How Bahrain’s ‘Facebook Uprising’ Allowed Authorities To Target Protesters
Huffington Post UK – Michael Rundle – First Posted: 4/8/11

When Bahrain erupted in anti-government protests in February, many in the West extolled the positive role played by social media sites such as Facebook, including some writers on The Huffington Post.

But for many in Bahrain, sites such as Facebook had a darker, more sinister role to play in the uprising – according to a programme broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday.

It tells the story of Ayat al Qurmezi, a 20-year-old woman, who first attracted attention from authorities by publicly reading a poem that was critical of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and the king.

Her actions, at Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the focal point of the demonstrations, led to a Facebook page calling for her torture and arrest.

Thousands of pro-government supporters flocked to the page, where they goaded each other to post horrific messages such as “I spit on you whore!” and “God willing the security forces smash her mouth and teeth”, before demanding the woman’s arrest.

The film alleges that this page, and others like it, were allowed to stay live for months instead of being pulled down by moderators.

And as the documentary reports, those wishes were granted when with the help of the Facebook page, Ayat was tracked down and taken into custody.

“What we’ve heard is that Ayat was tortured and put in the military hospital,” Ayat’s mother says in the 50-minute film. “I’m going to die from worrying about her.”

It was only three months later that Ayat turned up on state TV, to issue an apology that the family says was obtained by force.

The documentary also alleges that Facebook pages which showed photos of known protesters were set-up and left active for weeks, in order for authorities to track them down and arrest them. Each of the pictures was ‘checked off’ as the protesters were captured.

Produced by a journalist who worked undercover in the country for three months to expose the tactics used by government authorities, the film, ‘Shouting In The Dark’, also includes graphic evidence of killings, torture and other forms of physical violence.

Footage of a funeral march that ended in fatal shootings by government troops and an attack on a hospital by tanks and helicopters are shown in the film. It also depicts riot police abducting protesters from their homes, and protesters describing their horrific experiences.

The Al Jazeera journalist who produced the film said in a statement:

“This is the complete story of a revolution which was shot completely undercover, at times at personal risk … I went completely underground removing the SIM cards from my phones and moving from place to place and showing up to peoples’ homes alone and unannounced because the government so tightly monitors all communications and tracks journalists using their phones.”

Shouting in the Dark will be broadcast on Al Jazeera English at 2100 BST on SKY guide 514, Freeview 89 and Freesat 203 and online. …source [cb Editor: Shouting in the Dark via Youtube in Post below on this Page]

Pentagon to monitor social networking sites for threats
Posted on August 4, 2011 by mat

The Pentagon is planning to use social networking sites to tackle threats such as cyberterrorism and to identify where a major event like the Arab revolutions might next take place, reports in the US say.

The US department of defence is offering $42m (£25m) to fund research into monitoring social networks to track the formation, development and spread of ideas, and identify misinformation and attempts to foment unrest. The move by Darpa, the defence advanced research projects agency, comes in the wake of use of social networks by insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq and by home-grown threats such as Anonymous. Darpa did not respond to requests for comment from the New York Times.

Darpa is also seeking to identify people involved in such activity, what their intentions are and the impact of online campaigns to shape opinions or gather support on an issue, according to a document presented at the offices of the military contractor System Planning Corporation.

US efforts to monitor or manipulate social media have generally focused on non-US-language operations in the Middle East. However, other online groups are starting to be classified as threats by wings of the military. The new proposals also seek to further efforts by the US government to automatically generate social media content through fake accounts, or bots. In March this year it was reported that US Central Command (Centcom) had awarded a contract to develop software that generates so-called “sock puppet” accounts – fake identities used to promote a particular view while hiding the user’s true identity. …source

Shouting in the dark
The story of the Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West and forgotten by the world.
AlJazeera Special programme Last Modified: 04 Aug 2011 20:27

Bahrain: An island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf where the Shia Muslim majority are ruled by a family from the Sunni minority. Where people fighting for democratic rights broke the barriers of fear, only to find themselves alone and crushed.

This is their story and Al Jazeera is their witness – the only TV journalists who remained to follow their journey of hope to the carnage that followed. This is the Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West and forgotten by the world. …source

#FreeHashim AlMosawi, Bahrain – These tweets about Hashim AlMosawi are from White Liley who translated from here.

Today I’ll tell you the story of Hasim AlMosawi, 22yo who is in jail and being tortured since 18 March without charges. Detainee Hashim AlMosawi is a young man with rarely high potential. He graduated from high school with a GPA of 99.2%. Then studied in UK as part of Crown Prince program.

Detainee Hashim AlMosawi is the first #Bahraini to get Tomas Adison fellowship from General Electric #GE. He is now being tortured in jail by people who don’t know how to read. It’s believed that Hashim AlMosawi was jailed because his name was similar to the name of the spokesman of 14 Feb. youth, Mohammed AlMosawi. When they discovered his success, he was put in jail as revenge
when Hashim was arrested, he was blindfolded and put in solitary confinement in AlQalaa for 10days. He was being tortured daily, they spat in his mouth, then he was forced to sign blank papers.

