Posts from — August 2011

Military trial of doctors and teachers, and more updates from Bahrain
28 August 2011 – BCHR

The trial of the doctors took place this morning and was postponed until September 7th when defense witnesses are supposed to be called in. The trial took place in a military court or a “national safety court” as per the government.
List of medical staff undergoing military trial (Via BYSHR)

Leaders of the Bahrain Teachers Society, Mr. Mahdi Abu Dheeb (Chairman, detained since last April), and Ms. Jalila Al Salman (Deputy Chair , released last week after 5 months of detention) will be presented before a military court on 29th Aug, 2011.

Several released detainees have told activists that they have been threatened by prison security guards that they will be tortured after the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry leave.

Recently we have been receiving numerous cases in which riot police enter villages at very high speeds and run over protesters with their cars. The following are pictures and videos of the victims. (Advise: Graphic)

see videos here, here, here and here

Ministry of Interior announced that two Asian workers were attacked in village. An individual from the same village then released a video showing what appears to be men in civilian clothing accompanied by riot police arranging metal rods and water on ground for incriminating photo of the alleged incident.

Young child being taken away by riot police: video

Bahrain authorities now block the twitcam Internet feature which allows people to take videos and directly upload them to the internet through Twitter.

Video taken via a hidden camera during one of the disciplinary committees’ interrogations which caused hundreds of dismissals (Arabic): youtube.com/watch?v=LTFNnN1lXSo

Video taken via a hidden camera at a check point (Arabic): youtube.com/watch?v=chB7hflEOjo

University of Bahrain president today announced the return of 389 of the expelled students, and the referral of 38 others to the courts.

Bahrain Polytechnic announced the reinstating of 31 expelled students.

In a case that raises serious concern armed thugs opened fire and severely beat other civilians (MOI Statement). It is very disturbing that pro-government groups now have access to guns that are being used in violence against other civilians. The threat of widespread violence is quickly increasing due to the regime’s policies and the way they have dealt with the recent uprising. Especially with the latest information about the arming of groups.

Summary translation of victim testimony from AlWasat newspaper:

At the Bahrain International Circuit after 12pm on the 26th August, a fight started after an event at the circuit, after which the victim and his friends decided to leave. On their way out a man in civilian clothing in a pickup told them they were not allowed to leave, and when they tried to leave he shot at them with a gun. They were then chased and stopped, after which they were taken to a secluded area where they were severely beaten and forced to insult political opposition figures. They were also asked if they had taken parts in the protests that took place in February/March. Others arrived in other cars carrying different types of weapons and took turns beating them. The assailants then received a call telling them to let them go, after which they were going to drive the victims back to their car but received a call not to go to that area as there were police units there. They let the victims go and told them to run, and when they did, they started shooting their guns. The victim giving the witness account suffered an injury to the head. Another witness said that the shooting that took place at the circuit happened in front of the police units. Another young man was shot several times in the leg …more

Bahrain Footballers Pay Price for Protesting
by Michael Casey – AP – 26 August, 2011

SITRA, Bahrain – When anti-government protests broke out in Bahrain, Alaa and Mohammed Hubail hunkered down in their family compound and refused to take part. They feared their reputations as top footballers would make them easy targets for police.

But Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa soon came out in support of peaceful protests. It was the green light the Hubail brothers were looking for and they joined a march of several hundred athletes to Pearl Square, the epicenter of Shiite-led protests against the Gulf nation’s Sunni rulers.

Two weeks after the February march, the 31-year-old Alaa Hubail was interrogated on state-run television and called a traitor. He and his 29-year-old brother were arrested a day later along with national team goalkeeper Ali Saeed Abdullah as they trained at their Al Alhi club. They were among six players from the national team who were hauled into jail, where they say they were tortured for taking part in the protests.

Mohammed Hubail was tried and sentenced to two years in jail. He is out of jail while he appeals the sentence. Alaa’s case is pending. They have gone from celebrities to pariahs among Bahrain’s pro-government factions — barred from playing on the national team and blacklisted from the local league for what they contend was simply following the advice of the crown prince.

“I served my country with love and will continue as much as I can,” Alaa Hubail, nicknamed the Golden Boy after the prolific striker was the top scorer in the 2004 Asian Cup, told The Associated Press at his home in the Shiite-dominated village of Sitra in the first interviews the brothers have given to foreign media.

“But I won’t forget the experience which I went through for all my life,” he said. “What happened to me was a cost of fame. Participating in the athletes’ rally was not a crime.”

The backlash against the Hubail brothers was part of a sweeping, government crackdown in a bid to snuff out opposition to the regime. Besides the arrest of hundreds of citizens, students were expelled from universities, government employees were fired, and doctors and nurses put on trial for treating injured protesters.

Protesters were denigrated and interrogated on state television and then accused of anti-state conspiracies in trials before a secretive, security court. Even some of the slightest infractions were dealt with harshly, including a 20-year-old woman who was sentenced to a year in prison for reading a poem critical of Bahrain’s king.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Bahrain’s Shiite majority took to the streets on Feb. 14 to demand that the country’s more than 200-year-old Sunni dynasty loosen its control on top government and security posts. After days of mostly peaceful protests, the regime cracked down on the protesters, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 people and the detention of thousands. …more

The Middle Ground between Technology and Revolutions
Aaron Bady 08/26/2011
Social media didn’t cause the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, but it did achieve unique visibility.

