Posts from — February 2012

Israeli court to revise trial date for Palestinian hunger striker Adnan
21 February, 2012 – Associated Press – The Daily Star

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court has brought forward a hearing this week on the appeal of a Palestinian prisoner waging an unprecedented two-month hunger strike, court officials and his lawyers said Monday.

A statement from the Supreme Court said Khader Adnan’s appeal will be held Tuesday. No explanation was given as to why it had been brought forward. It was scheduled to take place Thursday.

Adnan’s lawyer Mahmoud Hassan says the 33-year-old member of the Islamic Jihad militant group is in danger of death after 65 days of a hunger strike, protesting Israel’s policy of long-term detention without trial.

His case has attracted widespread attention among Palestinians, with large crowds holding regular protests in his support.

The life-threatening gamble has also drawn broader attention toward Israel’s policy of “administrative detention,” under which Palestinians can be held without charge for months or even years at a time.

Adnan has not been charged with a crime and says he does not know what he is suspected of doing.

His family says he is a member of Islamic Jihad, which has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, but it is not known if he was involved in violence.

Both the European Union and the United Nations have said they are following the case closely and urged Israel to give Adnan an open trial.

…more

New move to end Bahrain political stalemate
21 February, 2012 – Trade Arabia

Bahraini authorities have reportedly approached some opposition societies in a bid to end the political stalemate in the kingdom, said a report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper.

Three political groups — National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), Democratic Progressive Tribune (DPT) and National Democratic Assembly (NDA) — were asked to submit a list of demands to pave the way for dialogue, the report said.

They reportedly met Royal Court Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa behind closed doors.

Present during the meeting were Wa’ad deputy-secretary general Radhi Al Mousawi, DPT secretary-general Hassan Madan and NDA deputy secretary-general Hassan Al A’ali.

“We did have a meeting with Shaikh Khalid after being invited along with two other political societies,” said Al Mousawi. “During the meeting, we were asked to submit our demands which we are compiling and plan to submit in the coming days.”

It is understood Al Wefaq National Islamic Society was sidelined during the meeting but its secretary-general Ali Salman earlier said it received an invitation for dialogue by the government, the report said.

“In a recent gathering in Miqsha, Mr Salman told supporters that Al Wefaq had received an invitation for dialogue,” said Al Mousawi.

He added the meeting was positive and that the societies were ready for “real dialogue” with the government. He said their demands are based on the implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, the seven points of an initiative led by the Crown Prince in March and the Manama Document endorsed by opposition societies last year.

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander announced a blueprint for dialogue on March 13 and urged all parties to participate.

This included a parliament with full authority, government reflecting will of people, fair electoral constituencies, naturalisation, combating corruption, state properties and addressing sectarian tension.

However, the societies led by Al Wefaq refused to take part in unconditional talks. The Manama Document, endorsed by five opposition groups, also addressed similar demands.

His Majesty King Hamad last year instructed the executive and legislative branches to call for a dialogue to begin in July, in which all people could participate for a future vision.

The National Dialogue was held last July following directives from the King, who instructed the executive and legislative branches to call for the historic talks.

…more

Russia proposes sending U.N. envoy to Syria
21 February, 2012 – The Daily Star – Associated Press

MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday urged the United Nations to send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that it’s proposing that the U.N. Security Council ask the U.N. Secretary General to send the envoy.

On Monday Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.

Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.

Syria is Russia’s last remaining ally in the Middle East. Moscow has maintained close ties with Damascus since the Cold War, when Syria was led by the current leader’s father, Hafez Assad.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Tuesday that Moscow will not attend the planned “friends of Syria” meeting at the end of this week, because its organizers had failed to invite representatives of the Syrian government.

Lukashevich said the meeting in Tunisia wouldn’t help a dialogue, saying that the global community should act as friends of the entire Syrian people, and not just one part.

“It looks like an attempt to forge some kind of international coalition like it was with the setting-up of a ‘contact group’ for Libya,” Lukashevich said.

Russia has said it will block any U.N. resolution that could pave the way for a replay of what happened in Libya. In that case, Russia abstained from a vote, which cleared the way for months of NATO air force attacks that helped Libyans end Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.

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Sharp rise in Palestinians held without trial: NGO
21 February 21, 2012 – Agence France Presse – The Daily Star

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel is holding 309 Palestinians in prison without charge, a sharp increase from last year, an Israeli human rights group said on Tuesday, calling for the prisoners to be charged or released.

B’Tselem said figures received from the Israel Prison Service (IPS) showed there were 309 Palestinians held under so-called administrative detention orders in January 2012, up from 219 in January 2011.

The group said 80 of those being held had been detained for between six months and a year, another 88 had been held for between one and two years, and 16 of them had been behind bars for between two and four-and-a-half years.

One man has been held in administrative detention for over five years, the group said.

The figures were released as the process of administrative detention receives new attention because of the case of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian being detained without trial who has been on hunger strike for 66 days.

Adnan began refusing food after he was arrested on December 17, and says he is protesting his detention without trial as well as alleged mistreatment during his interrogation.

Israel has not made public any charges against Adnan, who had served as a spokesman for Islamic Jihad.

Evidence submitted to a military court in support of Adnan’s administrative detention is kept secret, with even his lawyer denied access to it.

