Department of State – 2010 Human Rights Report: Bahrain

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there were multiple allegations during the year that security forces employed them. On February 8, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report asserting that “since the end of 2007, officials have repeatedly resorted to torture for the apparent purpose of securing confessions from security suspects.” The former detainees interviewed for the report claimed that security officials and prison guards subjected them to “abusive tactics” during interrogation. In some cases in 2009, Ministry of Health doctors found corroborative evidence of injuries that matched the detainees’ claims of mistreatment. According to senior government officials, the government initiated an investigation of HRW’s allegations. At year’s end the government had not published the investigation’s findings.

From August to December, local and international human rights NGOs asserted that security personnel had tortured more than two dozen detainees. During court proceedings from October to December, many of these detainees claimed that officers of the National Security Agency mistreated and tortured them. Detainees claimed that they had been beaten, suspended in painful positions, forced to stand for long periods, deprived of sleep, and subjected to electric shocks. During trial proceedings in October and November, defense lawyers requested an independent investigation into the torture allegations, to include independent medical exams. The prosecutor asserted in December that claims of torture had been investigated. At year’s end neither the court nor the government had released the findings of any such investigation.

Local human rights organizations and lawyers also reported alleged instances of abuse by law enforcement authorities in connection with the approximately200 men and juveniles detained between August and December.

Local human rights activists and attorneys alleged that many of the 23 Shia activists arrested in August and September and charged pursuant to counterterrorism legislation, including a prominent blogger, were beaten, subjected to electric shocks, hung upside down, and beaten on their feet (falaqa). During court sessions in October, November, and December (see section 1.e.), all detainees claimed they were beaten by National Security Agency officers, with some claiming they were subjected to electric shocks, made to stand for long periods of time, and made to sign confessions during or after mistreatment or torture. …source

Bahrain rights probe head says torture systematic
Tue Nov 1, 2011- Reuters secret

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain said on Tuesday it would push ahead with parliamentary reforms it hopes will end unrest in the Gulf Arab country in an announcement that came a day after the head of a rights commission said he had found evidence of systematic abuse.

The justice minister said constitutional amendments based on the results of a national dialogue launched this year to discuss reforms in the island kingdom would be presented to parliament after the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which falls next week.

The statement came a day after the head of a fact-finding mission set up to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Bahrain during months of unrest said he now believed torture had been a systematic, though limited, policy.

The commission is due to present its final report to King Hamad on November 23. Several months ago Cherif Bassiouni had said he did not believe maltreatment was systematic, comments that provoked an angry reaction from majority Shi’ites in the Sunni-run kingdom.

“It is not possible to justify torture in any way, and despite the small number of cases, it is clear there was a systematic policy,” Bassiouni said in an interview with Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum on Monday.

“I investigated and I found 300 cases of torture and I was helped in that by legal experts from Egypt and America.”

Bahrain crushed a pro-democracy protest movement earlier this year which was led mainly by Shi’ites, saying the uprising was sectarian in motive and backed by Iran.

Around 40 people have died, more than 1,000 detained and thousands lost their jobs in the unrest, which has continued despite the reforms promised by the national dialogue.

Bahrain invited an independent panel of high-profile international lawyers to look into protests and crackdown. …more

Bahraini Opposition Figure: Suppression of Protesters Backfires
02/11/2011 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

(FNA)- A prominent Bahraini political activist and opposition figure blasted the continued suppression of peaceful protesters in the tiny Persian Gulf island and warned the Al Khalifa regime that its suppressive tactics would backfire. “Bahrain’s authorities are seeking to bring the nation to their knees through suppressive actions but the regime’s policy will backfire,” member of the Society for Supporting Bahraini People Qassem al-Hashemi told FNA on Wednesday.

He lashed out at Al Khalifa’s brutal behavior towards protesting women, and stated, “Detention and torture of women by Bahrain ruling regime means crossing all the redlines and would be a milestone signifying the end of the Al Khalifa regime.” Hashemi condemned the violation of women rights by the Manama regime and reiterated, “The Bahraini regime has turned the page for its own collapse through such aggressive actions and its end and collapse is now definite.”

Earlier, the Muslim Women Movement in a recent statement had protested against the brutal and cruel behavior of the Bahraini regime towards women in the country, and revealed that the Al-Khalifa regime has imprisoned innocent pregnant women in horrible dungeons. “They keep pregnant women in terrifying prisons, martyr their husbands under torture and attack people’s homes at night and create panic and horror,” the statement said in April, addressing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

The statement condemned the silence shown by the international organizations on the massacre of the Bahraini and Yemeni people by their tyrannical rulers, and said “Hundreds of the Yemeni and Bahraini women are in prison for the ambitions of their bullying rulers.” Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13 to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

Yet, protests and rallies continued throughout the country in defiance of the martial law put in place by Manama since last month. People have announced that they will continue protests until the regime collapses. ….source

Their View: Standing for freedom in Bahrain
10/31/2011 – WP Editorial Republished by Silver City, New Mexico – Sun News

The following editorial appeared in the Washington Post:

The beleaguered reformist faction within Bahrain s ruling al-Khalifa family has good reason to thank the U.S. Congress. Until this month the Obama administration, which has enormous leverage over the Persian Gulf emirate, was blithely ignoring Bahrain s crackdown on domestic opposition and its failure to implement promised reforms.

