“3rd day of hunger strike of 130 detainees including doctors at “Dry dock detention center”

Jailed Bahrain doctors on hunger strike
by Hugh Tomlinson, Dubai – The Times – September 02, 2011 12:00AM

A GROUP of Bahraini doctors on trial for alleged terrorism have begun a hunger strike in protest at their treatment, amid claims they have been tortured in custody.

The 14 men began their protest on Tuesday after being denied bail last week by a military court. Relatives say the health of several of the doctors has deteriorated rapidly and they are not receiving adequate medical treatment.

“One doctor has a cerebral aneurism, another has severe injuries from torture. Another man is suffering badly from diabetes. Now they are all on hunger strike their condition will only get worse,” said a relative.

The doctors are charged with turning a hospital into a terrorist base as thousands of protesters took to the streets across the island kingdom in February, demanding democratic reforms from the ruling al-Khalifa family.

The government alleges that the men took hostages at Salmaniya hospital in the capital, Manama, hoarding guns in the building and using ambulances to run weapons to the protesters. Opponents say, however, that the authorities have been staging show trials to justify a violent crackdown.

More than 30 people have been killed since troops moved in to quash the protests in March.

With martial law in place, a military court was set up to try the detainees.

At the doctors’ first hearing, in June, the most damning evidence came from confessions signed by the defendants themselves and the testimony of “confidential witnesses”. The detainees have said their confessions were extracted under torture. Prisoners were beaten with sticks and hoses, deprived of sleep and forced to sign papers while blindfolded, they say.

One of the doctors described being hooded and made to stand for several hours in a cold room during repeated interrogations.

“Then they gave me some papers. I never saw them, I just signed everything they told me to. What choice did I have?” he said.

Tensions remain high across the kingdom, with protests continuing on an almost daily basis. …more

Thousands march at Bahraini boy’s funeral
Shia groups say 14-year-old died after teargas canister hit him, a charge denied by the Gulf Arab state’s government. – Last Modified: 01 Sep 2011 19:16

About 10,000 marched at 14-year-old boy’s funeral, calling for overthrow of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa

[Reuters] Thousands of Bahrainis have attended funeral procession of a teenager who rights groups say died after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by police.

About 10,000 marched on Thursday at the 14-year-old boy’s funeral, calling for the overthrow of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and the Sunni Muslim royal family in the Gulf state, Reuters news agency reported.

The marchers, many of them in tears, shouted “Down with Hamad” and “Death to Al-Khalifa”, as they carried the Shia Muslim boy’s body from his family’s home to a cemetery, a witness said.

The crowd dispersed peacefully and there were no reports of clashes with police forces.

The government denied that police were responsible for the death, and offered a 10,000-dinar ($26,500) reward for information on Ali Jawad Ahmad’s death.

“The coroner’s report indicates that the markings on Ali’s neck are not consistent with being hit with a tear gas canister or rubber bullet as some have claimed,” the government said in a statement on Thursday.
Click here for more of Al Jazeera’s coverage on Bahrain

The boy died after reportedly being hit by a tear gas canister during clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces on Wednesday.

Activists blamed the police for the death of the teenager, who was among the protesters in the oil hub area of Sitra.

Bahrain has been in turmoil for the past few months since protests by the majority Shia community broke out, demanding greater freedom and political rights.

More than 30 people have been killed since the protests began in February inspired by other uprisings across the Arab world.

More than 70 per cent of Bahrain’s population is Shia Muslim but they claim widespread discrimination by the ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty.

Small-scale clashes between police and mostly Shia demonstrators have become a near nightly event in the tense Gulf nation since authorities lifted emergency rule in June.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa offered compensation to victims of the crackdowns in February, but says protest-related trials will continue.

In July Bahrain’s leaders opened reconciliation talks, but the country’s main Shia party walked out and threatened to stage further protests.

An independent fact-finding panel is investigating alleged rights abuses in Bahrain and is expected to release its findings at the end of October. …source

Bahrain on edge: Nightly clashes and calls for more protests
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, September 1, 10:36 AM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It’s become a nightly duel in Bahrain: Security forces and anti-government protesters waging hit-and-run clashes in one of the simmering conflicts of the Arab Spring.

So far, the skirmishes have failed to gel into another serious challenge to the Gulf nation’s Western-backed monarchy after crushing a reform rebellion months ago. But there are sudden signs that Shiite-led demonstrators could be poised to raise the stakes again on the strategic island, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Hundreds of demonstrators Wednesday made their boldest attempt in months to reclaim control of a central square in the capital Manama, which was the symbolic hub of the protest movement after it began in February. Riot police used buses to block roads and flooded streets with tear gas to drive back the marchers before dawn.