Israel says administrative detention is necessary to keep dangerous individuals behind bars, but B’Tselem said the way the Jewish state was using the procedure was “patently illegal.”

…more

Kate Raphael: My arrest and deportation from Bahrain
Kate Raphael – Witness Bahrain

It just began, and now it is over. Yesterday morning, I was sitting in a café in Manama, Bahrain, working on a blog called “Bahrain: First Impressions.” Now I am sitting at home in Oakland, trying to process what happened.

Valentine’s Day in Bahrain

On February 14, I woke after only a couple hours’ sleep and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was trembling with excitement and tension. #Feb14, the anniversary of the start of the ongoing revolution in Bahrain, was to be the Day of Return to Pearl (Lulu) Roundabout, the huge vacant lot in the center of Manama where protesters camped out for a month last year, until March 16, when 1,000 troops from across the bridge in Saudi Arabia and 500 police from the United Arab Emirates joined thousands of mercenaries working for the Bahraini police in evacuating the camp, destroying the monument at the center of the Roundabout, killing at least 6 and injuring hundreds.

Since then, at least 60 people have died in the ongoing revolution.

They celebrate Valentine’s Day in Bahrain. Nabeel Rajab, human rights leader, said the day I first met him,
“People asked me why I chose February 14 for the start of the uprising. I said so my wife will stop asking me to take her to an expensive restaurant.”
Nabeel’s wife spent this Valentine’s Day evening in the Na’eem police station, trying to get Nabeel out of detention.

I spent much of the day there myself. Right around the time Nabeel was being released on bail, I and five of my fellow Witness Bahrain team members were being escorted by police onto a plane to London, our visas cancelled for such crimes as not spending all our nights in the country in the same hotel, and engaging in “nontourist” activities while on a tourist visa.

The “nontourist activity” in question was an “illegal” march on Saturday. I found it very interesting that they were so focused on that march, which was completely peaceful on the part of the protesters, and was attacked by police with the ubiquitous gas and sound bombs, rather than the clashes I documented earlier in the week, in which riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at youths hurling Molotov Cocktails. I think that tells us a lot about what the government is trying to hide by whisking us out of the country.

At 3:30, our group of about two dozen internationals and Bahrainis set out from Nabeel’s house in a caravan to city center. On the way, we counted police vehicles.

“Nine jeeps and six buses,” announced one young man. …more

Human Rights Activist, Zainab al-Khawaja, Released in Bahrain
By Esther Tran – 21 February, 2012 – ibtimes

Bahraini human rights activist, Zaynab al-Khawaja, 28, also known by her Twitter name as “Angry Arabiya,” was released from prison on Tuesday.

She was arrested about a week ago in Bahrain’s capital Manama, while approaching the Pearl Roundabout in an unsuccessful attempt to “reoccupy” the demolished site to honor the first anniversary of Bahrain uprisings.

Bahraini police charged her with leading an illegal large-scale protest.

Other female prisoners were released last Thursday, but Khawaja was the last to be freed.

Although she wasn’t mistreated during her detention, Khawaja claimed it was only because of the government’s fear of bad publicity, “not because they respect my rights,” she told BBC.

Taking pre-emptive actions against the protests, security forces were deployed last Monday to prevent demonstrators from reaching the Pearl Roundabout.

Over a hundred protesters began marching from the village of Sitra towards the capital’s site after attending the funeral of a young protester, Hussein al-Baqali, 19, who accidentally died lighting himself on fire while trying to burn tires.

Police reportedly used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the oncoming marchers. In response, the young demonstrators attacked with petrol bombs and stones.

“After the burial of Hussain al-Baqali in Jidhafs, groups of vandals rioted. Police legally dispersed them,” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry tweeted out, calling the protesters “vandals.”

The protesters mostly belong to the Muslim Shia sect and claim they have suffered for too long at the hands of the Sunni royal family.(Bahrain actually has a majority Shia population, but has long complained of discriminatiion from the ruling Sunni elite).

Inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings, Bahraini Shias have been demanding democratic reforms for about a year now.

Khawaja is the daughter of Bahrain’s most prominent human rights defender, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, 51. She has succeeded her father, who remains in prison, as one of the high-profile figures in the protest movement against Bahrain’s authoritarian regime and their alleged human rights abuses.

Her last arrest in December caused a media uproar as pictures and videos of her being “disciplined” by a policewoman spread across the Internet. Khawaja had refused to leave a sit-in protest.

“We are not going to give up. Whose determination is stronger — the people’s or the dictatorship? Only time will tell,” she told BBC reporters after her most recent release from detention. …more

Touring Tyranny in Bahrain
by Brian Terrell – 21 February, 2012 – AntiWar.com

On the long flight to the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain on Feb. 10, I had been studying the Lonely Planet guide to the region in order to be able to explain at the airport, if needed, that I had come as a tourist. As it happened, while most passengers on our plane sailed through passport control, my travel companion, Linda Sartor, and I were pulled from the line and subjected to a closer examination. My sketchy knowledge of the historic and cultural sights that I had come to see was good enough to satisfy official scrutiny. We were granted tourist visas and sent on our way.