Is there still a debate on whether social media can cause revolutions? If this was ever a serious question, it was mainly an argument between straw men: on the one hand, wild idealists who saw the internet as an all-encompassing force for freedom and on the other, the crusty curmudgeons who fear technology and pooh-pooh the idea that social media is good for anything but posting pictures of cats. NYU professor Jay Rosen characterized the debate as “Wildly overdrawn claims about social media, often made with weaselly question marks (like: ‘Tunisia’s Twitter revolution?’) and the derisive debunking that follows from those claims (‘It’s not that simple!’)” and argued that these “only appear to be opposite perspectives. In fact, they are two modes in which the same weightless discourse is conducted.”

I think we can safely put that debate aside. While Malcolm Gladwell made a lot of noise last October by declaring that “the revolution will not be tweeted,” reporting like John Pollock’s “Streetbook” demolishes the idea that there is some intrinsic and impassable barrier separating “street” activism from the kind of “slacktivist” organizing of which Gladwell is so dismissive. But it’s worth noting that even the most visible “cyber-utopians” and “cyber-pessimists” seem to be converging on a point somewhere in the middle. In March, Clay Shirky significantly qualified the kinds of claims he makes for the centrality of social media—arguing that it is access to each other, not access to media, that makes revolutions—while Evgeny Morozov has pointed out that both he and Gladwell have been clear that the internet can be an effective tool for political change, as long as it is “used by grassroots organizations (as opposed to atomized individuals).” If you can see the fundamental divide between these arguments, you see more clearly than I do.
[Read more →]

An open letter to President Obama: People of Bahrain need your help

An open letter to President Obama: If there is any country where the USA can install democracy without a single bullet fired, it is Bahrain

Dear Mr. President,

In one of your recent addresses to international audience, you pledged that America’s “commitment—our responsibility—is to stand up for those rights that should be universal to all human beings”. The commitment you made is rooted in the founding principles of your country, echoed in the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men and women around the world are endowed with the right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These founding principles are undeniable truths that have guided the United States, since its inception, on a path toward justice and universal rights for all people. We call upon you, Mr. President—as the leader of this country and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate—to wholeheartedly pursue these ends in your dealings with the popular uprising for democracy in Bahrain.

Mr. President, It is a known fact that because of its strategic and short-term interests, the United States has often aligned itself with repressive autocrats in the Middle East right from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and from Bahrain to Jordan.

The current uprising in Bahrain presents a test of America’s commitments to the American and universal values of human rights, freedom and democracy.

Therefore we, the undersigned, academics and researchers, teachers and students, lawyers and traders, women and men, young and old, U.S. citizens, Bahraini citizens, call upon you to use all the powers of your office to stand unequivocally behind the Bahraini People’s Movement, withdraw US support from King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah’s security state, and establish 2011 as a watershed in US relations with the peoples of the Middle East.

All we want is freedom, free and fair elections, a representative government, equality of women and men, equality of Muslims and non-Muslims, equality of Shia and Sunni, and a responsible government in Bahrain. These basic rights cannot be achieved without moving to replace the current regime, and the transition process must include real representation from the pro-democracy movement.

While it is not the role of any other country to determine Bahrain’s leaders, the Bahraini people’s right to self-government has been obstructed by a military and intelligence apparatus that is trained and funded by Washington and London, fiercely loyal to the current King, and inimical to popular sovereignty. The current Prime Minister, an uncle of the King, widely known as Manama’s renditions czar, provides a constant reminder of American complicity in the Bahraini repression — as do the helicopters flying over the Pearl Square and the tanks that stood passively while the dictators forces killed peaceful protesters freely.

It is imperative that your administration rescind support from all Bahraini security forces opposing democracy and civilian control.

Compared to the U.S., Bahrain is a tiny nation with a population of 1 million, almost half of them foreign workers. The tiny island is home for 6,000 members of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Bahrain’s military numbers about 9,000 personnel who remain totally dependent on the U.S. and U.K. for their training and equipment.

If there is any single country on this planet where the U.S. can constructively help the local people in achieving their aim of democracy without a single bullet fired, it is Bahrain.

Mr. President,

Accordingly, we kindly ask you to use your strategic and political influence forcing King Hamad Khalifah to resign, the current government be replaced by an interim civilian council representing proportionate number of Shias, Sunnis and Christians who will oversee a free and fair election in the next three months.

We kindly ask that you leverage American power in the United Nations Security Council to demand from Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to send special envoys to Bahrain on a fact-finding mission to investigate the regime’s human rights abuses particularly against the 80% Shia majority who remain oppressed and discriminated against. Specifically, we call for the UN to inspect the condition of prisoners, investigate the claims of torture or other cruel and unusual treatment, and meet with members of the rights groups and lawyers concerning restrictions on their ability to defend their clients. During the past years the regime has systematically increased its violations of numerous articles within its own constitution that guarantee the right of freedom of speech and assembly.

