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

Bahrain: Reports of Military Personnel Tortured, Imprisoned, and Killed by Regime
6 November 2011 – by Mona Kareem – Global Voices

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.

Release our activists, release our students, release our medics, release our women, release our teachers, and now release our military personnel. All of these are Twitter campaigns that Bahraini netizens have been pushing for to create awareness about the different segments targeted by the Bahraini regime since protests started on February 14.

Activists say there are scores of military and police personnel who have been arrested and trialed in military courts during the unrest for refusing to shoot protesters, sending text messages, attending funerals, protesting, or just for being members of the Shia’a sect. The sentences they have received vary between 1-12 years.

Activists insist they have not had fair trials, just like the rest of those prosecuted in Bahrain since pro-democracy protests shook the nation. They add that the military personnel, who work for the defense and interior ministries, were also not able to appeal their sentences and that the media has unfortunately neglected their cause, especially with the lack of information about their cases.
Free Ali Al-Ghanmi (who refused to shoot protesters) by Twitter user @HoPeGlObE

Free Ali Al-Ghanmi (who refused to shoot protesters) by Twitter user @HoPeGlObE

On Twitter, activist Hadeel Kamalaldin (@hadeeloosh) asked people to use the hashtag #FreeMilitary to demand the release of soldiers and to tweet their names and details of their cases [ar]:

Activists detained in Qurain Prison, are prisoners of conscience and must be released immediately
03 Nov 2011 – BCHR

Bahrain Center for human rights (BCHR) came to know that fourteen activists and political figures –currently imprisoned in Qurain Military Prison as a result of protests since Feb 14th, 2011 –have decided to instruct their lawyers to raise their cases to the Court of Cassation, after the military appeals court upheld the sentences of up to life imprisonment, on charges — according to the military prosecution —” incitement against the regime, attempt to bring down the Regime”. But members of the Group told their lawyers that they decided to go to court not because they trust the independency or the impartiality of the judicature in Bahrain, especially when it comes to political issues such as their, but to depletion the domestic adjudication mechanisms.

Bahrain Centre for human rights (BCHR) believes that all political prisoners or the so-called security cases do not have a real opportunity for a fair trial, whether in the Military Court, “National Safety Court” or in the Ordinary Criminal Courts. Justice in Bahrain missing the independence and impartiality, where oppositions and activists are being criminalized at laws incompatible with international standards, such as “The Terrorism Law” and The issues of State’s security of the Penal Code, which is being used effectively to restricting public freedoms, especially with regard to the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of Association. The court often ignore the requests of lawyers and hinder their work, including delaying their access to the case files, refusing to listen to the defendants, and refusing to refer them to an independent forensic doctor to investigate into allegations of torture, which has already led last December to the wave of withdrawals of a large group of over 40 lawyers in protest against the obstruction of their work and their exploitation in show trials which lacked the conditions of fair trials.

Regarding the Group of activists detained in Qurain Prison for nearly seven months, includes well-known activists and opposition political figures, they are:

1- Abdulwahab Husain (57-years-old) The Spokesperson for Al Wafa Party,
2- Ebrahim Sharif (54-years-old) General Secretary of the national democratic action Society (Waad),
3- Hasan Mushaima (63-years-old) General Secretary of Haqq Activity,
4- Dr. Abdul Jalil Al Sankis (48-years-old) President of the Human Rights of Haqq Activity,
5- Abdulhadi Al Khawaja (50-years-old) was an international Human rights activist and former President of the Bahrain Centre for human rights.

The Group also includes well-known opposition clerics such as:

6- Sheikh Abdul Jalil Meqdad (58-years old),
7- Sheikh Saeed Al Nouri (39-years-old),
8- Sheikh Abdel Hadi Al Mukhoder (42-years-old),
9- Sheikh Abdullah Al Mahroos (47-years-old),
10- Shaikh Mohammed Habib Al Meqdad,
11- Shaikh Mohammed Ali Al Mahfoodh (51-years-old)

Along with other activists:

12- Salah Al Khawaja (48-years-old),
13- Mohammad Hasan Jawad Parweez (64-year-old),
14- Al Hurr Al Sumaikh (30-years-old).

Through follow-up to arrest and prosecute members of this group and access to case files by lawyers, Bahrain Center for human rights (BCHR) recorded the following:

1. Defect in the procedures of arrest, investigation, and that was done in the name of the military authority within the national safety procedures – invalidity of investigations of the military prosecutor and the National Safety Courts due to lack of jurisdiction and conflict with the Constitution and international standards.

2. Dependence of the investigations and the courts on confessions extracted during a long period of solitary confinement and under the physical and psychological torture.