That we had come as tourists was true. We had intentionally neglected to mention, though, that we had been invited to Bahrain along with a few other international activists to monitor the government’s response to demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of Bahrain’s “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprising on Feb. 14. This demand for basic rights was brutally suppressed by Bahrain’s police and military backed by the army of Saudi Arabia.

We certainly would have been barred entry to the country had our full intent been told — but, as Daniel Berrigan once mused, “How much truth do we owe them?” In fact, our invitation from Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, came because the government had made it known that observers from established human rights organizations would not be granted visas until the next month and that access to the country by the international media was to be severely limited during that period. The regime’s resolve that there be no witnesses to the events surrounding the anniversary made our presence for those days all the more crucial.

The morning after our arrival, we met with local activists and the small group of U.S. citizens who had come before us. Before long we were in the streets of Manama, the capital city, accompanying a march to the Pearl Roundabout, the focal point of last year’s demonstration. This peaceful march of men, women, and children was quickly set upon by police in full riot gear and dispersed with tear gas and percussion grenades. Our first encounter with the Bahraini police appeared to be vicious, but our local friends assured us that our presence was a restraining factor. Two of the Americans we had just met, Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath, were taken into custody at this march and later that evening deported, the government said, for activities not consistent with their status as tourists. …more

Bahrain opposition politician acquitted
21 February, 2012 – Shia Post

A Bahraini court has acquitted a prominent opposition leader who was accused of taking part in “unlawful” anti-government protests that rocked the Gulf state for the last year.

The last of three charges against Matar Matar, a former MP and leading member of Al-Wefaq party, a mainly Shia opposition party, were dropped on Monday by a court in Manama, the capital.

Matar had been charged with “undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people”.

“The last charge against me has been dropped,” he said on Monday, Bahrain ordered the release in August of Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, who were both arrested last May after a crackdown on Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled country.

The court had already dropped two of the three charges Matar was being tried for: calling for regime change and spreading rumours linked to pro-democracy protests.

Matar and Fayruz were among 18 Shia MPs who resigned in protest at the government’s crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted on February 14, 2011. Fayruz’s trial is still continuing. …source

Day and night in a Bahraini jail
by Radhika Sainath – 20 February, 2012

You can read the first part of Sainath’s account from Bahrain here.

In the alleys of Manama, a Bahraini police commander yelled at me that I had been disrespectful, as the other policemen dragged the young man away. The woman who had tried to protect him with her arms and her body sobbed. The youth was certain to be beaten, likely tortured. She thanked me, though I felt I had failed.

I hurried back through narrow alleys, past sand-colored homes and onto the main road, the sounds of percussion grenades guiding me to the site where the Bahraini democracy activists had since re-gathered.

Everything seemed cast in a soft white light. Downtown Bahrain could be any city, small stores lined the broad main road, some open, some with ridged metal shutters pulled down over the glass. Dozens of Indians, presumably workers or small businessmen, stood outside these stores watching the police, and a certain slender wavy-haired Palestinian-American walked away from police officers calling after her.

I kept my head down and my eyes affixed to the iPad, walking down the sidewalk, then turning left between two parked vans. I avoided eye contact with Huwaida Arraf as she passed me, walking quickly away from the police officers pursuing her.
Radhika
Radhika Sainath

I walked further down the street, to what I believed was a safe distance away, and tweeted a photo of the police surrounding Huwaida. I could not see them, there were a dozen of them, maybe more. A number of Bahraini women had surrounded her and were trying to help.

One policeman looked over and yelled out at me “No photos.” I put the ipad down, tucking it in the back pocket of my messenger bag, then backed up the street a few feet and joined the group of Indian men watching. The police fired several rounds of percussion grenades in the other direction. BOOM BOOM BOOM. The crowd around Huwaida scattered, leaving only her, the police, the Indians and me.

Perhaps I could just blend in with the Indian shopkeepers and watch, I thought, as they loaded Huwaida into the van. I tried to take another picture, but I noticed the police were looking at me. A group of police approached and asked me for my passport.

“We just need to see the name,” they said.

I held it out for them. They leaned forward, squinting at my names. One looked down at his Blackberry, and then looked up at the name.

“Haida hiyye,” he said in Arabic. “That’s her.”

I was done. It was my name that had been on the first Witness Bahrain press release announcing our presence the day before. Huwaida had posted almost all the video interviews of Bahraini human rights activists to our website. They were after us.

A dozen policewomen surrounded me, shields out, and one stood directly in front of me. Did they think I would flee? I asked why I was being held multiple times, if I was under arrest, what laws I had broken and if I was free to go. No one would talk to me. From what I could see from behind the police, the street had cleared. I looked at my watch. It was 4:15 p.m.

No one would know I had been arrested. They would think I had run from the tear gas as the people did in the villages every day and every night, taking refuge in the homes of strangers until the gas and the police cleared. What would become of me?

They put me in a police van and took me to a jail in downtown Manama. It was filled with policemen in black combat boots—the riot police—staring, but saying nothing. I passed the room where Huwaida was being held and was stuck into another.

I sat there for the next several hours, interrogated on and off. They wanted to see my photos. I refused. They wanted me to name names. I refused. I heard that my Bahraini lawyer had come to the jail, but been turned away. I asked repeatedly what crime I committed.

“We’ll get to that later,” I was told.