The demonstrators have called for democratic regime change, not a US-facilitated transition to another despot, nor any intervention by the neighbouring dictator kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We urge you to help ensure that their demands are met, their rights are honored, and the Bahraini kingdom and its security apparatus ceases its attacks on journalists and peaceful protesters.

In the end, we would like to emphasize the importance for America of being seen as an advocate for human rights for all peoples in all parts of the world. Throughout the years, the vast majority of Bahraini people have expressed their utmost respect for Americans. We encourage you to stand on the side of the people in their time of difficulty by focusing on human rights and democracy in our motherland.

With Utmost Respect,
Citizens of Bahrain and the U.S.A.

…source

Arab Spring gives US a new chance in the Middle East
Michael Young – Aug 25, 2011

Barack Obama has not faced the continuing revolutions in the Arab world with any passion. Rather, the US president has often behaved as if these were annoying intrusions into his domestic agenda. Yet change has come, and whether Mr Obama likes it or not this will alter Middle Eastern attitudes toward the United States.

Mr Obama has been lucky – not a bad thing for a politician. The president has avoided taking the lead amid regional convulsions, failing to exploit openings to Washington’s advantage. He has not even outlined a strategy defining American interests and aims, beyond the generalities in his speech at the State Department last May. And yet the US administration has almost everywhere managed to fall on its two feet, with limited negative consequences. Those who predicted that the Arab Spring would be a disaster for the US have so far been proven wrong.

For a superpower that has spent 60 years claiming to be a sentinel of Middle Eastern stability, even stalemate, the record recently has been very different. Mr Obama helped push an old friend, Hosni Mubarak, out of office in Egypt. He has sought to midwife a new order in Yemen to replace that led by another partner, Ali Abdullah Saleh. He has blessed the removal of an ally in Tunisia, Zine Al Abedin bin Ali. He is demanding that Bashar Al Assad step down in Syria. And he has used the US military to help unseat Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. US support for the monarchy in Bahrain is the exception confirming the rule.

Mr Obama’s paralysing caution has been a mitigating factor. The president has tried, though not very convincingly, to play up the fact that the US, as the world’s leading democracy, has a desire to see democracy triumph elsewhere.

However, American abandonment of comrades in Egypt and Tunisia came only when there was no other choice. In Libya, Mr Obama seemed perpetually to move one step forward and two back in sponsoring Nato military action. In Syria it took the president almost six months of slaughter by the regime to take a stance against Mr Assad – though this would have been justified, even essential, much sooner, on both moral and political grounds.

Perception is important in politics. Mr Obama could have accumulated valuable cards by being out ahead of the transformations in the region. Ideas are equally important in this period of Arab upheaval, yet Washington has not been good at using its democratic ideals as a means of influencing what comes next in the Middle East and North Africa.

But perceptions can cut both ways and the reality is that, disturbing contradictions aside, in the public imagination the Americans today are increasingly perceived as having chosen the side of insurgent populations against overbearing despots. …more

Translated letter by Ebrahim Sharif, from prison, on the occasion of re-opening @Waad_bh’s headquarters (original: http://pastie.org/2428128)

Brothers (& sisters), partners on the path of national struggle;
Steadfast companions (male & female) members of Waad’s organization;
Respected attendees;

I greet you on this occasion, “shake your hands” and say that our party is not a building, headquarters and offices only; rather it is essentially the soul of the martyrs… Mohamed Bu-Naffoor, Mohamed Ghuloom and tens beside them.

It is the solid determination that does not compromise truth to our activists/strugglers and at their helm is the national symbol, Abdul-Rahman al-Noaimi, may God heal him… It is the rejectionist stance our youth took towards the statement that the organization compellingly released after being politically blackmailed.

In prison, oh companions, I found some of the best days of my life. I found that I can re-new my revolutionary youth, even if I am not a revolutionary, per se; rather demanding reform.Here, I re-discover myself. I read, I contemplate and I always think of you, to return to you after months or 5 years with my head held high. I am free in my prison, for detaining the body does not affect one at all, especially versus the authenticity of one’s stances and conscience.

Prison, dear friends, is not worth anything versus victory for people’s concerns and their legitimate dreams in a country that implements justice and equality for all.
On the path of truth & dignity, the biggest hardships & afflictions become small… And with you on the paths of resistance, we remain.

Long live our organization for people’s service;
Eternal glory to the martyrs of the national movement;
Victory & dignity to the people of Bahrain;

And peace be on you, & God’s mercy & blessings
…source

Bahrain’s inquiry chief meets with prisoners
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief – August 26, 2011

Head of commission discusses arrest, trials and allegations of torture with detainees held under National Safety Law

Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni meets with prisoners at Al Qurain prison.

Manama: Bahrain’s probe commission chief has reviewed with prisoners held under the National Safety Law their legal status and detention conditions, the commission has said.

“Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, the chairman of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), visited Al Qurain prison where he met all the prisoners indicted under the National Safety Law,” the BICI said on Wednesday.

