Six Months On: How Bahrain’s Street Was Silenced
Brussels correspondent for TIME magazine – By Leo Cendrowicz – 15/8/11

Six months ago, Bahrain seemed to be swept along with the Arab Spring. Today, however, hopes for real change seem dim.

It was perhaps an unorthodox romantic gesture, but it could still qualify as a Valentine: on February 14 this year, as the Arab Spring was surging, a group of pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain began what they thought would be a message of brotherly love for their country. Trust us, they said, give us our voice and together we can build a new era of respect and civil rights. That was exactly six months ago, but the message seems to have gotten lost in the post.

For the outside world, the drama reached its climax in mid-March, when the jittery Bahraini establishment decided the protests had to be met with extreme prejudice: it invited Saudi and other Gulf ally troops to help crush the demonstrations. They rumbled over the 25 km King Fahd Causeway that connects Bahrain with the Saudi mainland and brutally ended the protest in an operation that left around 30 people dead.

But the story is far from over. Bahrain is still tingling with tension, the air poisoned with suspicion, sectarianism more pointed than ever as the country slowly reverts to normal after its messy turn on the Arab Spring carousel. The establishment’s efforts at reconciliation have been dismissed by the opposition as mere window dressing for its oppressive policies. The passions unleashed in the short burst of protest against the soft authoritarianism are still coursing through the tiny Gulf island of just 1.2 million. …more

Bahrainis urge release of prisoners
shiapost – August 15, 2011

Bahraini demonstrators have once again held rallies in several villages to demand the release of political prisoners and the pullout of the Saudi forces from their country.

Despite the government crackdown on protests, peaceful Bahraini demonstrators took to the streets on Monday to continue voicing their demands.

Thousands of protesters poured into the streets in the villages of Sitra, A’ali, Sanabis and several other locations on Sunday, calling for the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime.

Anti-government protesters have been holding protest rallies in 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 brutal crackdown on the popular protests.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more arrested in Bahrain since mid-February. Numerous protesters have also been detained and transferred to unknown locations during the brutal onslaught on protesters.

Amnesty International has condemned the brutal crackdown on peaceful protests and detention of Bahraini demonstrators.

According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, there are currently over 1,000 political detainees inside the Middle Eastern country. …source

No crimes against humanity in Bahrain, says fact finding committee
Monday, 15 August 2011 – By Mohamed Al Arab – AL ARABIYA MANAMA

A royal fact finding committee formed to investigate the Bahrain protests reached the conclusion that no crimes against humanity were committed by the government against the protestors.

Crimes against humanity require two factors in order to be proven: they have to be systematic and political. None of those applied to the events that took place in Bahrain, said committee head Dr. Mahmoud Sherif Basyouni.

“There was no proof whatsoever of crimes against humanity and had there been any, I would have definitely written that in my report,” he told the Bahraini newspaper Al Ayam.

Regarding the committee’s involvement in the release of several of the prisoners, Dr. Basyouni stated that the committee would never ask for acquitting people who committed illegal actions.

“The committee responsibility is to make sure the law is being applied.”

Dr. Basyouni explained that the committee’s responsibility is investigating the events and notifying the relevant bodies in case violations are proven so that they can be addressed.

“This means it is not part of our job to call for releasing prisoners since we are not a human rights organization.”

The committee, however, can play the role of mediator in some cases. For example, Dr. Basyouni explained, if some people were fired from their jobs and the committee becomes aware that there is a decree that says they should be back, it tells the relevant bodies to redress this wrong.

“The same is applied to prisoners who are still detained after their time is over. In this case, we notify the prosecutor general or the ministry of interior.”

Regarding torture, Dr. Basyouni said that it is prohibited in Bahrain as stipulated by both national laws and international treaties to which Bahrain is a signatory.

“If the committee finds out about cases of torture, we have to take a firm stance even if we discover that it was a personal action because any kind of torture is a crime.”

When torture is political, he added, it is not only the person involved in the torture act that is held accountable, it is also the political responsibility of the leader of this person.

“The leader is held accountable if he knew about the torture, if he did not take the necessary actions to guarantee it will not be repeated again, and if he did not take the necessary action to penalize the person who did.”

With crimes against humanity, Dr. Basyouni explained, the situation is a bit different because the crime is in this case committed on a systematic and regular basis and towards a particular political goal.

He also stressed that nobody is above the law regardless of their status or profession. He cited the example of doctors who are not allowed to engage in political activities inside the hospitals where they work and that therefore they should be penalized in case of doing so.

Regarding the right to freedom of expression and protesting, Dr. Basyouni pointed out that protests which inflict damage upon public welfare are against the law.

“It is unacceptable that protestors destroy cars or houses and violate the rights of others. In this case, protests become illegal.”

When asked about the complaints that cite torture cases and the level of their credibility, Dr. Basyouni said that investigators and police officers have the expertise that allows them to distinguish between genuine and fabricated complaints.

“Plus, anybody who submits a complaint should have proof so if somebody says he was tortured and there are no signs of torture on his body or no witnesses to the torture, the complaint will not be accepted.”

Dr. Basyouni added that the credibility of complaints is raised when several complaints from different places have the same content.

“This is much different from receiving one single compliment from one single person.”

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid) …source

Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, “are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. Murder; extermination; torture; rape; political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. … wiki

After riots, Britain to push for change in European Convention on Human Rights
REUTERS – Monday 15 August 2011 – By RFI

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Monday that the UK would use its current chairmanship of the Council of Europe to try to push through changes in the European Convention of Human Rights. Cameron claimed the convention had “undermined personal responsibility”, in a speech which focused on what he sees as the underlying causes of last week’s riots in Britain.

Addressing an audience at a youth club in Witney in southern England, Cameron pledged to reverse what he called a “slow motion moral collapse”, which he blames for last week’s riots in which five people died.

“This has been a wake-up call for our country. Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face,” Cameron declared.

The Conservative leader has long preached of a need to re inforce values such as social responsibility, and Britain’s worst civil disorder for decades has led him to return to a favourite theme.

Children as young as 11 joined a four-night spree of looting and arson which began on 6 August in North London and spread throughout the capital and to other English cities, tarnishing Britain’s image just a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games. …more