And then came the question, said in a slightly menacing tone that made one want to deny everything.

“You support human rights, don’t you?” The police officer leaned in as if trying to trap me. I paused.

“Of course I support human rights.”

“So you admit it!”

They had got me. In Bahrain, supporting human rights was something akin to terrorism, and I had just admitted to it.

It wasn’t till about midnight when Huwaida and I were both taken to meet U.S. vice-consul Jennifer Smith, and her assistant, Ms. Joyce. …more

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: Real Muslims Don’t Tweet
By Paul Mutter – 21 February, 2012

The National reports that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has “issued a fatwa against Twitter, demanding that ‘real Muslims’ avoid it, calling it a ‘platform for trading accusations and for promoting lies’.”

The pretext for this condemnation of social media is the case of the Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari, who was extradited from Malaysia to the Kingdom after tweeting about the Prophet Muhammad in a manner that the religious authorities deemed blasphemous. If the Saudis wish to make an example, he will be facing blasphemy charges, and possibly death, rather than a lesser (though still absurd) sentencing that would end in him paying a fine. There’s also talk of taking action against anyone who retweeted his messages.

But considering that thousands of Twitter users called attention to Kashgari’s tweets, literally demanding his head, it’s ironic that the Grand Mufti says Muslims should stay off Twitter, since clearly, many Salafis are using, and policing it.

And, as The National notes, it’s even more ironic that the Grand Mufti’s issuing a ban since Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the King’s nephew and reputedly the richest man in Saudi Arabia, purchased 3.6% of Twitter’s stock for US$300 million this past December.

The fact that the Grand Mufti wants Twitter gone while a prince wants to buy its shares up nicely illustrates the uneasy dual monarchy that has defined clerical-royal relationship since the 18th century. The monarchy set up in 1923 is actually a dual monarchy because the royal family must maintain the approval of the Wahhabi ulema to rule, and there are those who question this “right” — one of the first crises of the Saudi state occurred when the monarchy and ulema, fearing the Ikhwan tribal militias who had won control of the Hejaz for them, turned on the militiamen. The House of Saud procured the British machine guns, the clergy produced a justificatory edict for the crackdown.

As Toby C. Jones notes, “the ulema’s support for the regime is not unconditional. They remain controversial, provocative and confrontational.” Oil wealth and investment portfolios allow Saudi princes to study at Sandhurst and hobnob with French socialites, but they also subsidize the religious-dominated educational system and the social welfare net, which the Saudis have been working to expand in the wake of the Arab Spring, that help hold society together on the al-Sauds’ behalf. …more

Alkhawaja: “The hunger strike allows me to shed light on human rights violations from my Prison Cell”
18 February, 2012 – Bahrian Youth Society for Human Right

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) has learnt that Human Rights Defender Mr.Abdulhadi Alkhawaja (51 years) is determined to continue in his hungerstrike until he secures his release. Family members have informed the BYSHR that although Mr. Alkhawaja was in high spirits, he looked thin and weak and had obvious problems concentrating.

Mr.Alkhawaja also confirmed that he had collapsed last Wednesday and was transferred to the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital after a sharp drop in his sugar and blood pressure. He was first transferred to the Jaw Prison clinic but when medics saw his condition they quickly called for an ambulance. He was semi unconscious when he was transported via an ambulance to the hospital where he suffered from muscle spasms. He received treatment but refused to end his hungerstrike.

It is important to note that this is the second hungerstrike the activists engages in with only 2 days in between, the first which was with the other 13 detained activists in protest to the ongoing human rights violations and which lasted for 1 week. The activist is currently in his 10th day of his second hungerstrike. This has contributed to the deterioration in is health condition.

Mr.Alkhawaja stated that he was on hungerstrike because as a human rights activist he needs to play a role in exposing human rights violations, whether he be on the inside or the outside of a prison cell. The hungerstrike aims to secure his release, but more importantly allow him the opportunity to do something inside prison to shed light on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country. He said that those who claim to defend human rights need to be prepared to make sacrifices, and that he was prepared for all possible consequences of this hungerstrike. He also wanted to highlight the plight of those prisoners of conscience still detained and shed light on their cause.

The BYSHR supports and respects Human Rights Defender Mr.Abdulhadi Alkhawaja’s decision to continue his hungerstrike and calls on the international community to stand behind him in order to secure his release and support his plight in highlighting the human rights violations happening in the Kingdom of Bahrain. …source

Israeli official: hunger striker is a “terrorist”
20 February, 2012 – al-Akhkbar

An Israeli official has described 63-day Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan as an “Islamic Jihad terrorist” without producing any evidence to prove his claim.

Adnan, a 33-year-old baker, has been on hunger strike since shortly after he was detained in a late-night raid on December 17.

He is being held under what Israeli law calls administrative detention, meaning he can be held without trial or charges indefinitely.

The case has drawn widespread condemnation of the Israeli policy, with rights groups urging the Jewish state to release Adnan or charge him with an offense.

But Ofir Gendelman, the Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesman to the Arab media, provoked anger by calling Adnan an “Islamic Jihad terrorist” on Twitter.

He also said that Israel should not release Adnan as he would “kill our kids.”

Under Israel’s military law, prisoners can be held in administrative detention for up to six months without charge or trial. The detention can be renewed at the end of the period, effectively allowing Israel to hold Palestinians in jail indefinitely.

