Posts from — November 2011

Bahrain Journalist Jailed Overnight
IPI: Journalists Have Right to Work without Fear of Imprisonment
11 November 2011 – International Press Institute

By: By Nisha Thanki
Shi’ite Bahraini men sit on a wall with graffiti that reads ”People want self-determination”, as they attend a rally held by the Wefaq opposition party, in the village of Boori, south of Manama, October 14, 2011, to mark the 8-month anniversary of the February 14 uprising. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

VIENNA, 11 Nov. 2011 – Jaffer al-Alawai, a prominent journalist, blogger and poet, was arrested on 8 November. He was released after spending over 24 hours in custody. It is still unclear why he was arrested and whether he will be formally charged. Al-Alawai previously worked as an anchor for the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation, the state-controlled, sole television channel in Bahrain. Previously this year, al-Alawai was dismissed from his position there along with many other journalists. He is now well known for his poetry, which he tweets, and for being the leader of a youth group called Taa AlShabab.

On 8 November, al-Alawai’s house in Boori was surrounded by armed forces and subsequently searched. It followed an incident in which some protesters cut through his house during a protest. He was summoned to the police station in Hamad Town to be interrogated.

Mr al-Alawai has written on Twitter since that he was not ill-treated during his time in custody nor was he asked about his writing. It remains unclear why al-Alawai was held for 24 hours.

Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said: “Like many Bahraini journalists, he is a victim of the government campaign of retribution. Not only is he a victim of the government, but also a victim of the Saudi Arabian and American retaliation campaign.” There was no mention of al-Alawai’s arrest in any local newspapers.

The case of al-Alawai follows the intimidation of a number of journalists and bloggers. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights “fears that his detention is due to (his) being a media professional who has expressed views in support of democracy”. There has been a wave of dismissals from the state television this year, which is thought to be based on religious and political affiliations. The accounts of threats and harassment against journalists in Bahrain have been disturbing.

Earlier this year IPI reported on the cases of two journalists who were arrested and tortured to death. Karim Fakhrawi, creator of Al-Wasat newspaper, was detained in March 2011. Authorities claimed that he died from kidney failure, yet his body showed clear signs of torture. …more

Iran rejects Bahrain’s claim of terror cell links
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press – 13 November, 2011

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran rejects Bahrain’s allegations that a terror cell uncovered in the tiny island nation has links to the Shiite powerhouse’s Revolutionary Guard, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said.

Bahrain’s public prosecutor on Sunday alleged the cell planned attacks against high profile sites, such as the Saudi Embassy in the Bahraini capital Manama and a Gulf causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The cell purportedly had contact with Iran’s Guard, according to a Bahrain News Agency report, which gave no further details to back up the allegations.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said the claims were “baseless and fabricated” and urged the Bahraini government to focus instead on repairing the “deep schism” between its ruling Sunni monarchy and Shiite majority.

Abdollahian spoke to the Arabic Language al-Alam channel late on Sunday.

“We reject such deceptive allegations,” he said. “We believe it is necessity to deal peacefully and democratically with legitimate demands voiced over the past months by the Bahraini people.”

Bahrain’s Sunni leaders have repeatedly accused Iran of encouraging Shiite-led protests that erupted in February in the kingdom, a charge Iran denies.

The Bahraini claim followed recent U.S. accusations that an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard — which is closely tied to Iran’s ruling clerics — was involved in a foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Iran has denied the American charges.

Bahrain’s majority Shiites insist they have no political links to Iran. Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy and its Gulf allies claim that Iran seeks to gain another foothold in the Arab world through unrest in the tiny strategic nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The unrest in Bahrain has killed more than 35 people since it began nearly nine months ago, inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere. Protesters say they are seeking greater rights and an end to the Sunni dynasty’s hold on top political decisions. Bahrain’s rulers have offered some compromises, such as expanding the powers of parliament, but not enough to satisfy the opposition.

The Iran-Bahrain tensions are not limited to politics.

On Saturday, Iran summoned Bahrain’s envoy to Tehran to protest what it called mistreatment of Iranian football players and supporters following a 2014 World Cup qualifier in Manama.

Iran’s official IRNA agency said security forces failed to confront some Bahraini supporters who threw water bottles and other objects at the Iranian players and supporters.

Latest Bahrain trials begin tomorrow
14 November 2011 – International Transport Workers’ Federation

Dr Kate Webb reports for the ITF on why November is going to be a critical month in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Tomorrow, November 15th, three officers of the Gulf Air union will appear in court on unspecified charges concerning “national security”. In a fortnight a group of sports journalists and athletes that includes the country’s top-scoring footballer, A’ala Hubail, are to be tried for “illegal assembly and inciting hatred against the regime”, and on November 28, the doctors arrested at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, already tried in a military court, will, after international outcry, be retried in a civilian court.