“Among those were the 14 political prisoners, convicted of collaboration in an attempt to overthrow the Bahrain regime and government. The prisoners were Ebrahim Sharif, Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, Hussain Mushaima, Abdul Wahab Hussain, Jalil Singace, Mohammad Al Saffaf, Saeed Ahmad, Abdul Jalil Al Moqdad, Salah Al Khawaja, Mohammad Jawad, Abdul Hadi Hassan, Al Hurr Mohammad, Abdullah Al Mahroos and Mohammad Esmail.”

Bassiouni discussed the facility conditions, the personal circumstances of their arrest and their trials, allegations of torture and the status of the legal proceedings against them, BICI said.

The head of the five-member commission also visited the military public prosecutor and discussed the status of all cases under the National Security Law.

The meetings were part of a series of visits conducted by the BICI within the mandate of its investigation of the events of February and March 2011 and their consequences.

BICI staff have met a range of political and civic organisations as well as prisoners and detainees, health workers, trade union activists and representatives of large commercial organisations.

The commission has also issued two strong denials that at least one of its members had resigned and shut down its offices for three days following verbal abuses and aggressions. However, the commission said that it would continue its work. …source

Iran frees 100 political prisoners: report
Sat Aug 27, 2011

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s supreme leader ordered the release of 100 political prisoners Saturday including some involved in the huge protests against the disputed June 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The decision, reported late Saturday by the semi-official Mehr news agency, appeared timed to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which is in its final days, when compassionate release is sometimes issued to prisoners. The report did not name the pardoned prisoners and there was no indication it included two Americans who were sentenced to eight years’ jail last week for spying after they crossed the border from Iraq where they said they had been hiking.

“Based on an agreement of the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), 100 prisoners charged with security crimes have been granted amnesty. Some of them were involved in post-election sedition two years ago,” Mehr said. The release comes as Iranian politicians start preparing for parliamentary elections due next March which will be the first national poll since the presidential race which brought unprecedented numbers of protesters onto the streets. Most reformists have yet to say whether they will run for election. Iranian authorities are likely to ban people from standing who were connected to the post-election unrest.

Opposition leaders Mehdi Karoubi and Mirhossein Mousavi have been held under house arrest since February when they called the first Green Movement demonstration for more than a year. The group International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran estimated at least 100 people were killed in the unrest which the government blamed on “seditionists” funded by Iran’s foreign enemies. Many more were arrested.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Robin Pomeroy) .source

BJDM Statement on Attack on Sheikh Ali’s Home
August 27, 2011

At around midnight last night, police attacked the home of Bahraini opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman.

Sheikh Ali, the General Secretary of the largest opposition party Al Wefaq, was asleep in the house when the attack took place, along with his family.

Police smashed windows, fired rubber bullets and sent tear gas into the home, located in the town of Bilad Al Qadeem.

Fortunately there were no serious injuries sustained in the attack, beyond the psychological damage caused by such high level harassment.

The tactic of terrorizing the homes of opposition activists has been well used by Bahraini Police in the past few months. Many others have faced the same treatment, which is an attempt to scare the opposition into silence.

Sheikh Ali is well known in Bahrain for his moderate views and his peaceful approach to political reform. He advocates dialogue as a form of change and in the past has encouraged protestors to remain peaceful.

But despite his insistence on peaceful activities he has not been treated in the same way by Bahrain authorities. This latest attack is another example of the punishment given to opposition leaders and activists who simply want to create a more just society.

Ali Al Aswad, a resigned MP for Al Wefaq, said:

“We wholeheartedly condemn this thuggish behaviour that has been inflicted upon Sheikh Ali. Everyone in Bahrain knows he is a moderate man who always encourages peaceful protest and dialogue. This is a clear attempt to try to scare the opposition and subsequently silence any criticism. However, we will continue to highlight injustice and not be intimidated or provoked by such an attack.” …source

Bahrain: First Widespread Protests in Months

Security forces in Bahrain heavily attacked numerous areas where protests were taking place and reports of numerous injuries were made. Riot police were targeting the head and upper body of the protesters. Police fired tear gas into people’s homes. Reports were made that police were using a “strange looking tear gas which is much more powerful and affects the nerves.” Additionally, two boys, ages 15 and 18 were arrested.

Reports also show that the Deputy Head of Waad Radhi Almosawi’s sister’s home was caught on fire as a result of the tear gas being shot at people’s homes.

In addition, sectarian tensions are increasing in Bahrain. …Source

(cb Editorial Bulletin – 26 August) – Bahrain “new hires” are filling a collapsing governments “security force” with dangerous, unregulated and poorly trained quasi-mercenaries. The new “security forces” appear to be largely ignorant criminals and thugs who’s own governments would not have them as proper “security agents” or military troops.

As the al Khalifa’s lose grip on their governance, they have unleashed a dangerous and unqualified “security force” as a scourge on the people of Bahrain, which they can neither maintain or control. The al Khalifa’s are importing and creating the destabilization of their own Nation. This is an emerging National Security Disaster. Below are pictures from early reports of an illegal weapon used to gas people today in Bahrain. It was likely produced by “security forces” imported from others nations who have training in guerrilla warfare and in making such weapons. This is a clear indication of the destabilizing effects of the failed regimes desperate effort to maintain power through violence for hire, against the people of Bahrain.