Israel claims that Adnan is a threat to public safety, but has yet to produce any evidence for the claim, while Adnan’s lawyers have been unable to view the evidence on which he is detained.

A local rights group, al-Haq, said 315 Palestinians were being held under the edict.

Amnesty International has condemned his continued detention, calling on Israel to either charge or release him.

Human Rights Watch has argued that withholding reasons for arrest constitute a violation of international law. …more

The PR Octopus & Its Incredibly Long Tentacles
20 February, 2012 – Marc Owen Jones

3 weeks ago, a British PR and Strategic Communication firm called Dragon Associates forced the Guardian to take down an article from their Comment is Free section. Today the Guardian have put it back up. The article in question stated that the head of security at the BIC (Bahrain International Circuit) had been involved in torturing employees on the racetrack premises. Dragon Associates claimed that the article contained ‘considerable inaccuracies’. Despite this, the article has gone back up exactly the same as before, albeit with a footnote tacked on at the end. This footnote reads

In its letter of complaint, the BIC makes the following points: while the BIC accepts that in April 2012 the police took some of its employees to the police station for interrogation, it denies the allegation that its security staff were involved in any repressive activities, or that its staff tortured, beat or mistreated BIC employees on BIC premises. The BIC says that if any of its employees were beaten or otherwise badly treated by BIC security staff – which it denies – it would have been without BIC’s knowledge, instructions or orders.

It is interesting to note that the Guardian were so quick to take down a piece that ended going back up unchanged. John Lubbock, the article’s co-author, also informed me that the piece was taken down prior to the Guardian actually receiving a formal complaint. Despite all these interesting oddities, Dragon Associates were obviously successful in stalling the incendiary article until Bahrain had more or less secured the hosting of the Grand Prix (tickets go on sale today). Furthermore, they also managed to get a footnote added to the article, which seems a bit unusual on ‘Comment is Free’. The footnote is also odd because it basically says that while the BIC deny that its security were involved in the mistreatment, it accepts that it could have happened without their knowledge. Essentially, this added paragraph does nothing to disprove the veracity of the preceding article, it merely serves to add an element of doubt to the story. Not quite sure how Dragon Associates managed to pull this off, maybe they used ‘Right of Reply’. All I know is, when these guys breathe fire, people get scared.

Tear Gas and Tyre Burning

For those who don’t see failure to reform as a good enough reason to not host the Formula One, the announcement that tickets would go on sale today was welcome. Unfortunately, however, the reporting of ‘good news’ in Bahrain is often accompanied by a concerted effort to marginalise any bad news. Indeed, I spent my morning being trolled for tweeting an article in Al-Wasat (a Bahrain newspaper) about how tear gas was harming domestic birds. This trolling included the suggestion that I carry out my own independent experiment into the potential long-term impact of tear gas on domestic avian species before tweeting the article. I suppose that’s not an unreasonable suggestion. I mean I could theoretically take a degree in biology, gain work experience in a laboratory, apply for funding to do the aforementioned project, and then, 6 years down the line, consider tweeting the Al-Wasat article again? …more

February 18: Another Death Caused by Excessive Use of Tear Gas by Security Forces
18 February, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

An elderly man, Mansoor Salman, 85 years old from Sitra passed away today morning due to deterioration of his health as a result of inhalation of toxic gases shot by security forces on 2 Feb 2012. He was transferred to SMC after suffocating with toxic gases and he stayed there until he died yesterday. Mansoor’s death due to toxic gases is the last of a series of similar incidents where people dies because of heavy shooting of tear (toxic) gas in residential areas. …source

Bahrain, facing Shi’ite unrest, considering federation with Saudis
19 February, 2012 – Grendel Report

ABU DHABI — A leading parliamentarian has urged Manama to propose a formal union between Bahrain and neighboring Saudi Arabia in an effort to deal with the threat of an Iranian-backed Shi’ite revolt.

Parliamentarian Adel Al Muawda said the proposal has been endorsed by the Saudi leadership.

“Bahrain should make the first move towards the union that will be joined by the other members of the GCC,” Al Muawda said.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are regarded as having the closest relations of any two GCC states. A 25-kilometer causeway links the two countries and Saudis flock to Bahrain for Western-style entertainment.

“We have the same identity and the same social, cultural and economic fabric,” Al Muawda said. “We can learn from the European Union, and as long as there is determination, there should be no obstacle.”

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been battling what they termed Iranian-sponsored Shi’ite unrest. On Feb. 10, Saudi police were said to have killed a Shi’ite gunmen in the Eastern Province while Bahraini security forces hurled tear gas and sound grenades in a clash with Shi’ite demonstrators in Manama. Two Americans were also said to have been arrested during the Manama protest.

In December, Saudi King Abdullah urged the other five GCC states to consider a formal union. Abdullah said such a move would bolster military and financial security amid threats from neighboring Iran.

“There are also impediments and divergences on the foreign policies of some GCC countries that may stall the move towards a Gulf confederation,” Al Muawda, who raised the issue with Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said.

The GCC has established a panel to examine the feasibility of a Gulf Arab union. Al Muawda, a strong supporter of Riyad, said Bahrain should be the first country to merge with Saudi Arabia.