In the middle of this period, on November 23, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) – set up by King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and chaired by the international jurist, M. Cherif Bassiouni – will produce its report into whether or not there were human rights violations during the spring uprisings.

A lot rides on this report. The fate of hundreds of protestors already imprisoned or still going through the courts may depend upon it. And for the Bahraini state – where financial services have overtaken oil as the nation’s prime business – at stake is its credibility on the world stage and ability to do business in the international market. In America, after objections from a handful of senators, Hilary Clinton has decided to delay a $53 million arms sale to Bahrain until the BICI’s findings are announced; while complaints raised by international trade unions and the European Parliament about the mistreatment of workers have put the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement in jeopardy. …more

Royal Fact Finding Commission: Five Fatal Breaches of the Standards of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
النسخة العربية من التقرير – Bahrain Mirror

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Bahrain Mirror observed that the Royal Commission for Inquiry had committed five fatal breaches of the standards of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Bahrain Mirror monitored those violations through the preliminary assessment of the establishment and the works and practices of the Commission. It sought the help of the Human Rights organizations and prominent Human Rights figures. The breaches included the following:
-The Commission was established by an individual will not by the principle of national consultation

-The mistakes in selecting the members of the Commission
-Marginalization of the role of the national non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
-Circumventing the role of the United Nations and other international actors
-The mistakes in the practice, professionalism and neutrality

1. The Commission was established by an individual will not by the principle of national choice

The publication of the Truth Commissions issued by Office of The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights states that the national choice is one of the core principles to establish a Truth Commission and it stresses that “..the decision to have a commission must always be taken by nationals. This decision should be based on a broad consultative process to seek especially the views of victims and survivors, and make clear the functions, strengths and limitations of truth commissions” [Page 5], and under the section of “Consultation” in establishing a Truth of Commission the publication says: “The consultation should explicitly include victim communities and civil society organizations, and should allow for a period of significant input into the fundamental mandate of the commission, as well as feedback on specific draft terms of reference as they are developed” …more

Bahraini Opposition Calls for Renewed Action After BICI
The POMED Wire – November 10 – by Todd

According to the Bahrain Freedom Movement website, the 14th February Youth have called for a rejuvenation of popular protests on November 23, the day the BICI report will be released. The website also asserts that many pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia have been arrested on suspicion of taking part in anti-regime chanting in Mecca. Meanwhile, Ashwaq al-Maqabi, a 17-year-old Bahraini girl who was being treated for complications related to sickle cell anemia, was rearrested in Salmaniyya hospital and returned to prison. She was originally convicted for taking part in a protest at Bahrain’s City Center, and Bahrain’s Ministry of Information tweeted that “after the end of treatment according to [al-Maqabi’s] doctor she was taken to female prison to serve her sentence & she is under health supervision.”

Additionally, Eli Lake examines the assertion that Bahrain’s primary opposition party, al-Wefaq, is a “pawn of Iran,” saying that Jasim Husain, a leading opposition figure in Bahrain, “does not look like a pawn of Iran’s mullahs… [and] doesn’t sound like a pawn of Iran’s mullahs either. “ …source

Having Their Say: Women Protesters Emerge as a Force in the Arab Spring
Published November 08, 2011 in Arabic Knowledge@Wharton

Mary Hope Schwoebel, senior program officer at the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., tells Arabic Knowledge@Wharton that Western observers need to withhold judgment about election results following the Arab Spring, and focus on supporting the development of women’s rights in those countries. “You need to have secular feminists and you need to have Islamic feminists,” Schwoebel says. “Women of all persuasions need to put aside their differences long enough to identify and advocate for their common interests in the face of rapidly changing circumstances.”

Arabic Knowledge@Wharton: How have women played a role in the Arab Spring?

Mary Hope Schwoebel: First and foremost, they’ve been out in the forefront as demonstrators, as protesters. They’ve come out in unprecedented numbers in Tahrir Square [in Egypt] and in Change Square in Yemen. And of course, on the negative side, it was a policewoman who set the whole thing off in Tunisia. A street vendor being harassed by female police member in Tunisia reportedly triggered the Arab Spring. She slapped him several times on his face in front of his friends. The police had harassed him repeatedly for his business. He was so humiliated that he immolated himself. He went to Tunis and set himself on fire, just out of frustration because he wasn’t able to maintain his livelihood due to police harassment.

In Algeria, there was an interesting story about protesters comprised of feminists. They were feminist independence leaders from back in the day when Algeria was fighting against France. They were older, highly respected women. Oddly enough, they were arrested by female police officers, who beat them and then failed to protect them from male police officers who began sexually molesting and harassing them. Women haven’t always been angels, but women have played a significant role in the Arab Spring.

Arabic Knowledge@Wharton: How important have women been? Would the Arab Spring have happened without women?

