Bahrain: Impunity for protesters’ killers: acquittal of 2 policemen and a light sentence for the third
ABNA.co -3 October, 2012

To this day, Bahraini courtrooms are being ruled by a culture of impunity and a corrupt judicial system. The policemen accused of killing of Isa Abdul Hasan, Ali Al Moamen and Hani Abdulaziz who were murdered last year have either been ruled innocent or given light sentences despite their deliberate killing of unarmed peaceful protesters….

Bahrain: Impunity for protesters(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – To this day, Bahraini courtrooms are being ruled by a culture of impunity and a corrupt judicial system. The policemen accused of killing of Isa Abdul Hasan, Ali Al Moamen and Hani Abdulaziz who were murdered last year have either been ruled innocent or given light sentences despite their deliberate killing of unarmed peaceful protesters. This comes at a time where human rights defenders are being jailed for tearing up photos of the King[1].

On 27 Sep 2012, the high criminal court acquitted 2 security men from the murder of Isa Abdul Hassan (60 years old) and Ali AlMoamen (23 years old) on Feb 17, 2011, after a show trial that lasted for months on charges of “accidental murder”. Isa and Ali were killed during the attack on the early hours of February 17 2011, when the Bahraini regime violently attacked the Pearl roundabout where protesters were camping out to demand their rights to democracy and to self-determination. They conducted a pre-dawn attack without warning, endangering the lives of women, children and elderly who were present at the peaceful sit-in. This lead to many injuries and four brutal deaths.

The public prosecution failed to press charges of deliberate murder despite evidences of shooting from very close range, and testimonies of eye-witnesses. Isa Abdulhasan was shot on the head at close range and Ali AlMoamen was killed by a shot on each of his legs, where the canister was shot directly at his body, however the public prosecution pressed charges of accidental murder. The charges were changed by the court to deliberate murder only few weeks before the verdict session. The two security men, one of them of Arab nationality and the other one Bahraini nationality, did not attend the trial as they were not under arrest. The court rejected the repeated requests of the deceased’s’ lawyers to arrest the defendants to avoid their escape, given that one of them is non-Bahraini and he can leave the country[2]. The officer who gave the order to shoot the protesters was presented to the court as a defense witness and when the lawyer requested to have him as a defendant the request was ignored. The public prosecution denied existence of any record of the murder by the hovering helicopter, in contradiction with a testimony given by one of the security officers confirming existence of the record[3].

Isa Abdul Hassan’s death was caused by shotgun pellets shot at his head from a very close range, as close as a few centimeters. The shot was aimed at his forehead, leading to his head to split open[4]. Nazeeha Saeed is a Bahraini journalist who was present at the scene and witnessed the killing of Isa Abdul Hassan. She gave her testimony at court and she was arrested and tortured for saying the same on media last year[5]. Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) investigated into the case and concluded that: “The death of Mr Hussain can be attributed to the use of excessive force by police officers. The fact that the deceased was unarmed and was shot at close range in the head indicates that there was no justification for the use of lethal force.”[6] An investigation was launched by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and on July 6 2011, two police officers were referred to the Military Court. …more

Bahraini forces clash with mourners after funeral
3 October, 2012 – Shia Post

Bahraini security forces have clashed with pro-democracy protesters after the funeral of an activist, who died in custody while serving a seven-year sentence for participating in anti-regime demonstrations, Press TV reports.

Clashes broke out on Tuesday after Bahraini forces attacked a gathering of people who had attended the funeral of 24-year-old Mohammed Mushaima. Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters.

The opposition activist was pronounced dead at a government hospital in the capital Manama on Tuesday.

Bahraini officials say Mushaima was suffering from sickle-cell anemia and that he was admitted to the hospital on August 29. Some reports, however, say he lost his life due to “torture and medical negligence” by the authorities.

Lawyers say they had asked the court to release Mushaima because of his bad health but court rejected their request.

Several anti-regime activists have died of various illnesses while in custody over the past year and this has prompted Human Rights Watch to call for an investigation.

In September 2011, the authorities said a prisoner, whom the opposition claimed died after being tear-gassed, had passed away due to “acute respiratory” problems resulting from sickle cell anemia.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met. …more

White House widening covert war in North Africa
3 October, 2012 – By Kimberly Dozier – Associated Press – The Daily Star

WASHINGTON (AP) – Small teams of special operations forces arrived at American embassies throughout North Africa in the months before militants launched the fiery attack that killed the U.S. ambassador in Libya. The soldiers’ mission: Set up a network that could quickly strike a terrorist target or rescue a hostage.

But the teams had yet to do much counterterrorism work in Libya, though the White House signed off a year ago on the plan to build the new military task force in the region and the advance teams had been there for six months, according to three U.S. counterterror officials and a former intelligence official. All spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strategy publicly.

The counterterror effort indicates that the administration has been worried for some time about a growing threat posed by al-Qaida and its offshoots in North Africa. But officials say the military organization was too new to respond to the attack in Benghazi, where the administration now believes armed al-Qaida-linked militants surrounded the lightly guarded U.S. compound, set it on fire and killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Republicans have questioned whether the Obama administration has been hiding key information or hasn’t known what happened in the immediate aftermath of the attack. They are using those questions in the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election as an opportunity to assail President Barack Obama on foreign policy, an area where he has held clear leads in opinion polls since the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

On Tuesday, leaders of a congressional committee said requests for added security at the consulate in Benghazi were repeatedly denied, despite a string of less deadly terror attacks on the consulate in recent months. Those included an explosion that blew a hole in the security perimeter and another incident in which an explosive device was tossed over the consulate fence. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress in a letter responding to the accusations that she has set up a group to investigate the Benghazi attack, and it is to begin work this week.

As of early September, the special operations teams still consisted only of liaison officers who were assigned to establish relationships with local governments and U.S. officials in the region. Only limited counterterrorism operations have been conducted in North Africa so far.

…more