“This is a crucial issue and cannot be procrastinated or delayed as the conditions in the region are becoming vitally sensitive and critically ominous,” Al Muawda said. “There are too many intricately dangerous layers in the region and no country can handle them without support from others. …source

Silence as Bahraini children are stabbed and gassed
19 February, 2012 – By Tighe B. – Witness Bahrain

Injuries sustained by protester courtesy of Bahraini security services.Injuries sustained by protester courtesy of Bahraini security services.

As part of an observer delegation in Bahrain with the peace group Code Pink, I visited the village of Bani Jamrah with local Bahraini human rights activists.

In one of the many horrific cases we heard, a 17-year-old boy Hasan, his friend and his 8-year-old brother left their home to go to the grocery store. As they were entering the store they noticed some other youngsters running. Fearing the police would be following them, they decided to wait in the store. The 8 year old hid behind a refrigerator. The police entered the store with face masks on. They grabbed the older boys, pulling them out of the store and into the street.

Once outside the shop the police began to beat them with their sticks and hit them on the head, shouting obscenities and accusations. The police were accusing them of having been involved with throwing Molotov cocktails, asking over and over “Where are the Molotov cocktails?”

The four policemen, all masked and wearing regulation police uniforms, took turns beating the boys while one was instructed to keep watch to make sure no one was video taping. They seemed to be very concerned that there be no witnesses. Quickly, they forced the boys into the waiting police car. Inside the police vehicle was another youth about 18 who appeared to be “Muhabharat,” or plain-clothes police thugs associated with many dictatorships in the Middle East.

As the car sped off, the boys were told to keep their heads down “or we will kill you.” Soon they arrived at an open lot away from possible onlookers. As the two boys were being pulled from the car, the policeman who seemed to be in the charge shouted, “Make them lie down.” Once they were face down on the ground, the policemen took out their knives and stabbed both boys in the left buttock, leaving a gaping wound. The police thugs continued their “questioning”, using profanity to scare their victims. They threatened the boys that they would go to jail for 45 days for “investigation” and that they would never go back to school or get work.

When the thugs realized that they had no choice but to leave these victims, since they had no knowledge of the Molotovs, they searched them to see what they could steal. They took the boys’ mobile phones and asked them to hand over whatever money they had. When they discovered that the boys only had 500fils (about $1.50US), they kicked one of them in the raw wound, laughing as they left them bleeding. …more

To the American Government,

Due to the aforementioned circumstances, and due to the request of the regional director, Benghazi, for the prisoners to choose where they wish to be transferred. We see that your prison in Guantanamo is much more merciful than your prisons in the Kingdom of Morocco. And based on what we have learned from our acquaintances who have relatives in Guantanamo, we wish to confirm we have decided, with our full intellectual faculties, to request that you transfer your prisoner, who is our husband, Moulay Umar Amrani Hadi, from your prisons Toulal 2 and Sale’ 2 to your prison in Guantanamo in Cuba. We request that this is seen to as soon as possible, so that he may have his full rights as a prisoner and be treated humanely.

An Open Letter to the American Government: Transfer Our Husband to Guantanamo…
12 February, 2012 – aseerun

Peace upon those who follow the guidance:

We the undersigned Nouzha Amrani and Fatiha Hassani (Um Adam El-Mejjati), the lawful wives of Moulay Umar Amrani Hadi who is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment unjustly. He is constantly being transferred to and from Toulal 2 prison and Sale’ 2 prison. We appeal to the American government to transfer its prisoner from its previously mentioned prisons to its detention centre in Guantanamo, Cuba.

This is for the following reasons:

Your prisoner suffers from various chronic illnesses, he is 47 years old, yet he is always subjected to torture. Bearing in mind he was sentenced to prison only not prison and torture.

Types of torture:

Psychological torture: Subjecting him to constant psychological pressure by, Provocation, humiliation, Insults and threats. He is held in a wing with the general prison population where cigarette smoke fills the air, abusive language is the norm and there is constant noise that prevents him from sleeping. For nine months he has been held in solitary confinement, in a very small cell that lacks the conditions for human residence. He was put in a punishment cell twice within three months. He is prevented from direct visits (without barriers), and being with his wife Nouzha Amrani. They suffice with a barrier visit, even his kids, Abdulrahman, 7, and Zainab, 5. Since three weeks ago his son visited him without a barrier for 15 minutes only in an office. They had a desk in-between them and were surrounded by guards. Zainab refused to go to the visit because of what she experienced before. She would remember the barriers and small windows and the fact she couldn’t sit with her father nor kiss him. He is prevented from seeing his second wife Um Adam, since the 4th of July 2011, even if the visit is a barrier visit. This continues although she has legal permission from the general prosecutor of the King in Meknes. The prison administration and all those behind it, have sought to hinder the process of completing a legal (marriage) contract, bearing in mind we have completed all the necessary procedures on our part from the date of the 28th of February 2011.

Physical torture: Beating, starvation, poor food in quality and quantity, stripping. Prevention from a change of clothes, bathing, and the use of hygiene products for 47 days.

