Index on Censorship
Art or Vandalism?
by Yasmine El Rashidi – October 10, 2011

Ayman handed himself in at noon on 27 April 2009. The police had been searching for him for three days, and his name had made headlines in the local press. He was the criminal still at large – his two accomplices had already been caught. They were held in an unknown location, under investigation. We all knew they were being interrogated, maybe even tortured.

The phone call had come the night before.
‘We need your help.’
‘They’re looking for him.’
‘He’s scared to go alone.’
‘I’m not sure what to do. Nobody wants to touch this case. I need you on this one, can you go with him?’

Ayman was a friend and I had worked with him on projects in the past. Maybe the presence of a woman would lessen the brutality he might face.

…more and more Great Stencil ART HERE

Nearly 12,000 Prisoners Join California Hunger Strike To End Torture Conditions
By Jeffrey Kaye – The Public Record – Oct 3rd, 2011

According to a report published Saturday by Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity (PHSS), the Federal receiver’s office has indicated that “nearly 12,000 prisoners were on hunger strike, including California prisoners who are housed in out of state prisons in Arizona, Mississippi and Oklahoma.”

This is the second hunger strike in less than four months, with prisoners at the Supermax Pelican Bay Prison and other California state prisons protesting the use of long-term solitary confinement, in addition to four other main demands, including provision of adequate and nutritious food, an end to administrative abuses (such as group punishments), and expansion, and in some cases provision, of “Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.”

But besides an end to state-sanctioned isolation, which amounts to torture, the most salient demand is an end to the hated “debriefing” system, which places inmates in solitary if prison officials determine they are “gang members.” As I noted in an article last July, determination of “gang” status includes “acquisition or exchange of personal or state property amounting to more than $50…. tattooing or possession of tattoo paraphenalia…. possession of $5 or more without authorization…. [and] refusal to work or participate in a program as assigned,” among others. Indeed, even refusal to submit to “debriefing,” i.e., interrogation of prisoners to get them to “snitch,” or give names of other “gang” members, is reason to label someone a gang member and put them in solitary indefinitely. The prisoners call this “snitch, parole, or die.”

Both isolation and forced confessions are illegal forms of incarceration. The 2006 Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, co-chaired by former Chief Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, John Gibbons and former Attorney General Nicholas de B. Katzenbach, called for an end to isolation in U.S. prisons. (See summary of findings and recommendations, PDF.)

A Fight for Dignity, Justice, and Humanity

California prisons are a stinking mess, a scandal of gigantic proportions. The health care component of the California prison system has been in federal receivership for years because of the awful, insufficient care provided to the sick and mentally ill. As reported in a McClatchy article last May, the U.S. Supreme Court “cited ‘serious constitutional violations’ in California’s overcrowded prisons and ordered the state to abide by aggressive plans to fix the problem.” The court rejected state pleas to put off the necessary changes, and ordered the prison system to lower its population by approximately 37,000. (A plan to implement the changes is meeting some skepticism.) …source

Bahrain’s king hails national developments
Published: Oct. 10, 2011 – UPI

MANAMA, Bahrain, Oct. 10 (UPI) — Bahrain’s king, in a keynote address to Parliament, praised the emerging role of women in the government and thanked the GCC for its help during an uprising.

King Hamid al-Khalifa, speaking at the opening session of Parliament, welcomed the inclusion of new female members to the assembly.

He said the three new female members — Somaya al-Jowder, Ebtisam Hijris and Sawsan Taqawi — now stand beside Latifa al-Gaoud, the first woman elected MP in Bahrain, as an example of the perseverance of the Bahraini people.

He also offered praise for members of the Gulf Cooperation Council who provided security assistance to his country as it struggled to control the violence during a Shiite uprising this year against the country’s minority Sunni leadership.

“The strength of the GCC is rooted in cohesion of its people and leaders,” the government declared in a statement.

Bahrain in early July started a dialogue process meant to examine possible improvements in the political structure.

Several Bahraini doctors and nurses were given prison sentences ranging from 5-15 years for spreading “stories and lies” and for trying to topple the regime during the country’s failed uprising early this year. Bahrain’s attorney general said last week, however, that they would be retried before a civilian court. …source

Bahrain in the World Day Against the Death Penalty: Three citizens sentenced to death after unfair military trials
10 October, 2011 – BCHR

The trials lacked the conditions of a fair trial and held its sessions in the absence of lawyers and ignored investigation into the torture of suspects to force them to confess, despite the death of a defendant in custody.

BCHR – The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concerns that the military court (court of national safety) has issued more death sentences against peaceful demonstrators, bringing the total number to three civilians, whom were sentenced to death after swift trials that lacked the terms of a fair trial, and relied on coerced confessions taken under torture as the only evidence, disregarding completely the criticism of the international and human rights community regarding the military trials that violate the right of civilians in a competent court. On the World Day against the Death Penalty the BCHR appeals to the international bodies and human rights organizations to immediately intervene to save the lives of these defendants, to stop the implementation of these sentences, and to guarantee a fair trial for the accused.

