IslamicActionSociety
On Thursday 16th June 2011, @AmalSociety said:
#Bahrain Statement: provision of “Amal” staff to trials and the desire of tens of international lawyers to defend
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In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most graceful,,

Islamic Action Society announces, according to the information issued by some human rights organizations and innocent detainees’ families, that the authority is to provide Islamic Action Society’s staff headed by the Secretary General Shaikh Moh’d Ali Almahfoodh to military trials within next week and to accuse them with fabricated charges that authority used to fabricate to other honorable strivers from the sons of this country.

In this context, many lawyers from different countries announced their readiness to defend the Secretary General and his faithful brothers from the Society’s staff, who were arrested during the last period of nightly raids on their houses or by the arrest of their loved ones as hostages until they surrender themselves to police.

Shaikh Moh’d Ali Almahfoodh and his friends and many other innocent citizens and leaders of this people are paying the cost of their defense of Bahraini people and not keeping silent on the unjust, the violations and the blatant suppression. What Sh. Almahfoodh did and stand for of moral principles toward the hardship of this great people, that are declared and undeclared, is the main reason for throwing the honorable such his eminence into detentions, and these stands are stemmed from deep faith in his eminence of religious, moral and historic responsibility that lying on his shoulders toward the people which matches with his principles and his jihad and sacrificing biography in which he bear the pain of detention, emigration and staying away from his family and homeland for many years ago.

Along four decades of his age, Sh. Almahfoodh sought with his companions to demand a democratic and just regime that is accepted by people and established on the bases of equality and freedoms respect which result from a real people participation in drawing their present and future, a regime in which people are treated on the bases of their efficiency and faithfulness, not on their sectarian affiliation or relations with corrupters, so Sh. Almahfoodh sought to a regime that rewards the good man on his goodness, and punishes the abusers who steal the country and use it for their interests, who arrested and tortured and killed the sons of this people in order to save their privileges at the expense of the homeland and citizens.

That is why today he is bearing the tax of this seek and this national brave stand toward his own people to confirm to us that defending the suffering of Bahraini people is an essential and urgent issue that cannot endure the delay, because every day more on this suffer, it means more victims fall and tortured, tried and imprisoned and possibly killed.

The trial of such ones like Sh. Almahfoodh is a trial of the people’s conscious and all that is clean and honor and national and faithful by the staff of corrupts and torture and violations that control the people’s and country’s fate. At a time when the American delegation visits Bahrain, it turns blind eye on the detention of the societies’ and movements’ leaderships in a clear reference to the US double standards in dealing with the political forces in Bahrain through separation and sorting.

Freedom to honorable, and the victory from Allah, and freedom to this great people,,
No right lost as long as demands behind it,,,

Islamic Action Society – Amal
Manam – Bahrain
16th june, 2011
…source

IFEX calls on Bahrain’s rulers to end detention and torture of those jailed solely for peacefully expressing themselves

28 June 2011
(IFEX) – The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) is deeply alarmed at the recent life sentences given to eight Bahraini human rights and political activists and bloggers, including Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, a founder and former head of IFEX member group the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and renowned blogger and activist Abduljalil Al-Singace. The two men were given life sentences on 22 June by a military court, which found them guilty of plotting a coup against the government during two months of unrest earlier this year. Another 13 protesters were sentenced to between two and 15 years in jail. They include blogger Ali Abdul Imam of popular news portal Bahrain Online, who was sentenced to 15 years, among seven people charged in absentia.

Other journalists are in jail or in hiding or facing charges, simply for reporting the news. A brave young woman, poet Ayat Al Cormozy, was sentenced to one year in prison on 12 April for reading poems at a demonstration. (Read her poems posted by PEN International in a take action. Numerous websites have been blocked and independent newspapers have been penalised, notably through charges facing Mansoor Al-Jamri, chief editor of “Al Wasat”, and editors Walid Nuwayhid and Akil Mirza, all accused of “publishing fabricated news and made up stories . . . that may harm public safety and national interests.” Two journalists have died in prison, likely as a result of torture.

IFEX once again expresses support to our member and partners in Bahrain, particularly those who have been sentenced to life in prison for expressing themselves during protests in favour of democracy in Bahrain. All were sentenced during special military court proceedings, which do not comply with international standards of law. IFEX members have recorded numerous incidents of torture in Bahraini prisons. Al-Khawaja was taken to the Bahrain Defense Force hospital as a result of beatings he received after his sentence was pronounced. (The appeal is scheduled for 29 June.) …more

Bahrain’s biggest Shiite party to join talks with Sunni rulers despite crackdown on dissent
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, July 1, 11:48 AM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain’s biggest Shiite bloc will join reconciliation talks with Sunni rulers despite a harsh crackdown on pro-reform protests in the Gulf kingdom, the party’s leader said Friday on the eve of the government-led dialogue.