Schwoebel: Their participation in Egypt and Yemen has been key in the democracy movements, even the simple symbolism of their participation alone, was significant. It was a woman in Yemen, Tawakkol Karman, a human rights activist [a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize this year], who is credited for starting the Yemeni uprising.

Arabic Knowledge@Wharton: Do female protesters have a greater burden, not only demanding rights for citizens of their country but also rights as women in their country? …more

Arab Spring revolution at the Arab League
By Jon Leyne – BBC News – 13 Novemeber, 2011

For years the Arab League has been seen as a cosy club of Arab autocrats and dictators.

Ministerial meeting followed summit followed emergency summit, all having no apparent impact on the lives of ordinary Arabs in this troubled region.

But the Arab League headquarters are barely a couple of hundred metres from Tahrir Square, in central Cairo.

And the effect of the protests there, which unseated former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, are still echoing round the marbled halls of the League.

In March the League voted in support of a no-fly zone over Libya. The move led directly to a UN resolution and subsequent Nato intervention. Without the Arab League vote, that would not have been possible.

Now in an almost equally dramatic step, the League has voted to suspend Syria from its work in response to the continuing violence in the country.

That means one of the standard-bearers of Arab nationalism, the Syrian Arab Republic, is now excluded from the body committed to Arab unity.

Members of the Syrian opposition – just the sort of activists whom the Arab League members happily ignored or repressed for years – are being invited to Arab League headquarters, for the League to help them co-ordinate their efforts.

All of this is being pushed forward not by the traditional Arab leader, Egypt, but by tiny Qatar, whose prime minister is chairman of the ministerial committee dealing with Syria.

The hard line towards Syria emanating from the Qatari capital, Doha, is almost equalled by the tough stand from neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The diplomatic map of the Middle East is being redrawn almost as quickly as governments and regimes are falling. …more

Bahrain: suspects say had contact with Iran
DUBAI – Sun Nov 13, 2011

(Reuters) – Members of a cell arrested before they could carry out planned attacks on Bahrain’s Interior Ministry and the Saudi Arabian embassy had been in contact with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Bahrain’s state news agency BNA reported on Sunday.

Bahrain said on Saturday that the suspects, four of them Bahrainis detained in neighboring Qatar, had also planned to attack a causeway joining Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The suspects’ interrogation led to the arrest of a fifth member of the group in Bahrain, BNA reported.

Some of the suspects had confessed that “the group was set up abroad … to carry out terror operations in Bahrain … and was in coordination with the military overseas, including the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij (militia),” BNA quoted a Bahraini prosecution spokesman as saying.

Activists among Bahrain’s Shi’ite Muslim majority began a series of mainly peaceful demonstrations in the capital in February, pushing for more political freedoms and better living conditions, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings across the Arab world.

The country’s Sunni rulers, helped by Saudi security forces, crushed the demonstrators, who they said had been supported by predominantly Shi’ite Iran. Tehran has denied involvement in the unrest in Bahrain, a U.S. ally which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Last month U.S. authorities said they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran’s security agencies to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir. One of the two was arrested in the United States last month and the other was believed to be in Iran.

Iran has denied the allegations.

(Reporting by Firouz Sedarat, editing by Tim Pearce) …source

Upcoming Event – Bahrain Lobby of Parliament
Posted on November 9, 2011 by admin

Bahrain Lobby of Parliament
6-8pm, Monday, November 14th
Committee Room 1 ,
Houses of Lords

Help campaign for Bahrain by lobbying your MP as part of the Justice for Three campaign.
Write to your elected representative and ask them to attend the public Meeting at House of Lords, chaired by Lord Nazir Ahmed.
To discuss the case of the Three Bahraini protesters sentenced to death and other human rights issues in Bahrain.
The meeting will also host speakers from Human rights organizations, the defendant lawyer, member of the defendant family and member of the Bahrain Center for Human rights

About Justice for Bahrain
Founded in March 2011 following the Bahraini Revolution of 14 Feb 2011. It was set up by a group of individuals of different cultural and professional backgrounds, who with the help of many volunteers eventually prospered into a leading and very active campaign. We are a cross-party organisation campaigning for justice, fundamental human rights and freedom in Bahrain and in other parts of the Middle East. We are an independent organisation based in the. …more

Bahraini activists: Seeking refuge in a storm
Many opponents of the island nation’s ruling family fear retribution and are claiming asylum in Europe.
by D. Parvaz – 12 Nov 2011 – AlJazeera

For a while, it seemed like there might be havens in the Arab world for political activists, especially in countries where there was either no uprising to start with, or where populist revolutions seemed to have succeeded, as in Tunisia and Egypt.

