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