On the 29th September 2011, the national safety court (which is a special court, headed by a military judge) ruled the death sentence to Ali Yousef Abdulwahab Al-Taweel (22 years old), who was accused in the case of murdering the policeman Ahmed Al-Muraysi in Sitra, by hitting him with a car, and sentenced the other defendant Ali Attya Mahdi to life imprisonment[1]. The court did not show the details of the rulings or the reasons for the variation in the rulings of the defendants, and ignored the obvious breaches for the right of the accused in a fair trial, where three sessions were held in the absence of Ali Al-Taweel’s lawyer, as well as ignoring the torture allegations that forced him to confess, despite his appearance at the court in a state that was difficult for him to stand as a result of being subjected to beatings on sensitive areas of his body.

Prior to this ruling, the same military court has ruled the death penalty on four defendants[2] on the 28th of April, in a court that lasted less than two weeks, before withdrawing from executing two of them and changing the sentence to life imprisonment on the 22nd of May, while confirming the death penalty on the other two defendants AbdulAziz AbdulRedha and Ali Al-Singace, without providing an explanation for this exception. …more

Bahraini medics tell of torture ahead of retrial
By Richard Hall – 10/10/2011

Bahraini medical workers who were handed lengthy jail terms for their alleged support of pro-democracy protests hope they will get a fair trial now they have had their sentences overturned.

Appearing to buckle under international pressure, Bahrain’s Attorney-General ordered retrials in a civilian court for the 20 doctors, nurses and paramedics who treated injured protesters during demonstrations against the ruling Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty. Ali al-Boainain said that “the accused will have the benefit of full re-evaluation of evidence and full opportunity to present their defences”.

The medics were sentenced in a quasi-military court to terms ranging from five to 15 years for alleged offences including the possession of weapons, stealing medical equipment, and “fabricating stories to disturb public security”. They protested their innocence, saying they were tortured during interrogation to extract false confessions.

Their sentencing provoked outrage from human rights organisations, medical associations and the United Nations, which called for the convictions to be overturned. Roula al-Saffar, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison, said told the Independent that the ruling represented a “new start” and called on the authorities to review the cases of other medical professionals who had been convicted of similar charges.

“I am shocked, but at the same time I am very happy. It is a new start for us,” said Saffar, the head of the Bahrain nursing union. “I hope that they will hear us out this time. Last time we were not heard. The military court screamed at us. “Our confessions were forced out of us and we were forced to sign in handcuffs.”

A government spokesman, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, said of the decision yesterday: “We’ve always said that all cases that have been tried in the National Safety Court will be transferred to the civilian court for review, and all sentenced people will have the right to appeal where a full review will be considered in regards to evidence procedures.” Bahrain’s ruling Muslim Sunni monarchy has waged sweeping crackdowns against mostly Muslim Shia protesters calling for greater rights.

The doctors and nurses worked at the state-run Salmaniya Medical Centre close to the capital’s Pearl Square, which became the epicentre of Bahrain’s uprising, inspired by other revolts across the Arab world. The authorities saw the hospital’s mostly Shia staff as protest sympathisers, although the medics claimed they treated all who needed care.

…source

To: President Barack Obama

Urgent Action is required to save Amal Society from Injustice

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing for you on the behalf of Amal Society, legally registered under the Bahrain Society Law since 2002. In brief, 23 members of Amal are detained through several night raids, and after spending more than 45 days under severe torture and dwelling in solitary cells, the Bahraini regime is putting Amal society under trail. The detainees are headed by the Chairman of Amal, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Almahfoodh. The legal conditions are drastic since the detainees are denied any access to the lawyers except for two to five minutes after every trial session. After the hearings of Prosecution witnesses and the Defense witnesses, no evidence was found to condemn Amal of any charge against the law. However, it seems that the verdicts of the National Safety Court (Military court) are ready-made packages, sentencing the detainees from 5 to 25 years of imprisonment.

Abiding to your speeches on May 19th and September 21st, we want to call for an immediate action to create pressure on this regime and free Amal Society and all the other detainees, whose guilt is only to call for more democracy and freedom. Therefore, we are writing this letter to appeal to your conscience and pledge your immediate interference to the Society’s trial, which will take place on October 4th, 2011. We are sure about your conscience and support for democracy in Bahrain, but excluding Amal from the political scenes raises many questions. The society is officially registered and all the society’s moves and actions are within the law of Bahrain. Yet, the detainees of Amal, headed by the chairman, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Almahfoodh were subjects to severe torture without any tangible evidence to charge them.