But things have not been that simple. Tunisia denied visas to 11 Palestinians wanting to attend a bloggers’ conference there in October, while Syrians have been harassed and even kidnapped in Lebanon. And now, Bahraini activists, including those who contributed to the Egyptian revolution, say they don’t necessarily feel safe there.

And just as Lebanon’s close ties with Syria are causing problems for Syrian activists there, Bahrainis worry that Egypt’s historically strong ties with Bahrain might lead to problems for them.

“You know, in Egypt and all Arab countries, police can catch you and give you to Bahrain,” Falah Ahmed Rabeea, a Bahraini activist, told Al Jazeera.

“The Egyptian police might give them our names or our information to Bahrain – maybe they were watching me, I don’t know. I did not feel safe.”

This unease has its roots in the relationships between Arab states and their leaders, in this case Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, and Egypt’s deposed President, Hosni Mubarak. Although Mubarak is no longer in power, Egypt’s ruling military has strong ties to his regime. The Bahraini ruler even visited Mubarak at the World Medical Centre in Cairo, where he is under medical care.

“This is frightening every human rights defender in the Arab world – how will they be treated in Egypt?”

– Nabeel Rajab, president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights

These close ties are also evident in how and where embattled leaders seek asylum at the end of their rule.

Before his fall, Mubarak was rumoured to have gone to Bahrain (among other places); Saudi Arabia rolled out the red carpet for Tunisia’s deposed President Zine Abedine Ben Ali and Reuters on Monday quoted Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state, as saying that some Arab leaders (he declined to name names) would welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Egyptian government has in the past denied entry to Bahraini activists and blocked human rights websites set up by Bahraini activist groups. The UAE also has a record of suddenly deporting hundreds of Shia families,”without receiving an explanation or an opportunity to appeal the decision”, according to rights group Human Rights Watch.

It seems possible that a form of pan-Arabism, on a civilian scale, will ultimately prevail, but for now, no one is really breathing easy.

Murtadha, a Bahraini activist who fled to the UK via Dubai in April, said that he did not feel the same emigrating to any other Arab country (with the possible exception of Oman, he stipulated).

“Because what do you expect from Dubai or Saudi?” said Murtadha, who wished to be identified by only his first name.

“If they [Bahraini authorities] want me, they’re going to put me back on a plane and send me back to Bahrain.”

Murtadha has been told by a family member that Bahraini authorities are now looking for him.

The 28-year-old aircraft engineer has a history with law enforcement that goes back as far as 1995, when he was arrested at the age of 12 for writing anti-state graffiti on walls. They kept him for three days, beat him and threatened to rape him if he didn’t say that Iranian agents had put him up to the graffiti. …more

Hundreds of Bahraini hajj pilgrims hold anti-regime demo
November 9, 2011 – Written by jafrianews

JNN 09 Nov 2011 Makkah : Hundreds of Bahraini Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia have held a demonstration against the Manama regime. Demonstrating Bahraini pilgrims marched in the streets of Makkah on Tuesday, demanding the fall of the Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain.

The move comes as anti-government protesters once again took to the streets in several cities in Bahrain on Monday, chanting slogans in support of their revolution.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military equipment and troops to Bahrain in mid-March upon a request from Manama to help quash the anti-regime protests in the country.

On Sunday, Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces in the northern village of Daih attacked mourners that were holding the funeral procession of 70-year-old Ali al-Dayhee, who died of injuries he sustained during an attack by government forces against peaceful demonstrators on Wednesday night and succumbed to his wounds in the early hours of Thursday.

Scores of people have been killed and many more have been injured in Bahrain during the regime’s brutal crackdown on the popular uprising that began in February. Hundreds of protesters have also been detained.
…source

This Is Not What Containment Looks Like

By Paul Mutter, November 9, 2011

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen”To strengthen Iran sanctions laws for the purpose of compelling Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and other threatening activities, and for other purposes,” begins HR1905, the so-called “Iran Threat Reduction Act” advanced by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee this week. The resolution, put forward by the chairwoman of the committee, Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has 349 co-signers, more than enough to pass a House vote. It will increase sanctions on Iran and limit U.S. contact with Iranian officials, and pressure to enact it will be strengthened by the release of a November IAEA report asserting that Iran has been secretly developing nuclear weapons (and a delivery system for them) since 2003.

But Congress is not really interested in discussing the matter with Iran. One of the measures bans virtually all contact between U.S. and Iranian officials unless the president can certify to Congress – at least 15 days in advance – that not meeting “would pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the vital national security interests of the United States.” The bill targets not only Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but justifies sanctions for “other purposes” as well – amounting to what William O. Beeman calls an agenda of “making certain that the United States and Iran never achieve formal relations.”