Even as the regime staged unfair trials of peaceful opponents in special security courts, dismissed thousands from government jobs for participating in protests and violently repressed demonstrations in restless villages, the administration notified Congress in September that it intended to sell Bahrain $53 million in military equipment, including 40 armored Humvees.

Set aside for the moment the fact that Bahrain, an island nation that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has no plausible use for armored vehicles other than against its own people. The sale sent the message to the regime s hard-liners that domestic repression would not damage relations with the United States. Little surprise that, not long afterward, 20 doctors and nurses who had treated injured protesters were sentenced to lengthy prison terms after a grossly unfair trial.

Fortunately, Bahrain s abuses — documented and denounced by every major Western human rights group — prompted a reaction in Congress. Legislation was introduced to block the arms sales, and a group of five Democratic senators, led by Robert P. Casey Jr., Pa., wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Oct. 12 to ask that the sale be put on hold. A separate letter was dispatched by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

The senators got a response. On Oct. 14, the State Department wrote to Casey to say that the administration would not proceed with the sale until after the independent international commission appointed to investigate the unrest in Bahrain — with the regime s cooperation — issues its report, scheduled for Nov. 23. Bahrain, meanwhile, was backpedaling: even before the senators letters were sent, the doctors sentences were nullified and their cases transferred to civilian court. The pro-reform foreign minister traveled to Washington to assure Congress that the commission s recommendations will be followed.

This is progress — but there is a distinct danger that the promises of the Khalifas and the State Department will prove hollow. The credibility of the commission has been under question ever since its Egyptian-born chief appeared, in an Aug. 8 interview, to preemptively clear the Bahraini government of a policy of using excessive force or torture. The regime has failed to deliver on pledges made by its reformists in previous trips to Washington.

Rather than tying itself to this uncertain process, the United States should set its own conditions for continued good relations with Bahrain. These should include accountability for the torture and killing of protesters; the release of all political detainees; and the initiation of meaningful political reform that enfranchises the country s Shiite majority. The current status quo in Bahrain is unsustainable; reinforcing it with U.S. military sales would be foolish as well as unconscionable. …source

Human rights violations continue in Bahrain
November 2, 2011 – PressTV

Bahrain may not be in the international media spotlight like it once was, but according to activists speaking at the House of Lords in London, human rights violations are taking place there every day.
And these violations, they say, have convinced most Bahraini people that regime change can be the only long-term solution. Speakers at the conference said that crimes committed in Bahrain had been referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. These include murder, torture, unlawful detention and sham trials.

The activists said the US-supported Al Khalifa ruling family is trying to subvert democracy with the help of foreign forces.

Delegates at the House of Lords also called for the immediate withdrawal of Saudi forces from Bahrain who were instrumental in crushing the pro-democracy uprising. The Bahraini authorities deny human rights abuses and say they are simply ensuring the national security and stability of the nation. According to the al Khalifas, so-called foreign forces are instigating riots in the county with the aim of fomenting sectarian warfare.

Many members of the Bahraini opposition are based here in London and face arrest or worse if they go back home. And most of them feel that the British government’s response to the Bahraini crisis has been woeful, effectively giving support to a despotic dictatorship against the will of the people.

Conference delegates urged the international community to condemn the Khalifas, to stop selling arms to them and to withdraw all support from their regime. But they rejected all foreign military intervention in Bahrain, saying that ultimately it’s up to the Bahraini people to liberate themselves. …source

Why the BBC ‘has let down Bahrain’s people’
World News — 02 November 2011 – Manama Press

MANAMA: The British Broadcasting Corporation moved from being a globally respected news organisation to joining the ranks of the yellow press during the unrest in Bahrain.

That is the view of Akhbar Al Khaleej Editor-in-Chief Anwar Abdulrahman.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Bahrain Chapter of the International Advertising Association meeting yesterday at the InterContinental Regency Bahrain, in Manama, Mr Abdulrahman said that the BBC had let down the people of Bahrain with its coverage.

“I have respected the BBC in the past but they seem to have had a mental change,” he said.

“What they said over the unrest turned them into yellow journalism. I suppose they were in competition with the Sun at that level of coverage and now we have a BBC that we can no longer trust.