Above – mysterious substance used is gassing attack. Legitimate “international observers” and “commissions” have been denied the Bahraini people from the West by it’s complicity through silence that enables the Al Khalifa regime. Trusted and legitimate experts and resources to properly investigate, properly identify and catalog this substance and it’s use are non-existent in Bahrain. Below – image of a young man who was injured, suffocated and passed-out as a consequence of exposure this mystery gas, a weaponized substance, apparently manufactured by a increasingly “rouge security force”, hired by the al Khalifa regime to maintain their violent reign.

Update – 27 August – Below: An unknown weaponized substance has been used in Nabeeh Saleh. A chemical or quite possibly a biological agent has been introduced as a means of suppression against democracy protesters in Bahrain. This is a dangerous escalation in State Violence inflicted on the people of Bahrain. It is unknown if the Bahrain government has supplied this illegal weapon or if elements of al Khalifa’s “imported security force” have brought this weapon from their countries of origin or manufactured it using their training in guerrilla warfare.

HRC: Action Alert: Bahrain – Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and Co-Defendants Face Uncertain Future
23 AUGUST 2011 – IHRC

Concerns are raised over the future of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and his co-defendants in run up to appeal.

1. Summary

Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace, a Bahraini human rights activist, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court on 22 June with 20 other activists calling for justice. He is currently appealing against this conviction along with his co-defendants, who were also handed heavy sentences.

2. Background

Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and many of his co-defendants were sentenced on 22 June to life imprisonment for their political activism during the course of widespread protests in the country in the spring. Their trial was conducted in an ‘emergency’ military court, despite martial law having ended on 1 June. The co-defendants received sentences ranging from 2-15 years imprisonment.

Reports have indicated that immediately after the verdict, many of them were beaten and tortured in an effort to extract a confession from them.

The UN High Commissioner has condemned these proceedings and the lengthy prison sentences as being part of a campaign of political repression being perpetrated by the Bahraini regime on its people.

These men were clearly not given the rights expected in a fair trial, and for this reason are appealing against their conviction.

Al-Singace and many of his co-defendants are currently being held at the notorious Qrain prison, which is famed for its frequent use of torture and widespread human rights violations.

If enough attention can be brought to their appeal, there remains a strong chance that the Bahraini regime will be forced to release Al-Singace and his co-defendants. We must not let the injustices which permeated the first trial to spill over into their appeal, which would force these men to suffer life sentences for bravely speaking out against government brutality.

A list of those convicted in June who will be appealing, along with their sentences, is as follows:

Abdulwahab Hussain Ali (life), Hassan Ali Mushaima (life), Mohammed Habib Al Safaf (life), Ebrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa (5 years), Abduljalil Mansoor Makk (life), Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singace (life), Saeed Mirza Ahmed (life), Abdul Hadi Abdullah Mahdi Hassan (15 years), Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos (15 years), Abdulhadi Al Khawaja (life), Salah Hubail Al Khawaj (5 years), Mohammed Hassan Jawad (15 years), Mohammed Ali Ismael (15 years), Al Hurr Yousif Mohammed (2 years), Akeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh (15 years), Ali Hassan Abdullah (15 years), Abdulghani Ali Khanjar (15 years), Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab (life), Abdulraoof Al Shayeb (15 years), Abbas Al Omran (15 years), Ali Hassan Mushaima (15 years). …more at BCHR

cb editor: Bahrain “new hires” are filling a collapsing governments “security force” with dangerous, unregulated and poorly trained quasi-mercenaries. The new “security forces” appear to be largely ignorant criminals and thugs who’s own governments would not have them as proper “security agents” or military troops.

As the al Khalifa’s lose grip on their governance, they have unleashed a dangerous and unqualified “security force” as a scourge on the people of Bahrain, which they can neither maintain or control. The al Khalifa’s are importing and creating the destabilization of their own Nation. This is an emerging National Security Disaster. Below are pictures from early reports of an illegal weapon used to gas people today in Bahrain. It was likely produced by “security forces” imported from others nations who have training in guerrilla warfare and in making such weapons. This is a clear indication of the destabilizing effects of the failed regimes desperate effort to maintain power through violence for hire, against the people of Bahrain.

Above – mysterious substance used is gassing attack. Legitimate “international observers” and “commissions” have been denied the Bahraini people from the West by it’s complicity through silence that enables the Al Khalifa regime. Trusted and legitimate experts and resources to properly investigate, properly identify and catalog this substance and it’s use are non-existent in Bahrain. Below – image of a young man who was injured, suffocated and passed-out as a consequence of exposure this mystery gas, a weaponized substance, apparently manufactured by a increasingly “rouge security force”, hired by the al Khalifa regime to maintain their violent reign.

Update – 27 August – Below: An unknown weaponized substance has been used in Nabeeh Saleh. A chemical or quite possibly a biological agent has been introduced as a means of suppression against democracy protesters in Bahrain. This is a dangerous escalation in State Violence inflicted on the people of Bahrain. It is unknown if the Bahrain government has supplied this illegal weapon or if elements of al Khalifa’s “imported security force” have brought this weapon from their countries of origin or their possible manufacture using their training in guerrilla warfare.