Bathing once a week, sometimes with cold water. Being subjected to extremely high temperature with no ventilation. Being intentionally subjected to the freezing cold, while they know very well he suffers from arthritis. Lack of hot water to be used for ablution considering he suffers from an anal fistula. Being tortured by his chronic illnesses, this is done by medical neglect and the prevention of medication which we have provided him with. Being blindfolded and shackled…..

As for us then we are being put into a despicable, systematic war of attrition on the psychological, physical and financial level. It reminds us of how our families in occupied Palestine live.

The administration of Ibn Hashim devised new methods of torturing us. In addition to preventing Um Adam from seeing her husband now for 32 times, although she has suffered the difficulties of travel until Toulal. On the 12th of January 2012 she had an appointment, which became more of a marathon and one of much pain. She reached Toulal 2 at 8:45 after spending the night in Fez coming from Casablanca, in order to be close to the city of Meknes. The employees in the prison informed us that our husband is in Sale’ 2. She (Um Adam) boarded a high-speed train to Sale’. She arrived at Sale’ 2 prison at 11:30. The employee there told her that our husband has been transferred to Toulal 2 a few minutes ago!
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The Intelligence Factory: How America Makes its Enemies Disappear
14 February, 2012 – aseerun

When I first read the U.S. government’s complaint against Aafia Siddiqui, who is awaiting trial in a Brooklyn detention center on charges of attempting to murder a group of U.S. Army officers and FBI agents in Afghanistan, the case it described was so impossibly convoluted—and yet so absurdly incriminating—that I simply assumed she was innocent.

According to the complaint, on the evening of July 17, 2008, several local policemen discovered Siddiqui and a young boy loitering about a public square in Ghazni. She was carrying instructions for creating “weapons involving biological material,” descriptions of U.S. “military assets,” and numerous unnamed “chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in bottles and glass jars.”

Siddiqui, an MIT-trained neuroscientist who lived in the United States for eleven years, had vanished from her hometown in Pakistan in 2003, along with all three of her children, two of whom were U.S. citizens. The complaint does not address where she was those five years or why she suddenly decided to emerge into a public square outside Pakistan and far from the United States, nor does it address why she would do so in the company of her American son.

Various reports had her married to a high-level Al Qaeda operative, running diamonds out of Liberia for Osama bin Laden, and abetting the entry of terrorists into the United States. But those reports were countered by rumors that Siddiqui actually had spent the previous five years in the maw of the U.S. intelligence system—that she was a ghost prisoner, kidnapped by Pakistani spies, held in secret detention at a U.S. military prison, interrogated until she could provide no further intelligence, then spat back into the world in the manner most likely to render her story implausible.
[Read more →]

Iran: Oil Exports Cut To Britain, France
by The Associated Press – 19 February, 2012

Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the Oil Ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran’s crucial fuel exports.

The EU imposed tough sanctions against Iran last month, which included a freeze of the country’s central bank assets and an oil embargo set to begin in July. Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi had warned earlier this month that Tehran could cut off oil exports to “hostile” European nations. The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports.

However, the Iranian action was not likely to have any significant direct impact on European supplies because both Britain and France had already moved last year to sharply curtail oil purchases from Tehran to less than 3 percent of their daily needs.

The EU sanctions, along with other punitive measures imposed by the U.S., are part of Western efforts to derail Iran’s disputed nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran denies the charges, and says its program is for peaceful purposes.

The spokesman for Iran’s Oil Ministry, Ali Reza Nikzad-Rahbar, said on the ministry’s website Sunday that “crude oil exports to British and French companies have been halted.”

“We have our own customers and have no problem to sell and export our crude oil to new customers,” he said.

Britain’s Foreign Office declined comment, and there was no immediate response from French officials.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency said exports were suspended to the two countries Sunday. It also said the National Iranian Oil Company has sent letters to some European refineries with an ultimatum to either sign long-term contracts of two to five years or be cut off.

Mehr did not specify which countries were sent the ultimatum, but Spain, Italy and Greece are among Europe’s biggest buyers of Iranian oil.

Iran’s targeting of Britain and France appeared to be a political decision to punish the two countries for supporting tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Sunday’s announcement follows a flurry of contradictory signals by Iran about backlash against the EU for imposing a boycott on Iranian oil.

Last week, state media said Iran was planning to cut off oil exports to six EU nations, including France, but later reports said the nations were only told that Iran has no problem finding replacement customers for the European shipments.

The EU sanctions, imposed last month, were part of Western efforts to target Iran’s critical oil sector in attempts to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.

Also on Sunday , the secretary general of Iran’s central bank said a decision by SWIFT, an international banking clearinghouse used by nearly every country and major corporation in the world, to shut Iran out from its respected network will not harm the country.

“The country will not face any problems as a result of the SWIFT measures,” Mahmoud Ahmadi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. He added that Iran has been “pursuing alternative solutions” since Western nations imposed sanctions on Tehran. He did not elaborate.

SWIFT said in a statement on its web site Friday that it will comply with expected instructions from the EU to cut off Iranian banks. SWIFT has previously brushed off international efforts to use its network to target countries or companies, telling enforcers that it does not judge the merits of the transactions passing through the portal.
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Witnessing human rights violations in Bahrain
By davidswanson – 19 February 2012 – War is a Crime

On the long flight to the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain on February 10, I had been studying the Lonely Planet guide to the region in order to be able to explain at the airport, if needed, that I had come as a tourist. As it happened, while most passengers on our plane sailed through passport control, my travel companion Linda Sartor and I were pulled from the line and subjected to a closer examination. My sketchy knowledge of the historic and cultural sights that I had come to see was good enough to satisfy official scrutiny. We were granted tourist visas and sent on our way.