Why bother with that, after all, when we want regime change, which would please the U.S. government, as well as two of the lobbying groups behind HR1905, AIPAC and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies? …more

Arrest of Poet, Blogger and Media Professional Jaafar AlAlawy in Bahrain, Arab Capital of Culture 2012
by BCHR

Update 9 Nov 2011 – Jaafar has been released this evening, after spending over 24 hours at detention.

earlier today, his lawyer went to the public prosecution but was told Jaafar’s file is not there yet and he will be presented to public prosecution after the end of the legal detention period of 48 hours, which was supposed to be tomorrow morning.

It’s still not clear if there will be official charges or there will be any kind of compensation for the damage caused to Jaafar. …source

Absurd charges brought against reporters covering Occupy Wall Street movement
9 November 2011 – Reporters without Borders

Sometimes they are arrested and then set free almost immediately. Sometimes they are arrested and, before being released, are charged with unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct or lack of press credentials.

Journalists covering the Occupy Wall Street movement’s protests and marches are not only exposed to police brutality but also to a sort of judicial lottery when detained. The situation varies from state to state, according to local laws, but the freedom to report news and information is being violated almost everywhere, not only for professional journalists but also for bloggers and for activists who want to cover the protests themselves.

“Wherever it takes place, each tale has something in common,” Reporters Without Borders said. “In all the cases brought to our attention, the persons concerned said they had identified themselves as journalists to the police, but to no avail. The attitude of law-enforcement officers supports the theory that not only the movement itself but also coverage of Occupy Wall Street is being obstructed. Are they doing everything possible to suppress news in which the public is clearly very interested? If so, the First Amendment has become a dead letter.

“The other question is the very variable nature of the charges – sometimes maintained, sometimes dropped – that are brought against these people for ‘offences’ that are essentially identical. In the name of the constitutionally-enshrined right to receive and impart news and information, we call on the courts to dismiss all the charges against individuals who have been covering these demonstrations peacefully.”

Reporters Without Borders is aware of two such contrasting cases on 2 November, involving Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer Kristyna Wentz-Graff (photo) and freelance journalist and cartoonist Susie Cagle. …more

Moscow Slams IAEA New Report
10 Novemebr, 2011 – Local Editor – moqawama.org

Russia has strongly criticized the release of the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran, describing it as a “source of a new increase in tension over Tehran’s nuclear program.”

Considering that “it was so regrettable that the IAEA report turned into media ballyhoo before even being released,” the statement said that the “release of information from the IAEA report was driven by destructive logic aimed at the intentional demolition of the political-diplomatic process.”

“Russia is gravely disappointed and bewildered that the report is being turned into a source adding to the tensions over the problems connected to the Iranian nuclear program,” the statement stressed.

As Iran dismissed the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly US,” Moscow expressed “serious doubts about the justification for steps to reveal contents of the report to a broad public, primarily because it is precisely now that certain chances for the renewal of dialogue between the sextet and Tehran have begun to appear.”

“The analysis must take place in a calm atmosphere, since it is important to determine whether some new, reliable evidence strengthening suspicions of a military element in Iran’s nuclear program has really appeared, or whether we are talking about an intentional and counterproductive whipping up of emotions,” the Russian ministry said. …source

IAEA Report on Iran Released, US Officials Vow More Sanctions
10 November, 2011 – Local Editor – moqawama.org

As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published its report concerning the Iranian nuclear program, US senators and administration officials reiterated their concern of a military strike that would lead to a “disastrous war” in the region.

In this context, the US officials further expressed it would be better to increase sanctions already imposed on Iran, rather than dive into unknown repercussions of a military attack.

Senior US administration officials expected that President Barack Obama’s government would increase sanctions on Iran, without giving any further details.

In an interview with The Cable, Senator John Kerry stated, “It’s of enormous concern to everybody and a lot of conversations are taking place right now about how to respond. It clearly means we have to ratchet up on Iran, probably tougher sanctions and other things”.

Senator John McCain on another hand affirmed to The Cable, with reference to sanctions imposed on Iran, “The first thing we should do is talk to the Russians and the Chinese and tell them to get with it and pass the increased sanctions through the U.N.”.

Also, Senator Joe Lieberman issued a statement in which he stressed that a military threat must be credible, further calling upon the Congress to pass a new Iran sanctions bill, which was previously regarded as unnecessary.

“It is time for an unequivocal declaration that we will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability — by peaceful means if we possibly can, but with military force if we absolutely must”, Lieberman claimed.

Moreover, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein indicated, “Now is the time for Iran to answer these concerns, to abide by its commitments and demonstrate to the world that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon”.