“I hope we, as human beings, learn and repair our standards because the coverage of the BBC was damaging to Bahrain in the eyes of the world.”

He added: “The BBC broadcasts its news bulletins in every language. If only a few Bahraini teenagers burn tyres in the streets to hinder traffic, for the BBC this is big news.

“However, when the house of the most distinguished Bahraini woman journalist Sameera Rajab was attacked with Molotov cocktails last week, the BBC did not utter a word.

“I seriously question its integrity.”

To illustrate the differences in perception between the Arab world and the West, Mr Abdulrahman related the incident of a Bahraini student staying in the UK who one day found that the lady serving them in the cafeteria had disappeared.

On enquiring, he was told that she was facing some family problems. So he decided to visit her.

“Thank you for coming to visit me,” she said. “I am facing enormous problems. My husband has run away with another woman and, secondly, my 18-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. These are facts of life I have to face.”

Suddenly she started crying and said: “But what is really tragic is that my dog has died.” …source

#Bahrain | 14 UOB student R Deprived of the right to education, ARBŊ(via @H_Alsankis)#UOB #FreeUOBstudents

Deprived of the right to education .. 14 students from the University of Bahrain are being held behind bars

1. Shawqi Radhi [22 years] College of Business Administration – were sentenced to prison for 15 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
2. Jawad Almahari [24 years] College of Law – were sentenced to prison for 15 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
3. Jassim Almukhodar [20 years] Bahrain Teachers College – were sentenced to prison for 15 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
4. Jassim Alhulaibi [19 years] Bahrain Teachers College – were sentenced to prison for 15 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
5. Yousif Ahmed [20 years] College of Business Administration – were sentenced to prison for 15 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
Was sentenced in the case of the events of the #UOB “13/3” as well as to pay a penalty of 349,300 BD | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
6. Jassim Ali Yahya [20 years] College of Business Administration – were sentenced to prison for 20 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
Jassim Ali Yahya is accused in the abduction of a security man in the North Sehla, was arrested on 16 March | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
7. Ali Almolani [20 years] College of Engineering – were sentenced to prison for 3 years | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
Ali Almolani was arrested at a checkpoint and was sentenced in the case of an illegal gathering and rioting crowds | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBs
8.Mohammed Ali Alsheikh [College of Business Administration] suspended for 45 days on pending investigation | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
Mohammed Ali Alsheikh was arrested after the suppression of self-determination in the Aali Village | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
9. Mohammed Nusaif [College of Engineering] suspended for 45 days on pending investigation | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
Mohammed Nusaif was arrested after the suppression of self-determination in the Aali Village | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
10. Abbas Mahdi [College of Applied] suspended for 45 days on pending investigation – arrested in Sanad on 3/10 | #Bahrain #FreeUOBstudents
11. Yasser Mansour Madan [College of Information Technology] suspended for 45 days on pending investigation | #Bahrain #FreeUOBstudents #UOB
Yasser Mansour Madan was arrested in Sanabis Village on 23/9 | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
12. Fadel Abbas Majeed [College of Business Administration] was arrested on 7/10 | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
13. Hussain Ali [College of Engineering] was arrested on 11/9 | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
14. S.Wael S.Hashim [College of Engineering] was arrested this morning 2 / 11 | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents
S.Wael was arrested after breaking into his house and broken down in the Aldair village | #Bahrain #UOB #FreeUOBstudents

These 14 students from the #UOB, who are still detained – we demand 2 release them, their place in the uni, not behind bars | #Bahrain

HRF: Jaleela Al Salman Released, Countless Others Remain Jailed
November 1, 2011 – B CHR

Washington, DC— Human Rights First today expressed relief at reports that Jaleela Al Salman, Vice President of the Bahraini Teachers Association, has been released from jail. On October 18, Al Salman was rearrested in a night raid and seized by masked men who entered her home without showing a warrant for her arrest.
“Jaleela’s release is welcome news, but her case and the high profile cases of the Bahraini medics are just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless less famous people who have been tortured and sentenced and who remain jailed after unfair trials,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley, who spoke to Al Salman via Skype just days before her most recent arrest.

On September 25, Al Salman was sentenced to three years in prison. She was convicted following an unfair military court trial and was at home while she waited for her appeal, currently scheduled for December 11. Al Salman was originally in prison between March 29 and August 21. Her colleague, Mahdi Abu Deeb, President of Bahrain Teachers Association, was recently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Hear directly from Al Salman as she talks in her own words about the abuse she suffered in custody here.

The United States has notified Congress of its intention to sell $53 million in arms to the Bahraini government. A resolution of disapproval has been introduced in both chambers of the U.S. Congress and several members are objecting to the sale. Human Rights First said it’s likely not a coincidence that the Bahraini Government has released Al-Salman as the U.S. Government continues to considers the sale. …source