The decision by the group, Al Wefaq, lends important credibility to the U.S.-encouraged talks after more than four months of Shiite-led protests for greater rights and harsh crackdowns. But Wefaq also could bring divisions within Bahrain’s Shiite majority as many insist that negotiations are futile until the government frees detainees and halts trials links to the protests.

Washington has strongly pushed for talks between the opposition and the rulers in the strategic island nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The Sunni monarchy has made concessions in advance of the so-called “national dialogue” set to begin Saturday, including sanctioning an international investigation that will include probes into the conduct of security forces.

But the government has not relented on opposition demands to free all detainees and clear others convicted of protest-linked charges, including eight activists sentenced to life in prison last month.

Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain’s 525,000 people, but claim they face systematic discrimination such as being blocked from top government and political posts.

The head of Wefaq, Sheik Ali Salman, said delegates from his group will join the talks but will stick to its calls to loosen the Sunni monarchy’s grip on power.

“We are heading to the talks, but we will not give up our demand for a government that represents the will of the people,” Salman told thousands of supporters during a rally in Diraz, an opposition stronghold northwest of the capital Manama. …more

Bahrain to citizens living abroad: Spy on countrymen, no protests permitted
Gulf kingdom’s alleged campaign of intimidation extends thousands of miles beyond its borders

LONDON — Bahrainis living abroad have been ordered to spy on their countrymen in the wake of a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Documents containing “loyalty pledges” — which also require expats to promise they will not protest against the tiny Gulf state’s government — have been sent to students attending university in the U.K.

Some Bahrainis told msnbc.com that they feel abandoned by Western leaders in the face of an alleged campaign of intimidation that extends far beyond the country’s borders.

Human Rights First Applauds President Obama’s Nomination of a U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain
For Immediate Release: July 1, 2011

Washington, D.C.— Human Rights First applauds President Obama’s nomination of an ambassador to Bahrain. This has been a critical request from the Bahraini human rights community since the absence of a high level diplomatic envoy from the United States has hampered the USG’s ability to address the ongoing crackdown against human rights defenders in the home of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

President Obama announced Tuesday the nomination of Thomas C. Krajeski as ambassador to Bahrain. “This nomination satisfies a major demand of the human rights community by adding accountability and weight to U.S. foreign policy-making in Bahrain,” said Human Rights First’s Quinn O’Keefe.

The President’s announcement is especially important on the eve of a national dialogue that many in the human rights community doubt will be real and productive.

“The Bahraini government’s continuing violent attacks on peaceful protesters and its intimidation and detention of human rights defenders call into question the Bahraini government’s good faith,” added O’Keefe. “As President Obama said in his May 19th speech on the Arab Spring, Bahrain cannot have a real dialogue if the opposition is in jail.” …more

Criminalising Palestinian solidarity
by News Source on July 1, 2011
Maureen Murphy writes:

The United States government has criminalised the Palestinian people, and now it is increasingly treating US citizens who stand in solidarity with Palestine as criminals as well – including those courageously putting their lives on the line to break the siege on Gaza.

I am a Palestine solidarity activist in the US, and one of 23 US citizens who have been issued with a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury as part of what the government has said is an investigation into violations of the laws banning material support to foreign “terrorist organisations”.

None of us have given money or weapons to any group on the State Department’s foreign terrorist organisation list. But what many of us have done is participate in or help organise educational trips to meet with Palestinians and Colombians resisting the US-funded military regimes they live under.

The goal of these trips is to learn about the human rights violations happening in these places and to bring those stories back home to the US, to educate people and to organise to change US foreign policy for the better.

Travel for such purposes should be protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. But a year ago the US Supreme Court decided in Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project to dramatically expand the government’s definition of what constitutes material support for a foreign terrorist organisation.

Now the government considers travel to places like the West Bank and Colombia to be a predicate or justification for opening up an investigation and issuing search warrants to raid activists’ homes and seize their belongings. Political speech if made in a “coordinated way” can be construed as material support. …source

Clinton: Democracy must emerge in Arab world
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warns of risk Middle East and North African nations will slip back into autocratic ways.
By The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the rule of law, political parties and democratic institutions must emerge in the Arab world if it is to emulate Eastern Europe’s remarkable transition two decades ago from authoritarianism to truly free societies.

In Lithuania for an international democracy conference, Clinton cited the real risk of Middle East and North African nations slipping back into autocratic old ways. She lamented the latest accounts of violence in Syria, with security forces and knife-wielding, government-organized thugs reportedly attacking protesters in the city of Aleppo.