Bahrain cleric to rulers: Reform or risk ouster
Associated Press August 26, 2011 cede

(08-26) 03:39 PDT MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric warned the Gulf kingdom’s rulers Friday to either ease their grip on power or risk joining Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi and other Arab leaders swept aside by uprisings.

The sermon by Sheik Isa Qassim was attended by thousands of worshippers, and was a show of defiance after Bahrain’s justice minister accused the cleric of promoting unrest in the strategic island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

A police helicopter hovered low over the crowds spilling from the mosque after the service. Some worshippers unfurled banners saying “We will never submit to anyone but God” and warning that government pressure on Qassim is “political suicide.”

Qassim vowed he would never be silenced, and said it was his religious duty to support demands by Bahrain’s majority Shiites for greater rights and a stronger voice in how the country is run.

Bahrain’s ruling Sunni dynasty, which has conducted sweeping crackdowns on protests since February, opened reconciliation talks in July to examine possible political changes. But the moves have not gone far enough for Shiite-led demonstrators seeking to break the Sunni rulers’ monopoly on picking government officials and setting policies.

“Can’t they learn from the fall of dictatorships and see what happens to those who denied their people basic rights?” Qassim told worshippers. “We now see what happens to the Libyan dictator, just as what happened to Tunisian and Egyptian despots.”

Shiites comprise about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, but complain of systematic discrimination including being blocked from top political or security posts. Earlier this week, Justice Minister Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa sent a letter to Qassim, accusing him of using his mosque for “intervening in politics and promoting violence.”

At least 32 people have been killed since protests began in February, inspired by other Arab uprisings. A panel of international investigators is looking into claims of abuses and is expected to issue its report Oct. 30.

“There is no exit to the crisis except through political reform,” said Qassim. “To run away from this fact will not solve anything and to delay reforms will only deepen the crisis.”

The U.S. and other Western leaders have urged Bahrain’s monarchy to open political dialogue with the opposition, but have held off on any further pressure that could undermine their military partnerships. Gulf Arab nations, including key ally Saudi Arabia, also claim that Shiite powerhouse Iran could gain new footholds in the region if Bahrain’s Shiites gain more political clout.

Last week, Qassim lashed out at Arab neighbors for backing Libyan rebels and other revolts in the region while standing by Bahrain’s rulers.
…source

Forty years after the British withdrawal
Bahrain Freedom Movement – 25/08/2011

Bahrain: From colonialism to dictatorship and occupation

In mid-August 1971 Britain withdrew its forces from all areas east of Suez, including Bahrain. The end of the 150 years of British protection heralded a new era of extreme repressive dictatorship. How much did the British legacy influence the subsequent decades? How deeply-rooted is the on-going revolution in that legacy? Can the regime survive?

Tuesday 23rd August 2011

House of Lords, London

Lord Avebury, Vice Chairman Parliamentary Human Rights Group: As most of you know, we have been holding seminars on human rights and democracy in Bahrain here in the Palace of Westminster for the best part of two decades in the hope of conributing in a small way to the struggle by the people for their freedom, and my correspondence also dates back to 1993. The Bahrain Minister of the Interior then, who was needless to say a member of the prolific al-Khalifa family, was referring to the Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners as a ‘terrorist-controlled propaganda organisation’, and Ian Henderson, a British citizen, was head of the Bahrain security apparatus, where he presided over the systematic torture and detention without trial of opponents of the government.

Today the al-Khalifas still exercise absolute power, now with a fake parliament and gerrymandered elections as a smokescreen for the same pattern of abuse: mass arrests, show trials, torture to extract confessions, extrajudicial executions, and two added twists compared with 20 years ago: the systematic dismissal from jobs in the private as well as the public sector of anyone suspected of being sympathetic to the opposition, and the recruitment of Sunni mercenaries from Syria, Yemen and Pakistan to beef up the security forces and change the demographic balance of the population.

To protect himself and his family against international obloquy for these heinous crimes against the people, the king has appointed a commission of inquiry, to look into charges of gross abuses of human rights, but only during the months of February and March, and not up to the time they arrived in Bahrain in July when the abuses were continuing unabated. It was a mistake for the investigation to be conducted by a body appointed by the man who stands at the apex of the alleged criminal activities.. The right approach would have been for an independent inquiry by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, as indeed she contemplated originally. Even if the royal commission had preserved its distance from the government, the perception would have been that, owing its existence to the king, it would be susceptible to influence by the boss. In practice, it seems they have had a cosy relationship with the oligarchs. The chairman, Mr Cherif Bassiouni, has exonerated the king and the crown prince of any responsibility for the actions of their government; has praised the interior minister, the attorney-general and the military prosecutor; he says that there was no proof whatsoever of crimes against humanity, and he declares that if there are no signs of torture on a person’s body, that means he wasn’t tortured. As most people know, and Mr Bassiouni must surely be aware as a human rights expert, there are methods of torture that don’t leave marks, such as water-boarding, low-level electric shocks, or sexual abuse. …more

Governments attack Twitter activists
24 August 2011 – IFEX

The governments of at least three Arab countries – Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait – have launched investigations into or prosecuted Twitter activists, provoking other countries in the region to follow suit, reports the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

In Egypt, activist Asmaa Mahfouz faces a military investigation for her comments on Twitter and Facebook, in addition to a phone call she had made to a religious satellite channel, that “insulted the military,” report ANHRI and Human Rights Watch. Mahfouz had criticised the military for failing to intervene to protect protesters on 23 July. Although she was released on 20,000 Egyptian Pounds (US$3,400) bail, Mahfouz still awaits trial.