3. The case did not include any charges attributed to members of the group of committing any acts of violence, or what is considered as crimes according to international standards. Everything contained in the case of actual information is mainly concerning the defendants’ exercise of their fundamental rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of Assembly and freedom of Association.

4. All speeches and recordings which were provided in the case did not include any incitement to violence, but on the contrary they all contain clear terms calling for peaceful work and renounce violence.

5. Some members of the Group are independent activists and some of them belong to various political associations. Prosecutors did not provide any real evidence to prove they belong to “one active group”, or that this group — or any of the groups that belong to some of the defendants — had planned or initiated action to change the regimes by force. The statement that has been introduced into the case and calling for a Democratic Republic, it is the opinion and political position issued by a coalition of three political groups stressed the peaceful option, did not contain any indications to covert action or violent coups and has called to seek the people’s opinion to determine the political option.

6. Procedures of arrest, detention, investigation and trial were all greatly missing fair trial standards.

On the basis of the foregoing, Bahrain Centre for human rights (BCHR) demands:

a) The immediate release of all the members of this group and drop charges against them as they are prisoners of conscience who had been targeted for exercising their freedoms and fundamental rights.
b) Reparation and reform of laws and institutions and to punish the responsible for such violations to ensure it’s not repeated. …more

Bahrain’s Courageous Doctors
By Adil E. Shamoo – November 7, 2011 – FPIP

Bahraini medical personnel protesting in Manama (Photo: Dr. Nabeel al Ansari).The United States continues to ignore the thwarted Arab Spring in Bahrain. Recently, a quasi-military court in the small Gulf state sentenced 20 doctors and nurses to up to 15 years in jail. The charge against them? Treating injured demonstrators opposing the regime.

Doctors and nurses in the Middle East have a long and proud tradition of treating the ill, regardless of the situation. In ninth-century Baghdad, for example, Hunayn ibn Ishaq was the Caliph’s physician. The Caliph asked this physician to prepare a poison to kill his enemies. The physician refused, risking his life, and was eventually jailed for one year. After serving his sentence, the Caliph inquired as to why he refused. The physician replied, “My profession is instituted for the benefit of humanity and limited to their relief and cure.”

So the doctors and other healthcare providers in Bahrain who treated the injured demonstrators were acting not only in the noblest tradition of the Hippocratic Oath but also in keeping with centuries-old Arab tradition. Medical ethics requires all physicians to be medically neutral toward those they treat.

Last February, Bahrain’s citizens joined the Arab Spring by holding massive demonstrations against the country’s corrupt, minority royal government. Bahrain’s security forces, assisted by Saudi-led troops sent by the Gulf Cooperation Council, brutally suppressed the peaceful demonstrations by force, resulting in the deaths of around 30 people, as well as hundreds of others wounded and arrested. At least 1,200 people were dismissed from their jobs. Opposition leaders were arrested, quickly tried, and sent to jail. Many detainees were tortured, and some women were sexually abused.

The government of Bahrain soon turned its attention to doctors and other healthcare providers, arresting, jailing, and torturing those accused of treating protesters. One female doctor told NPR that she was tortured and threatened with rape. In the same story, a man claimed that he was beaten unconscious. The authorities threatened the arrested individuals, saying that the security forces would arrest and torture members of their families if they didn’t sign a confession.

The doctors and nurses in Bahrain have called for support from the international community, especially from the United States. But the U.S. State Department has been muted in its comments about Bahrain’s abuse of hospital staff. This has led some medical professionals and other observers to lament that if such abuses had occurred in Syria or Iran, the United States would have condemned them vocally and emphatically.

U.S. policy toward the Arab Spring has been two-faced and unprincipled since its outbreak. When a hostile regime – in Syria or Iran, for example – has abused human rights, the administration has taken the moral high ground. However, in the case of friendly regimes – like those in Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia – the administration has toned down its criticism or remained silent altogether. In the case of Bahrain, the United States still maintains a naval base there with 15,000 personnel.

The British Medical Association (BMA) issued a statement strongly condemning Bahrain’s behavior, stating, “BMA is shocked that these doctors are being persecuted for acting in accordance with their code of ethics.” The World Medical Association issued a similar statement. However, the American Medical Association merely invited physicians, if they wish, to write directly to Bahrain’s rulers to voice their opinion. The U.S. bioethics associations are silent.

Over the course of history, humanity has carved out zones of ethical conduct, whether in the conduct of war or the treatment of the sick and wounded. Medical ethics has a long and honorable history that U.S. officials and medical professionals must uphold for the doctors and nurses in Bahrain. Otherwise, the Arab Spring won’t bloom for long. …source