Dear Mr President,

Amal is the second largest legitimate society in Bahrain, and its members and board are under sever attack, and subject to harsh verdicts, with all these factors that would bring the world attention, we wonder why Amal Society is excluded from your attention and support.
Finally, we would like to thank all parties and organizations that has been supporting us and still support our case, and we are grateful to all of those who support the transition to a more democratic and liberal Bahrain, away from any sectarian tensions and polarizations. We want to also thank you for your constant help and precious time in advance.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

sign petition HERE

Civilian ‘retrial’ of medics set for 23 October
Amnesty International – Bahrain Date: 7 October 2011

URGENT ACTION

civilian ‘retrial’ of medics set for 23 october

The appeal for t wenty health professionals sentenced by a military court in Bahrain on 29 September to between five and 15 years has been set for 23 October . It will take place before a civilian court .

On 5 October Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor announced that he had appealed against last week’s verdict on 20 health professionals, in which Bahrain’s National Safety Court of First Instance, a military court, announced prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years. There will be an appeal before the High Criminal Court of Appeal, a civilian court, on 23 October, which will be considered as a “retrial“.

At the military trial, the military prosecution is reported to have failed to provide any substantive evidence that the accused used or advocated violence during the popular protests in February and March. Amnesty International believes that the real reason the health professionals were charged may be because some of them had denounced the government crackdown on protesters in interviews to international media.

In order for the “retrial“ to be a fair trial, certain conditions must be met: the court must start a fresh investigation into the charges levelled against defendants and must re-evaluate all the evidence; the court must dismiss all previous statements given by defendants which were said to have been coerced through torture or other ill-treatment. Finally, it must hear all defendants and allow lawyers to bring in witnesses.

more on actions you can take HERE

Judicial nightmare for journalists in new wave of prosecutions
Published on Monday 10 October 2011.
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Reporters Without Borders is alarmed by a wave of trials involving journalists although the government lifted the state of emergency and announced the start of a “national dialogue.”

In the most high-profile case, three senior journalists with Al-Wasat, the country’s only opposition newspaper – editor Mansour Al-Jamari, managing editor Walid Nouihid and local news editor Aqil Mirza – are to appear in court tomorrow on charges of disseminating false information and undermining the country’s image. All three were forced to resign in April when the newspaper was temporarily banned.

Jamari admits that several articles contained false information but he points that all of this information was sent from the same IP address and he suspects that the newspaper was set up, especially as it has been target of a major smear campaign in the government media in recent months.

Reporters Without Borders urges the court to drop all the charges against these three journalists in line with the spirit of the national dialogue that King Hamad II proposed at the start of July.

As already reported, the prison sentences imposed on 14 Shiite activists including the blogger Abdeljalil Al-Singace were upheld on appeal on 27 September. According to the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), they have begun a hunger strike to protest against the arrests of 40 women activists who staged a protest on 23 September to demand their release.

Around 20 of the women protesters, including Noor Aqeel Al-Ghasra, a journalist with the daily Al-Ahad, have been charged with illegal assembly, disturbing public order by using violence, and inciting a revolt. According to some sources, Al-Ghasra was tortured by the police during her first night in detention. Her lawyer has condemned the conditions in which they are being held and the court’s refusal to let defence witnesses testify. …source

(AP) MANAMA, Bahrain — Officials in violence-wracked Bahrain began work Monday on proposed political reforms that include boosting the powers of parliament, but the steps were dismissed by an opposition leader as too little after more than eight months of clashes in the Gulf kingdom. The package of changes would transfer some new powers to elected lawmakers, but leaves intact the sweeping controls of Sunni rulers. Bahrain’s majority Shiites began protests in February seeking more rights and demanding an end to the monarchy’s grip on the country’s affairs.

The reforms are likely to be approved, but they appear unlikely to ease a crisis that has left about 35 people dead and delivered a serious blow to the economy of the strategic island nation — home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The official Bahrain News Agency said the prime minister met with government officials to discuss the reform package. The final report will be submitted later for approval to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The proposed reforms include allowing parliament to vet Cabinet ministers. They also call for a review of voting districts — which Shiite leaders claim are gerrymandered to undercut Shiite political strength.

Shiite’s account for about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, but say they have faced decades of discrimination such as being blocked from top political and security posts.

The main Shiite political party, Al Wefaq, walked out of national reconciliation talks in July. Months earlier, their 18 members in parliament had resigned en masse to protest crackdowns that included hundreds of arrests and Shiite workers purged from jobs. The Wefaq leader, Sheik Ali Salman, scoffed at the proposed reforms as doing nothing to reduce the powers of the 200-year-old dynasty. He said the measures “keep Bahrain as a dictatorship, not a democratic state.” “We can go and ask the people of Bahrain,” he told reporters. “Do they want a referendum to decide whether to have an elected government or not?” …source