The Mahfouz case is the latest in a series of moves prosecuting critical expression by Egypt’s military, which is increasingly setting narrower and narrower limits on what is permissible, Human Rights Watch said. According to Human Rights Watch, military courts have sentenced at least 10,000 civilians since January 2011 after unfair proceedings.

Bahrain started targeting Twitter users last April when it investigated well-known rights activist Nabeel Rajab for publishing a picture of a Bahraini citizen who allegedly died after being tortured in police custody. According to ANHRI and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), of which Rajab is president, another investigation is planned into Rajab’s tweets. …more

Bahrain police clash with protesters
Aug 25, 2011

Bahraini protesters wear masks to avoid being identified by regime forces. Saudi-backed Bahraini police have clashed with peaceful protesters who are demanding an end to the decades-long rule of the Al Khalifa regime in the country.

The clashes took place on Wednesday night in the village of Nuwaidrat where young men and women staged a protest rally to demand the downfall of the Al Khalifah regime, witnesses said. Saudi-backed police forces resorted to firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators after more people joined the protesters chanting anti-regime slogans.

Male protesters were wearing masks to avoid being identified by the police. Nuwaidrat was not the only village in Bahrain to see overnight anti-regime protests. Demonstrators in the village of Sanabis also took to the streets on Wednesday, chanting slogans against the rule of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

A separate demonstration also took place in the village of Dair.

Bahrainis have been holding anti-government rallies since mid-February, demanding the Al Khalifa dynasty to release its four-decade grip on power in the Persian Gulf country. Scores of people have been killed, many under torture in prison, and hundreds more have been arrested in a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

In March, a number of Persian Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, deployed military forces to Bahrain in an attempt to assist Manama quell peaceful protests. …source

Saudi-backed raids continue in Bahrain
shiapost – August 25, 2011

Saudi-backed security forces in Bahrain continue their brutal crackdown against protesters who are demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa regime in the country. Latest footage posted online showed police firing teargas to disperse peaceful demonstrations in the town of Sanabis, the capital of Manama.

Bahraini human rights activists said the incident happened on Wednesday night after police stormed the village. Meanwhile, more images have surfaced, showing Saudi-backed police conducting overnight attacks in Bahraini towns. Anti-government protesters have been holding massive protest rallies across Bahrain since mid-February.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military forces to Bahrain in mid-March to assist the Manama government in its violent crackdown on the popular protests. …source

Bahrain: Sectarian cleansing campaign to the security institutions
31 July 2011 – BCHR

Bahrain’s regime aims at the slight Shiites manpower in the police and the army by killing, torturing and imprisoning. This campaign comes after decades of excluding Shiites out of military. Bahrain’s regime aims at the slight Shiites manpower in the police and the army by killing, torturing and imprisoning…

Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its deep grave due to the crackdown led by the regime in Bahrain against anyone expressing his/her views demanding freedom, democracy and human rights, this time it affected the employees of both Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense which are chaired by members of the ruling family. The authorities have killed, arrested, and demobilized large numbers of their employees, BCHR has documented more than 248 cases.

Since decades Bahrain’s regime practiced the policy of sectarian discrimination in the military, in the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense and any other military institutions. Since the seventies and after the independence of Bahrain, the Bahraini authority led a sectarian discrimination and marginalization campaign conduce to separate and imprison large number of military personnel, this discrimination against Shiite in these institutions continued until this day, reaching its peak in last March, through murdering, imprisonment and torturing lots of Shiites working in the police and the army. To fill this void in the military institutions, Bahrain’s regime employs foreign forces in the security forces and the army.

Since Monday, February 14, 2011 peaceful demonstrations inspired by the Arab spring in Tunisia and Egypt broke out in Bahrain, and many workers at the military stood side by side with the rest of the people demanding freedom, political and civil rights guaranteed by the international human rights covenants as well as the Constitution of Kingdom of Bahrain. Thursday, February 17, forces launched a surprised attack on the peaceful protestors at the Pearl Square in the early morning hours. This sparked an outrage among Bahraini people of all sects, affiliations and orientations, protests promoted Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to appear on the official TV trying to ease the demonstration and announced that every citizen has the right to express his opinion peacefully. …more

Pakistan to send more troops to Bahrain
23/08/2011 – August 22, 2011

TEHRAN – Pakistan has agreed to dispatch more mercenaries to Bahrain to help Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf state.

The agreement was reached when President Asif Ali Zardari met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during his one-day visit to Bahrain on Wednesday last, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

Manama has been recruiting former soldiers and policemen from Pakistan at a steady rate to strengthen the government’s forces. In many demonstrations, Bahraini protesters shouted slogans against Pakistani security forces in Urdu. Pakistani and Saudi forces have played a major rule in suppressing anti-government protests in Bahrain since the beginning of unrest in the Persian Gulf country.

Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-government rallies throughout the Middle Eastern country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa family.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested and tortured in prisons in a government-sanctioned crackdown on protests since the beginning of the demonstrations.

According to a Bahraini human rights group, there are currently over 1,000 political detainees inside the country. …source

Installation of mechanisms for the prevention of torture and ill-treatment
Public submission to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry – Geneva, August 2011 – APT Association for Prevention of Torture

Background

The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an independent non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, that specializes in the prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. The APT has been working with the Government of Bahrain and Bahraini NGOs from 2008 until June 2010 on raising awareness about the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, in particular in the context of follow-up to commitments and pledges that Bahrain has taken in the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process (UPR) in 2008. Namely, the UPR Steering Committee had invited the APT to conduct two trainings on the prohibition and prevention of torture for the Bahraini judiciary and law enforcement in May 2009 and in June 2010.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) is mandated to investigate and report about the events that occurred in February and March 2011 and to make recommendations on providing justice and ensuring non-repetition. The BICI can thus, inter alia, make “recommendations concerning the institutionalization of mechanisms designed to prevent the recurrence of similar events” (Royal Decree No. 28 of 2011, §10) Based on APT’s mandate and expertise on prevention, this public submission will focus on suggesting measures and mechanisms to prevent torture and other ill-treatment. …more

Russia Strikes First Bahrain Arms Deal After U.K., French Bans
By Henry Meyer and Ilya Arkhipov – Aug 25, 2011 2:01 PM MT – Bloomberg

Russia for the first time is selling weapons to Bahrain after the U.K. and France banned deliveries of security equipment to the Gulf monarchy because of its crackdown on protesters.

Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run arms trader, says it wants more business in Bahrain. The country is selling AK103 Kalashnikovs with grenade launchers and ammunition for tens of millions of dollars to Bahrain, according to a person close to the Russian Defense Ministry who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public.

In February, France and the U.K. revoked export licenses for security equipment that could be used to quash internal unrest in Bahrain after government forces shot dead several protesters. At least 30 people were killed in this year’s uprising in Bahrain, a U.S. ally situated between Qatar and Saudi Arabia that is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

“The relationship between Russia and Bahrain has been increasingly getting stronger,” Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, a Bahraini government spokesman, said by phone on Aug. 24 from the capital, Manama. “We are looking to cooperate with Russia in trade and technical services. One of the fields is in the area of light arms.”

He declined to comment on the details of specific contracts. Rosoboronexport Chief Executive Officer Anatoly Isaikin last week said Bahrain has become a new customer for Russian armaments.

“States in the region are interested in Russian air- defense systems, aviation equipment and weapons for ground forces,” the Moscow-based company said in an e-mailed response Aug. 24 to questions from Bloomberg News about the arms deal.
Human Rights

Bahraini security forces beat paramedics, doctors and nurses who treated the wounded during the uprising and prosecutors charged dozens of medical workers with crimes such as “incitement against the regime,” according to Human Rights Watch. In June, the U.S. put Bahrain on its list of human-rights violators.

“We will not issue licenses where we judge there is a clear risk that the proposed export might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, or which might be used to facilitate internal repression,” U.K. Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said on Feb. 18.

Rosoboronexport said a mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries would help to strengthen Russia’s position among the Gulf’s U.S.-allied monarchies. …more

BJDM Call for Postponing of Bahraini By-Election
By admin – August 25, 2011

The Bahrain Justice and Development Movements believe the forth coming by elections in Bahrain must be postponed, as they will not legitimately represent the will of the people.

The September by-election is due to replace the 18 MP’s that resigned in February in protest at the treatment of pro-democracy demonstrators.

All 18 previous MP’s came from Bahrain’s largest opposition party, Al Wefaq, who along with other opposition groups have boycotted the by-election.

The lack of any real opposition is just one of many reasons why the poll cannot take place at this time.

Primarily, the Bahrain Government is trying very hard to portray the country as having ‘returned to normal’ following the state of emergency that was their response to the mass protests of February and March.

This is simply not the case. Hundreds of political prisoners still languish in jails, whilst there has been no justice for those injured and killed by Security Forces. An election cannot take place amidst this backdrop, with so many potential opposition voters having their suffrage removed.

Furthermore, the recent national dialogue did nothing to address the very serious problems that Bahrain has with its electoral process. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for democratic change is the unfair distribution of voting constituencies. Despite opposition candidates winning the more than half of the overall votes, they still always find themselves in a minority in parliament.

We believe that before an election can take place, the field must be levelled. All political prisoners must be released from prison and serious democratic reforms have to be made.

Until this point any election will be considered illegitimate. We reject this sham democracy and instead demand the basic democratic rights that the people of Bahrain have been demanding for years.

Ali Al Aswad, a former MP who resigned in February and whose seat is being replaced, said:

“Not re-contesting my seat was a very difficult decision for me, but one which was made out of principle. We simply cannot endorse this mock election and we ask that it be postponed until basic democratic conditions are met.” …more