

“There are opposition groups that demand to topple the regime and others that demand reform. Al-Wefaq demands reform,” Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights told The Media Line, adding that more radical oppositionists were still held in prison.

A day before the rally, Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim said Friday is no chance for talks with the nation’s Sunni rulers so long as security forces maintain their clampdown on protests. “We cannot negotiate in such conditions,” Sheikh Qassim told worshippers in a mostly Shiite area outside the capital of Manama, according to the Associated Press.

King Hamad Al-Khalifa is in a delicate position. While many in his government feel threatened by what they say is Iranian interference aimed at toppling his regime, Bahrain is under pressure from the US and from human rights groups to end the wave of arrests and summary justice. Those concerns could jeopardize Bahrain’s role as a regional financial center.

Speakers at Saturday’s rally made a special effort to emphasize national unity and disregard sectarian divisions, and Bahraini police responded in kind by not intervening to quell the protest. …more

Bahrain tries ex-lawmakers, imprisons poet
By the CNN Wire Staff – June 12, 2011

Manama, Bahrain (CNN) — At least two former Bahraini opposition lawmakers went on trial Sunday, as a military court sentenced a 20-year-old poet to a year in prison.

Matar Matar and Jawad Fairooz were charged with “spreading malicious lies in an attempt to overthrow the government,” an official in the Information Affairs Authority told CNN.
Both men pleaded not guilty and will remain in custody until their next hearing, said the official, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak. He said their lawyers have been given more time to prepare their cases.

Both men were seized May 2, family members said.

The trials come after the small, strategically important Gulf kingdom was swept by protests earlier this year as part of the Arab Spring demonstrations.

The legal proceedings began Sunday without prior notice, according to a Matar family member who asked not to be named for security reasons.

Fairooz’s lawyer only found out the charges once he appeared in court Sunday, the defendant’s brother Jamsheer Fairooz said.
Jawad Fairooz said he was being treated well and looked to be in physically good condition but had “aged 10 years — his beard and hair have both gone white,” his brother said.

Matar, 35, was taken from his car by armed men in masks on May 2, according to a relative. He represented the biggest constituency in Bahrain, with approximately 16,000 people.

Elected to the lower house of Parliament in October 2010, Matar resigned along with other Wefaq lawmakers earlier this year to protest the government crackdown on demonstrators. Wefaq is a Shiite party, the predominant religion in the kingdom whose rulers are Sunni. …more

Bahrain: Fear grows for the most prominent opposition figure as woman poet jailed
Bahrain Freedom Movement – 12/06/2011 – 2:41 p | Hits: 54

The most senior political figure in Bahraini opposition is in a serious condition languishing in the Al Khalifa torture chambers. Mr Abdul Wahab Hussain, 55, has lost almost all sense in the left part of his body and is hardly able to walk.

His speech has become blurred after months of extreme forms of torture and ill-treatment. Apart from the quick glances during court appearances, his family has not been allowed to visit him in jail. He is accused, with 22 others, of calling for the overthrow of the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship, inciting the hatred of the regime and spreading false news about it. He was repeatedly beaten, tortured with electric shocks and subjected to various forms of physical and psychological abuse. Young prisoners were tortured in front of him in order to break his will. Bahrain’s dictator, his uncle the prime minister and his son, the crown prince, stand accused of committing serious crimes against humanity. Several international writs have been submitted to international bodies with compelling evidence and personal testimonies.

The people’s resolve to achieve a regime change have continued unabated. In the past few days many demonstrations took place demanding an end to the Al Khalifa rule after decades of absolute dictatorship, corruption and human rights violation. Yesterday, the people of Jidhafs went to the streets chanting anti-regime slogans; The people want the downfall of the regime, Down with Hamad… etc. They were mercilessly attacked by the regime’s security forces and Death Squads. Friday witnessed country- wide demonstrations in support of the women detainees many of whom have been subjected to torture, inhumane treatment and abuse. The people of Sfalah, Mhaza, Al Ekr, Duraz, Al Juffair , Bilad Al Qadim and other towns and villages went out to demonstrated against the Al Khalifa regime demanding its downfall and declaring support to the women hostages. Human rights bodies have expressed serious concerns at the lack of access to detainees and called for investigations into claims that some detainees had been subjected to rape and sexual assaults. …more

Tribunal sends Bahrain protester to prison

By Brian Murphy, Sunday, June 12, 4:44 PM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A 20-year-old woman who recited poems critical of Bahrain’s rulers — and later claimed she was beaten in jail — was sentenced Sunday to a year in prison as part of the kingdom’s crackdown on Shiite protesters calling for greater rights.

The ruling by a special security tribunal sent a strong message that Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy is not easing off on punishments linked to the unrest despite appeals for talks with Shiite groups in the strategic Persian Gulf island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Ayat al-Qurmezi became a minor celebrity among protesters after reciting poems critical of Bahrain’s king and prime minister during gatherings in the capital’s Pearl Square, which was the hub for Shiite-led demonstrations that broke out in February after drawing inspiration from the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

One verse, addressed to King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, included the lines: “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. Don’t you hear their cries? Don’t you hear their screams?”

She was convicted of anti-state charges, including inciting hatred, the official Bahrain News Agency reported. Her mother, Sada al-Qurmezi, said an appeal is planned. …more

Bahrain jails woman, 20, for reading poem
Published: June 12, 2011 at 1:30 PM

MANAMA, Bahrain, June 12 (UPI) — Bahrain sentenced a young female poet to a year in prison Sunday for speaking at a protest rally.

Ayat al-Qormozi, 20, was convicted of reading a poem at a banned demonstration in February at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, CNN reported.

“Freedom of speech in this country has its boundaries and cannot touch on the leadership, and cannot call for the overthrow of the government,” said Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak of the Information Ministry.

Al-Qormozi’s poem “caused incitement and hatred to his majesty the king and to the prime minister” with lines such as “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery,” he said.

Amnesty International condemned the verdict.

Al-Qormozi was arrested March 30 after police threatened to kill her brothers if the family did not surrender her, relatives said. They say she has been tortured.

Meanwhile, authorities Sunday charged two former opposition legislators, Matar Matar and Jawad Fairooz, with “spreading malicious lies in an attempt to overthrow the government,” Mubarak told CNN.

The men, who quit Parliament along with fellow opposition members to protest repression, pleaded not guilty and will be kept in jail until their next hearing.

Thousands attended a protest rally called by their party Saturday. …source