That we had come as tourists was true. We had intentionally neglected to mention, though, that we had been invited to Bahrain along with a few other international activists to monitor the government’s response to demonstrations marking the one year anniversary of Bahrain’s “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprising on February 14. This demand for basic rights was brutally suppressed by Bahrain’s police and military backed by the army of Saudi Arabia.

We certainly would have been barred entry to the country had our full intent been told—but, as Daniel Berrigan once mused, “How much truth do we owe them?” In fact, our invitation from Nabeel Rajav, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, came because the government had made it known that observers from established human rights organizations would not be granted visas until the next month and that access to the country by the international media was to be severely limited during that period. The regime’s resolve that there be no witnesses to the events surrounding the anniversary made our presence for those days all the more crucial.

The morning after our arrival, we met with local activists and the small group of U.S. citizens who had come before us. Before long we were in the streets of Manama, the capital city, accompanying a march to the Pearl Roundabout, the focal point of last year’s demonstration. This peaceful march of men, women and children was quickly set upon by police in full riot gear and dispersed with tear gas and percussion grenades. Our first encounter with the Bahraini police appeared to be vicious, but our local friends assured us that our presence was a restraining factor. Two of the Americans we had just met, Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath, were taken into custody at this march and later that evening deported, the government said, for activities not consistent with their status as tourists. …more

Alkhawaja: “The hungerstrike allows me to shed light on human rights violations
BYSHR – 20 February, 2012

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) has learnt that Human Rights Defender Mr.Abdulhadi Alkhawaja (51 years) is determined to continue in his hungerstrike until he secures his release. Family members have informed the BYSHR that although Mr. Alkhawaja was in high spirits, he looked thin and weak and had obvious problems concentrating.

Mr.Alkhawaja also confirmed that he had collapsed last Wednesday and was transferred to the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital after a sharp drop in his sugar and blood pressure. He was first transferred to the Jaw Prison clinic but when medics saw his condition they quickly called for an ambulance. He was semi unconscious when he was transported via an ambulance to the hospital where he suffered from muscle spasms. He received treatment but refused to end his hungerstrike.

It is important to note that this is the second hungerstrike the activists engages in with only 2 days in between, the first which was with the other 13 detained activists in protest to the ongoing human rights violations and which lasted for 1 week. The activist is currently in his 10th day of his second hungerstrike. This has contributed to the deterioration in is health condition.

Mr.Alkhawaja stated that he was on hungerstrike because as a human rights activist he needs to play a role in exposing human rights violations, whether he be on the inside or the outside of a prison cell. The hungerstrike aims to secure his release, but more importantly allow him the opportunity to do something inside prison to shed light on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country. He said that those who claim to defend human rights need to be prepared to make sacrifices, and that he was prepared for all possible consequences of this hungerstrike. He also wanted to highlight the plight of those prisoners of conscience still detained and shed light on their cause.

The BYSHR supports and respects Human Rights Defender Mr.Abdulhadi Alkhawaja’s decision to continue his hungerstrike and calls on the international community to stand behind him in order to secure his release and support his plight in highlighting the human rights violations happening in the Kingdom of Bahrain. …more

cb editor: bizarre thinking by the author of this article about attack a “nuclear program”, as if it were not the same thing as attacking a Sovereign Nation. When a Nation launches an attack with weapons of mass destruction within the sovereign borders of another nation, it is an attack attack that Nation and its Sovereignty.

US, Britain urge Israel not to attack Iran
19 February, 2012 – By Josef Federman – Associated Press

JERUSALEM: The U.S. and Britain on Sunday urged Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear program as the White House’s national security adviser arrived in the region, reflecting growing international jitters that the Israelis are poised to strike.

In their warnings, both the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and British Foreign Minister William Hague said an Israeli attack on Iran would have grave consequences for the entire region and urged Israel to give international sanctions against Iran more time to work. Dempsey said an Israeli attack is “not prudent,” and Hague said it would not be “a wise thing.”

Both Israel and the West believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb – a charge Tehran denies. But differences have emerged in how to respond to the perceived threat.

The U.S. and the European Union have both imposed harsh new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector, the lifeline of the Iranian economy. With the sanctions just beginning to bite, they have expressed optimism that Iran can be persuaded to curb its nuclear ambitions.

On Sunday, Iran’s Oil Ministry said it has halted oil shipments to Britain and France in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union. The semiofficial Mehr news agency said the National Iranian Oil Company has sent letters to some European refineries with an ultimatum to either sign long-term contracts of two to five years or be cut off. The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports.

Israel has welcomed the sanctions. But it has pointedly refused to rule out military action and in recent weeks sent signals that its patience is running thin.

Israel believes a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its very existence, citing Iran’s support for Arab militant groups, its sophisticated arsenal of missiles capable of reaching Israel and its leaders’ calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Last week, Israel accused Iran of being behind a string of attempted attacks on Israeli diplomats in India, Georgia and Thailand. …more