The US stances come as mere evidence to the US-led western interferences in all UN, and international resolutions. The West will not allow any nation to become developed and self-sufficient, especially if stands against the western dominating scheme. …more

Obama to Aid Uzbek Dictatorship
By Stephen Zunes – November 9, 2011 – FPIP

Stephen ZunesThe U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, in a move initiated by the Obama administration, has voted to waive Bush-era human rights restrictions on military aid to the Islam Karimov dictatorship in Uzbekistan, one of the most brutal and repressive regimes on the planet. The lifting of the restrictions, now part of the Foreign Operations bill, is before the full Senate and appears to have bipartisan support. The Obama administration has indicated that it intends to provide taxpayer-funded military assistance to Uzbekistan once the legislation passes both houses of Congress.

Torture is endemic in Karimov’s Uzbekistan, where his regime has banned all opposition political parties, severely restricted freedom of expression, forced international human rights and NGOs out of the country, suppressed religious freedom, and annually taken as many as two million children out of school to engage in forced labor for the cotton harvest. Thousands of dissidents have been jailed and many hundreds have been killed, some of them literally boiled alive.

In reaction to the Obama administration’s efforts, 20human rights, labor, consumer, and other groups signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying “We strongly urge you to oppose passage of the law and not to invoke this waiver.” The signers encouraged the administration “to stand behind your strong past statements regarding human rights abuses in Uzbekistan” and not move toward “business as usual” with that regime.

Signatories included the AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch, as well as organizations with close ties to the foreign policy establishment like Freedom House and the International Crisis Group.

White House Claims

Despite evidence to the contrary, Secretary of State Clinton, who visited Uzbekistan on October 23, has claimed that the regime was “showing signs of improving its human rights record and expanding political freedoms.” Similarly, when asked about the dictator’s claim that he was committed to leave a legacy of freedom and democracy for his grandchildren, a senior State Department official responded, “Yeah. I do believe him. I mean, he’s said several times that he’s committed to this. He’s made a speech last November where he talked about this.” In response to some skeptical follow-up questions by journalists, the official replied that “we still have some quite serious concerns about the situations on the human rights.” However, “we think that there is really quite an important opening now to work on that stuff, also work on developing civil society, which again President Karimov has expressed support for. So, yeah, I do take him at his word.” …more

…source

BPA: Journalist and Blogger Jaffer Al Alawi Arrested
09 Novemebr, 2011 – BCHR
It is part of the on-going media professionals intimidation in Bahrain

LONDON, November 9, 2011 – Bahrain Press Association (“BPA”), the London-based association concerned with defending and addressing issues related to Bahrain media and press people, condemns the arrest of the ex-anchor who was arbitrarily dismissed from his post in the state-run and only television channel in the country, Mr. Jaffer Al Alawi (27 years old) from his house in the village of Boori located to the south of the capital city of Manama[i].

On November 8, 2011, armed security forces surrounded the house of Mr. Al Alawi, the leader of the Youth Cultural Programme “Taa Al Shabab”, which is a programme run by the Bahraini ministry of culture. The house raiding came as a result of the security forces quelling a protest in the neighborhood. Soon after that, Mr. Al Alawi was summoned a notice by Hamad Town police station for interrogation. The arrest was later confirmed with Mr. Al Alawi calling his family from the ministry of interior headquarters (known as “The Castle” or in Arabic “Al Qala’ah’).

The BPA is very much concerned with the health of Mr. Al Alawi and demands his immediate releae. This arrest forms part of an organized crackdown led by the regime against Bahraini journalists, photographers, bloggers, and other media professionals. The crackdown has thus far claimed the lives of two media professionals namely Mr. Kareem Fakhrawi and Zakaria Al Asheeri who were murdered while in police detention amid the declaration of the state of national security (martial laws) back in March. The brutal crackdown was coupled with the mass arrests and dismissals of media professionals who were subjected to severe torture inside detention houses at the hands of the notorious department of the national security and ministry of interior personnel. …more

An interview with Matar Ibrahim Matar: A Political Activist and ex-Member of the Bahraini Parliament
أصوات بارزة – 11/02/2011 – ASWAT

Matar Ibrahim Matar is an ex-member of the Bahraini Parliament. He is a leading figure in the Wefaq Society, the largest political party representing the Shia majority in Bahrain. The Wefaq Society plays a big role in the current opposition movement, and in the 2010 elections they increased their representation by one seat, winning all the constituencies they contested, to take 18 out of 40 parliamentary seats. Matar was imprisoned for over a month and is currently facing charges for his support of the uprising. We reached him at his home in Bahrain by phone to ask him a few questions about his experiences in the past years.

1) Explain who you are, your involvement with the Bahraini government and your current role in political affairs.

