Foreign Secretary updates Parliament on the Middle East and North Africa
13 October, 2011 – Foreign and Common Wealth Office

Members of all sides of the House will have concerns about events in Bahrain, including the use of military-led courts to try civilian defendants including doctors and nurses. We welcome the announcement by the Bahraini Attorney General that the cases of the medical staff will now be retried in a civil court on 23 October, and the expected report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on 30 October. We attach great importance to the publication of this report. It is a major opportunity for Bahrain to demonstrate that it will adhere to international standards, meet its human rights commitments and take action when abuses are identified.

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Report: 5,700 people questioned in Bahrain unrest
October 16, 2011 05:56 PM – Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain: Local media in Bahrain say the international panel investigating months of anti-government protests and crackdowns in the Gulf kingdom has interviewed more than 5,000 witnesses and alleged victims over the past three months.

A report in Bahrain’s state-owned Gulf Daily News newspaper says investigators have spoken with 5,700 people about the unrest that began in February when the kingdom’s Shiite majority rose up to demand greater rights.

The Bahrain Commission of Inquiry was set up in July with the consent of the country’s Sunni rulers.

Sunday’s report in the English-language newspaper says detainees, police personnel, doctors and journalists are among those interviewed by the five-member panel.

Its findings will be published in a report due by Oct. 31. …more

His Majesty the King lauds Bahrain-US relations
16/10/2011 – bahrain New Agency

Manama, Oct 16 (BNA) His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today lauded the outstanding bilateral relations existing between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States of America describing these ties as strong and historical serving the people of both countries.

His Majesty was speaking during his meeting at Safriya Palace with a delegation from the US Congress that is currently visiting the kingdom.

His Majesty also highlighted the efforts exerted by the responsible bodies in both countries towards further bolstering and developing these ties on all levels indicating that both sides were interested in further embedding these relations and expanding them . He also indicated that the comprehensive reform in Bahrain continues and was strong towards achieving more advancement in the country within the framework of the reform project and comprehensive development.

His Majesty the King lauded the role played by the United States of America towards maintaining peace and stability in the region affirming the importance of exchange of such visits among legislative establishments in both countries to achieve joint goals.

For their part the delegation hailed the historic ties that date back to more than a hundred years between the two countries.

They also hailed the importance of the National Dialogue and the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). Moreover, the delegation lauded His Majesty’s future vision towards further developing Bahrain and towards more advancement on the political, economic and social level.
Present at the meeting was Minister of the Royal Court, His Majesty’s Advisor for Diplomatic Affairs and the US Chargé d’Affaires …source

Judicial nightmare for journalists in new wave of prosecutions
10 October 2011 – Reporters without Borders

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. …more

BCHR and CIVICUS Joint Open Letter to the King of Bahrain
14 OCtober, 2011 – BCHR

Exceprt – The medical doctors were sentenced by the Bahrain Safety Court, a military body in grave violation of internationally acceptable principles of medical neutrality which uphold medical professionals’ unhindered and non-discriminatory approach to treating the wounded. It is not a crime for medics to treat the wounded protesters or to tell of the brutal assaults on civilians they have witnessed. Rather the prosecution and conviction of these doctors for abiding by their medical obligations only demonstrates a political intent to intimidate and instill fear so as to silence medics and all others who witness human rights violations.

The military court has also upheld harsh sentences ranging up to life imprisonment against 14 prominent human rights activists and opposition leaders on 28 September 2011. Seven others who were either in hiding in Bahrain or living outside Bahrain were also sentenced in absentia in June 2011 and have had no chance to appeal the long sentences against them unless they subject themselves to arrest by presenting themselves to the military court. The recent military court action followed the activists’ announcement for an open hunger
strike from prison in Gurayn military prison on 24 September 2011 to express solidarity with the pro-democracy movement, protest the brutal crackdown on demonstrators and demand for the immediate release of women who were arrested in the protests. View full document HERE

Freedom For Bahrain Medics
Sunday October 16, 2011

In the name of God the most merciful and precious

THE BAHRAINI MEDICS “CONVICTED BY MILITARY COURT
ON 29 T H SEPTEMBER ‘2011” STATEMENT REGARDING THE
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S STATEMENT ON THE TRIAL OF
MEDICS IN CIVILIAN COURTS

BAHRAIN RETREATS FROM ABOLISHMENT OF MILITARY TRIALS OF MEDICS

The Bahrain News Agency and local newspapers revealed a statement made by HE the Attorney-General, Dr. Ali Fadl Al-Boainain, in which he declared that the Bahraini authorities have taken a new decision to revert our trial, we the Medics, to the civil courts in a manner of appeal; thus, confirming the determination of the Bahraini authorities to deliberately hold us accountable and have us punished as a result of executing our duty, which is obligatory by our humanitarian imperatives, the values of the profession, and the medical and professional oaths that we have all taken. Moreover, it clearly indicates the declination of the authorities in Bahrain from withdrawing the unwarranted cruel martial sentences that were levied upon us, which are unjustified under any legal platform; accordingly, and in order to clarify the image that has become distorted and confusing to the citizens, residents and concerned local and international organizations, we are obligated to highlight the following points:

1. The Public Prosecutor has affirmed the re-trial of doctors and medical staff, which was welcomed by many international organizations, which were not convinced by the procedures or trials. Yet the decision to transfer our case to the Court of Appeals advocates the adoption of the validity of the procedures and provisions established against our rights in the military courts, and that our referral to the Court of Appeal comes as a phase complementary to those of military trials under the name of the National Safety Court, which in the sense are still valid, and will take the subsequent provisions built on the military trails’ sentences, which is not consistent with Prosecutor’s title statement made to the public, that suggests the harsh military provisions against Medics have become obsolete.

2. The lack of guarantees and the manifestations of a fair trial was not limited to the type of court or its jurisdiction in order to allow us to make an assumption that virtuous decisions will be achieved once we are transferred to the civil courts; what is required to be available to us as defendants, as is the view of the security services, opportunities to appropriately and fairly defend ourselves as stipulated in the international conventions of the Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948, which are not consistent with what was practiced by the security forces to extract fake confessions from the Medics under the systems of threats and torture. The aforementioned invites us to demand for a complete and thorough re-investigation as a whole in the presence of lawyers and representatives from the United Nations and under the monitor of international human rights organizations, as the prosecution’s main witness is an officer of the General Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Evidence. The officer, a Lieutenant-Colonel, was personally involved in torturing the Medics to extract false and mocked confessions, and always referring to so-called “secret sources” for assembling information against the medical staff.
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Sign Petition to Free SharifHERE

Ebrahim Sharif is a 53-year old Bahraini politician, businessman, husband, and father — and now, a political prisoner. He serves as the secretary general of the National Democratic Action Society (also known as Waad), a secular, moderate, and peaceful political opposition group in Bahrain.

At 2 AM, on Thursday, March 17, 2011 Ebrahim was arrested from his home by the Bahrain government. His only crime was calling for genuine democratic reforms in Bahrain.

This website was created to raise awareness of his case and call for his immediate release. HERE

Sign Petition to Free Alkhawaja HERE

THE CAMPAIGN

Front Line Defenders is launching a global virtual building wrap campaign calling for Abdulhadi’s freedom. From 13-20 September a building in Dublin was wrapped with a Free Abdulhadi banner.

Now, you can wrap a building or landmark in your city. Just fill out the form to the right, click to the next page and select your city. …more

Sign Petition to Free Almahfoodh HERE

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.

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