“Today there are new democracies fighting for life, there are vicious autocrats clinging to power,” Clinton said in a speech at the “Community of Democracies” meeting. “This is an hour of need. And every democracy should stand up and be counted.” …more

Greece halts US Boat’s bid for Gaza
Published today (updated) 01/07/2011 21:58

ATHENS, Greece (Ma’an) — The US Boat to Gaza left the Athens Port at 4:50 p.m. on Friday, expecting to be stopped by Greek authorities in the country’s coastal waters on its way to meet a French ship that had already left port.

Shortly after it sailed the US boat was intercepted by Greek officials, at the same time organizers of the Canadian boat to Gaza said the coastguard surrounded their vessel and prevented it from leaving.

At sea, the US ship attempted to secure passage through coastguard ships – one with armed soldiers aboard – which demanded it return, following the passage of a decision by the Greek Cabinet that afternoon, which according to organizers mandated that “no boat will sail for the Gaza Strip from Greece.”

“The Greeks declared that there would be no boats leaving from Greece to Gaza, no boats at all,” organizer Ann Wright told reporters as the ship was being escorted back to shore, where coastguard officials said the activists would not likely be arrested, but were being kept on board the vessel.

“If we did not comply with what we said they would board us,” she said, confirming that the decision to turn around was made by the captain and seconded by organizers. …more

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Leonard Peltier ‘Take your place in the struggle’
Today: Oglala Commemoration, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
June 26, 2011 Censored News

By Leonard Peltier

Hello my friends and relations,

I always try to come to you full of good spirit and vigor. But I cannot lie. There are days when the ugliness of my situation weighs me down. I swear I never thought this could happen. I never believed law enforcement and the government of this country would go so far for so long to keep their dirty laundry hidden away.

Over the years, you my dedicated friends and believers have kept a vision of justice alive. That really is something special. Because of you, we have learned of hidden evidence, coerced testimony, and outright lies by the FBI and prosecutors. Because of you we have been able to uncover thousands of documents the government wanted to stay secret. And yet they
have been able to squirrel away thousands more pages of their biggest secrets about me, about the theft of Indian land, their motives behind murder, and their operations to silence people like me. I am living proof that my case is about squashing Indian rights and Indian sovereignty, otherwise why would I be serving a sentence so much longer than what is
normal for my so-called conviction?

Those that believe in law and order should be the loudest voices calling for my release! The fact is the day I walk free is the day they are forced to deal with my innocence, and they are so very afraid of doing just that! No matter what they say, the dirty little secret underneath all of this is America’s fear and loathing of Indian people. In over five hundred years, they have not yet learned how to deal honorably with us. …more

One dies in fresh Bahraini clashes
By shiapost – July 1, 2011Posted in: Bahrain

As anti-regime demonstrations continue in Bahrain, one protestor has died of injuries on his head sustained by a stun-bomb thrown by the regime’s security forces.

Thousands of protesters marched in streets across the country on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Protesters renewed their call for an end to the Al Khalifa regime. They also demanded the release of all detained protesters, activists and opposition leaders.

Security forces of the Saudi-backed regime responded with tear gas and stun grenades, according to some activists.

Anti-regime protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s rule.

In March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deployed some 1,500 military forces to Bahrain to help the government crush the nationwide protests. Yet, the protests have only grown more popular. …more

Disturbing wave of prosecutions on eve of national dialogue
Published on Thursday 30 June 2011.

Reporters Without Borders accuses the authorities of continuing to crack down on journalists and media freedom in violation of the spirit for the national dialogue that King Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa wants to begin tomorrow with the aim of relaunching political reforms after the unrest that began last March and the ensuing repression.

Journalists and media are still being prosecuted before military courts, although the state of emergency was lifted on 1 June. The authorities are also maintaining strict control over the circulation of news and information and are pumping out propaganda aimed at both Bahraini and foreign media.

Reporters Without Borders calls for a response from the international community that includes the dispatch of a United Nations special rapporteur to Bahrain.

Bahrain Society of Photography president Mohamed Salman Al-Sheikh, a freelance photographer who was arrested on 11 May, was brought before a military court in Riffa, the second largest city, on 28 June. His family was not told about at the hearing and therefore was unable to organize his defence. No information has been released about the charges being pressed against this journalist, who has won many international awards. …more

Tensions high as Bahrain dialogue looms
By Reed Stevenson and Erika Solomon

MANAMA/DUBAI | Fri Jul 1, 2011 12:56pm EDT

MANAMA/DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain launches a national dialogue Saturday but many in the Shi’ite majority doubt the ruling Sunni monarchy will offer the concessions that could heal wounds caused by a crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has accused its mostly Shi’ite protesters of a sectarian agenda backed from non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran, across Gulf waters.

In March, Bahrain’s Sunni rulers imposed emergency law, inviting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to send troops, and tanks rolled into the island as local forces cleared the streets of protesters, arresting hundreds of people.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled rulers in those countries, Bahrain’s Shi’ites called for a greater say in government and an end to what they say was systematic discrimination in access to jobs and social services. …more