My name is Matar Ibrahim Matar; I have an M.A in computer science from Kuwait University where I specialized in artificial intelligence. After university, I came back to Bahrain and developed the youth arm of the Wefaq Society: the largest Shi’a party in Bahrain. Some may refer to our society as a political party, but because Bahrain does not have a true democracy it acts more like a society. As I moved up professionally within the system, members elected me to the Shura al Wefaq, a legislative council which monitors al-Wefaq’s executive council. Later, I was chosen to represent the largest constituency in the Bahraini parliament and was elected with 85% of the vote. In parliament, I was placed on the Committee of Economic and Financial Affairs, which reviews budgets of various ministries and state organizations. On many occasions, some of the ministries, such as the Ministry of Defense or the National Guard, refused to submit their budgets. Also, other individuals from the government refused to attend their committee hearings. Unfortunately, their refusal to cooperate with our committee was not met with any penalties. This is one example of the undemocratic nature of the Bahraini government; Bahrain has had declining transparency, competence, and a worsening human rights record in the last ten years.

2) What happened to you? Why and how did they arrest you? What happened during and after your detention?

The political authorities were always preparing cases against me in an attempt to provide a legitimate reason to arrest me. The first attempt came from the television confession of Ali Sager who was tortured and was forced to give a false confession. On TV, he confessed that I had ordered him to run over security personnel and kill them with a car. This accusation meant that I could face the death penalty, if tried and convicted in court. Ali’s recent death in prison as a result of torture, however, reveals that the authorities must have coerced him into providing false confessions and accusations.

The second case fabricated by the government involved eleven detainees who were tortured until they confessed, falsely, that I had funded a program to create a media center that, according to the government, disseminated false information about the state. When I confronted the police and asked the security forces to show me one recording of a conversation I had with these detainees, they were unable to provide me with any proof.

The third and final case involved a woman calling me asking to meet her somewhere. When I told my wife she felt very uncomfortable with it and she accompanied me. When I arrived at the location, my wife came out of the car and met the woman. At the same time masked and armed civilians came and arrested me. They tried to accuse me of committing adultery but because my wife was with me, they could not justify such a claim. They arrested me anyway.

* What about your time in prison?

Only masked men interacted with me in prison so I never knew the identity of the guards (with the exception of two guards, who showed me their faces after a while). They first questioned me for two days and then sent me to the Bahraini national intelligence agency’s jail. I was placed in solitary confinement for 45 days in a very small room with no windows; the lighting never changed. I could not recognize the time or day, only the calls to prayer gave me some idea. Whenever I left the room, they covered my eyes. I was tortured, physically and psychologically. I was completely isolated for three weeks. They tortured me physically when they questioned me. They would even torture me after the questioning just to demonstrate their dominance. They saw it as a punishment for my actions. They made me stand up until I felt like fainting and they refused to help me when I was weak. They told me if I were to stop standing, they would move me outside and have me stand in the sun. The psychological torture was worse. I would hear the screams of others being tortured around me all the time. I began to imagine the horrible things that were happening to them. I could never sleep because whenever I heard noises outside my door, I would think that they were coming for me. …more

Bahrain: Time to support regime change and end occupation
07 November, 2011- VOB

Proceedings of seminar hosted by Lord Avebury, Vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group on 1st November, 2011.

Despite the lack of support from the West, the people of Bahrain have not been deterred from pursuing regime change which started on 14th February. The Al Khalifa regime, propped up by the Saudi army has failed to impress their allies with their continued repression and lack of any reforms. What is the reality on the ground, the prospects of a solution and the likely outcome?

LORD AVEBURY: The Secretary General of NATO was quoted on BBC Radio last night as saying that regime change in Libya was necessary for their mandate of protecting civilians to be implemented. What’s different in Bahrain? Nobody expects NATO to go in there and set off a war against the GCC, but we could start by asking the Saudi Arabians and the UAE to withdraw so that the people of Bahrain can exercise the same right of self-determination as the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and we hope, Palestine and Syria.

So what are the steps that could lead to the liberation of the people of Bahrain from the yoke of the al-Khalifa oppressors?

Whatever the Bassiouni Commission may say, the people have no confidence in their inquiry, Comments made by Cherif Bassiouni himself exonerating the king and the Prime Minister from responsibility for the extrajudicial killings, tortures, detention without trial, military courts, and manipulated court proceedings were highly improper and cast doubt on the independence of the whole inquiry.

In addition, we don’t know what the final deadline is for the scope of the inquiry. We certainly hope it will deal with the life sentences passed on leaders of the opposition and human rights activists, many of whom we have welcomed at previous meetings here in the Palace of Westminster: Abdul Wahab Hussain; Hasan Mushaima, who is being denied medical treatment for cancer; Mohammed Habib al-Muqdad, who was held incommunicado and tortured both physically and psychologically over several months as I expect to be confirmed by the doctors appointed by the Basiouni Commission; Abduljalil al-Muqdad; Abduljalil al-Singace, whose crutches were taken from him in prison so that he was forced to crawl along the passage to get to the loo Saeed Mirza al-Nouri, and the leading human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, whose whole family has been targeted by the regime whether they have been involved in the struggle or not.