Hashim then was taken to dry dock prison, and put in solitary confinement for 10days and suffered from both physical and psychological torture only because he was successful and studies in UK. [edit by courtesy] …source

Crowd control weapons absent from Arms Trade Treaty
July 25, 2011 by Eric Stoner – Published by Waging Nonviolence

In the negotiations for the Arms Trade Treaty, which wrapped up earlier this month, one subject that was not clearly addressed was the sale of crowd control weapons—such as tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and electric shock stun guns—that are regularly used in cracking down on peaceful protest. The problem is that the sale of these weapons is big money for many Western governments. As the Inter Press Services reports:

BCHR Photo Gallery Here These “less than lethal” weapons are easily abused as lethal weapons. Many Bahraini Protesters and Innocents caught in the deliberate lethal misuse of these weapons have been killed since the February Protests.

AI [Amnesty International] said it has identified U.S.-made tear gas canisters and solid rubber bullets, and French tear gas grenades and solid rubber dispersion grenades in the aftermath of the attacks on civilian demonstrators in the streets of Bahrain early this year.
…more

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release
August 04, 2011

FACT SHEET: President Obama Directs New Steps to Prevent Mass Atrocities and Impose Consequences on Serious Human Rights Violators

“The United States is committed to working with our allies, and to strengthening our own internal capabilities, in order to ensure that the United States and the international community are proactively engaged in a strategic effort to prevent mass atrocities and genocide. In the event that prevention fails, the United States will work both multilaterally and bilaterally to mobilize diplomatic, humanitarian, financial, and—in certain instances—military means to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities.”

–National Security Strategy of the United States, May 2010

Today, President Obama is directing a comprehensive review to strengthen the United States’ ability to prevent mass atrocities. The President’s directive creates an important new tool in this effort, establishing a standing interagency Atrocities Prevention Board with the authority to develop prevention strategies and to ensure that concerns are elevated for senior decision-making so that we are better able to work with our allies and partners to be responsive to early warning signs and prevent potential atrocities. Today he is also issuing a proclamation that, for the first time, explicitly bars entry into the United States of persons who organize or participate in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of human rights.

The Presidential Directive on Mass Atrocities, Presidential Study Directive-10 (PSD-10), is innovative and significant in several respects: …more

Aug 4, 2011
Bahrain admits raid on international medical group

DUBAI – BAHRAIN says its police raided the offices used by Medecins Sans Frontieres because the group was operating without permission in the Gulf Kingdom.

The statement follows a condemnation by the aid group over the storming of its offices on July 28.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Health said in a statement released on Thursday that police searched the group’s medical center and arrested an employee who was later charged with offences including providing medical services without a license.

MSF, also known by its English name Doctors Without Borders, on Wednesday said armed Bahraini forces ‘violently raided’ its offices in the capital Manama.

MSF said they damaged property, confiscated all medical supplies and arrested volunteer Saeed Mahdi. — AP …source

Arab Spring and repression continue from Rabat to Manama
Published on Thursday 4 August 2011 – Reporters Without Borders

While Bahrain and Saudi Arabia use mainly technical means (including satellite jamming and website blocking) to obstruct media freedom, Yemen and Syria continue to resort to violence. Blogger and reporters covering pro-democracy demonstrations have also been roughed up in Morocco.
BAHRAIN

Lualua TV, a satellite TV station launched by 15 members of the Bahraini opposition on 17 July in London, has been jammed since the first day despite changing frequency regularly. According to Eutelsat, the jamming is being orchestrated from Bahrain. Lualua TV wanted to broadcast from Bahrain but it was repeatedly denied permission. It is still managing to broadcast on the Hotbird satellite.

In a 24 July press release, the head of Lualua TV said: “A lot of hard work has gone into this channel and we are extremely disappointed that we have had trouble broadcasting our message. It comes as no surprise that the source of the jamming is Bahrain. It is as we had expected. We have followed all regulations in the creation of this station and we will not allow this setback to stop us from broadcasting permanently. We are hoping that the interference has now ended, but if it returns we will just have to find other ways to reinforce our message.”
SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi authorities have been blocking access to the newspaper Al-Akhbar’s website because of its coverage of events in Bahrain, including the Saudi military intervention.

Amnesty International meanwhile reported on 26 July that its website was rendered inaccessible from within Saudi Arabia after it posted comments criticised a Saudi anti-terrorism bill that aims to reduce the impact on Saudi Arabia of the uprisings in other Arab countries (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/9…).

Shelved in 2003, and revived in response to the wave of Arab revolts, the bill would allow the authorities to prosecute anyone suspected of criticising the king or the crown prince. Its deliberately vague wording would leave room for arbitrary interpretation, restricting free speech and media freedom even more in Saudi Arabia. Like many other international NGOs in recent days, Reporters Without Borders urges the Saudi authorities drop this bill, which would violate its international obligations.

Regarded by Reporters Without Borders as an “Enemy of the Internet,” Saudi Arabia is currently blocking more 1,200 websites (list: http://www.albayan.ae/24-hours/2011…) …more