Hours later, mourners gathered in a Shiite village in another part of Bahrain for a 14-year-old boy they claim was killed by security forces. Clashes flared until early Thursday across the oil hub area of Sitra before the boy’s burial.

“Down with the regime,” chanted some of hundreds of people in the funeral procession. “More protests.”

Some waved the flag of the Libyan rebels, who are closing in on the remnants of Moammar Gadhafi’s government.

Bahrain remains the outlier of the Arab revolts.

Its Sunni rulers have managed to hold their ground — and even tighten their grip with military help from neighboring Saudi Arabia — against majority Shiites demanding a greater political voice. Washington and Western allies have denounced the punishing crackdowns, but been mild when it comes to Bahrain’s ruling dynasty. The possible risks from a harder line appear too great. They include jeopardizing key Arab military relationships on Iran’s doorstep.

Washington’s Gulf Arab allies argue any gains for Bahrain’s Shiites could open the door for influence by Iran’s Shiite regime.

Bahrain’s Shiite leaders strongly deny any links to Iran. They note that their fight for greater rights goes back decades — and is now re-energized by the pro-democracy wave across the Arab world.

In July, the Shiite political bloc walked out of government-led reconciliation talks, claiming they failed to address key demands such as ending the monarchy’s ability to hand-pick the government. Shiites also appear ready to boycott parliament elections on Sept. 24 — an act that state media has called treason.

Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain’s 525,000 citizens, but claim they face systematic discrimination such as being barred from top political and security posts. Last week, Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim, told worshippers that the country’s rulers can either embrace reforms or risk the same fate as Libya’s Gadhafi.

“Can’t they learn from the fall of dictatorships and see what happens to those who denied their people basic rights?” Qassim said as police helicopters patrolled over his mosque. “We now see what happens to the Libyan dictator, just as what happened to Tunisian and Egyptian despots.”
…more

Bahrain streets tense after boy’s funeral
By the CNN Wire Staff – September 1, 2011 — Updated 1937 GMT (0337 HKT)

Sitra, Bahrain (CNN) — Thousands of people took to the streets in Bahrain Thursday as the funeral took place for a 14-year-old boy whose death a day earlier sparked wide anger, witnesses said.

Clashes broken out overnight Wednesday into Thursday between Shiite Muslim protesters and police, after witnesses said they saw Ali Jawad al-Sheikh collapse after riot police fired a tear-gas round at him and other protesters in Sitra, southwest of the capital Manama.

But Nabeel Rajab, president of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights, who was at the funeral, said the procession had remained calm, with no outbreaks of violence.

He told CNN crowds of people had gathered from the early morning but police had pulled out from the entire area, using helicopters instead to monitor the situation.

Rajab predicted larger protests demanding political reform would take place later Thursday.

“We expect to see protesters out tonight. The February 14 Movement called for a protest tonight in Manama and places around Manama,” he said, adding that tensions had been building in the past three to four weeks, as people lost hope of achieving a political solution to the country’s problems.

Meanwhile, government officials say they are investigating the death and Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has offered a 10,000 Bahraini dinar ($26,400) reward for information leading to the arrest of his killer, state news agency BNA reported Thursday.

The Interior Ministry has said no clashes were taking place at the time the boy was injured, saying that the last reported incident of unrest in the area was around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday.

And a police chief said Thursday that the hospital officials who informed the police they had received the boy’s body did not give any details about the incident or where the body was found, BNA reported.

Bahraini officials said Thursday that the doctor who carried out an autopsy on the body concluded that the cause of death was an injury sustained behind the neck, where there were fractures causing bleeding around the spinal cord.

Blood tests by the forensic laboratory did not show any sign of tear-gas exposure, BNA cited public prosecution chief Osama Al Asfoor as saying.

Bahrain’s interior ministry issued a news release later Thursday, citing the coroner’s report in discounting a fatal hit from a tear-gas canister or rubber bullet.

“The coroner’s report indicates that the markings on Ali’s neck are not consistent with being hit with a tear gas canister or rubber bullet as some have claimed,” the release said. “The markings were too large and suggest that he was hit with a larger object. Further, the coroner’s investigation shows that no tear gas was found in his lungs.”

The release said the youth died “as a result of a serious blow to the back of the neck … that culminated in a blood clot in the brain, which eventually took his life.” …more