Yesterday we were asked what would be the one thing the Foreign Office could do to help the campaign for democracy and freedom in Bahrain. We should demand that all these and the hundreds of other political prisoner victims of the al-Khalifas’ malice be unconditionally released and compensated for the injuries inflicted on them by the Government’s torturers. …source

Bahrain: The continued harassment and persecution of the Medics
6 November, 2011 – BCHR

Beirut, 6 November, 2011 – Bahraini authorities has ordered doctors who treated injured protesters during the government crackdown on Pearl Square, to stop their medical work in the private clinics. Most of the doctors were suspended from their work in Salmaniya hospital during April 2011, after they provided help for injured anti-government protesters in February and March 2011. Twenty medics has been put on trial before the National Safety Court -Military court- and sentenced in September 2011 to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years. They were charged with possessing weapons, occupying the hospital, and inciting hatred of the regime. Medics have said they were only doing their job and treating anyone who needed medical care.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights have received information and supporting documents show that the National Health Regulatory Authority in Bahrain ordered on November 2, 2011 the doctors to stop their work in private clinics, the only remaining source of income for the medics. This latest step of Bahraini authorities is a clear sign that harassment and persecution of the medics continue. Rula al-Saffar, one of the medics put on trial, told the Guardian that the reasons behind their persecutions “because we are a witness for what happened. We are a witness of the injured people, some of us were there when the hospital was seized…We are accused because we did our job.”

At the height of the protests, security forces stormed the Salmaniya hospital, Bahrain’s main and only public hospital, and arrested dozens of doctors and other health workers. According to one of Salmaniya doctors, he estimates that 500 doctors, nurses and paramedics were called to interrogation where they have been stopped from working or dismissed. Many Bahrainis has accused the government of having made systematic efforts to deny medical services to wounded protesters. It is worth mentioning that the international organization “Doctors Without Borders” stopped working in Bahrain in August 2011 after its offices were also raided.

This new order to stop them from exercising their profession completely might be another move to silence them. Dr Nada Dhaif, a surgeon sentenced to 15 years, told Al Jazeera that the number of doctors being jailed is a “unique case” in the “history of any revolution or unrest, and in the history of medicine.” …more

Canadian faces 5 years in torturous prison for peaceful protest
5 November 2011 – green party Canada

After visiting Bahrain, Naser al Raas, a Canadian citizen, was arrested, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for one month. He was then released but has now been sentenced to charges that could lead to five years in prison. Mr. al Raas, who is presently working in Kuwait, was visiting his sister in Bahrain when he made the mistake of watching a protest. He was at the airport to return to work when arrested.

Joe Foster, Green Party Human Rights Critic, urges the Canadian Government to take immediate action to put pressure on the government of Bahrain regarding Naser. Foster stated, “The charges should be dropped and the sentence should be quashed. He definitely should not go to prison.”

What Bahrain is calling a “crime” is the internationally recognized right of freedom of expression, association and assembly. It is a universal right (Article 20) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Bahrain is one of the Gulf States facing the Arab Awakening: people protesting for their rights and democracy. The Pakistan Green Party has also urged action, noting that Bahrain has also sentenced medics who treated protesters injured in the crackdown.

Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party stated, “It is essential that Canada takes its traditional role of championing human rights and democracy during the process of finding peaceful solutions in response to the Arab Awakening.”
…source

International call to help free Bahrain Medics – Saturday 26th November
November 7, 2011 – BJDM

Since the ludicrous sentencing of the 20 Bahrain medics we have been asking medical workers around the world to sign this petition to the Ministry of Health, demanding that the charges be dropped.

With hundreds of signatures and their re-trial set for Monday 28th November we are now calling for the petition to be handed in at Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates around the world.

We would like to do this in a coordinated way, on Saturday 26th November. A number of cities have already confirmed that they will be taking part but we need as many as possible.

We are asking people to contact us on info@bahrainjdm.org to let us know if they are willing to hand in the petition in their country. Please let us know where you are based and if the date is suitable for you.

See below for a list of Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates, but if there is not one in your country you can contact us and we will advise the best option. The more countries we have involved, the more likely it will have an affect, so please do help us if you can.

Thanks for your support.

List of Bahrain Embassies/ Consulates

Algiers, Algeria
Brussels, Belgium
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Beijing, China
Cairo, Egypt
Paris, France
Berlin, Germany
New Delhi, India
Mumbai, India
Tehran, Iran
Tokyo, Japan
Amman, Jordan
Kuwait, Kuwait
Rabat, Morocco
Muscat, Oman
Islamabad, Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan
Manila, Phillipines
Doha, Qatar
Moscow, Russia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Geneva, Switzerland
Damascus, Syria
Bangkok, Thailand
Tunis, Tunisia
Ankara, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
London, United Kingdom
New York, United States
Washington DC, United States
…source