Bahrain’s Relentless Crackdown Continues
5 November, 2012 – Human Rights First

Washington, DC – Human Rights First remains seriously concerned about the detention of Bahraini human rights defender Said Yousif al-Muhafdah, who was arrested on November 2 in the wake of a new policy banning public gatherings across the kingdom.

Al-Muhafdah, the acting vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was reportedly arrested and detained as he tried to assist a 12-year-old boy who had sustained a head injury from a tear gas canister that police fired at protesters in the town of Bilad al-Qadeem. He was detained just days before explosions in the kingdom killed two men. Human Rights First notes that the explosions should be promptly investigated and that those responsible for the incidents should be held accountable.

“Bahrain continues to target leading human rights activists like Said Yousif and to suppress peaceful dissent. Reform seems an increasingly distant prospect,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “Despite those challenges, violence – from the Bahraini government or those seeking reform – is not the solution to Bahrain’s problems.”

This is not the first time al-Muhafdah has been detained by police. The human rights defender was also arrested on August 15 for speaking out against the Bahraini government. In this most recent arrest, the Public Prosecutions office declared that they would detain Al-Muhafdah for a week on charges of “illegal gathering.”

Clashes between police and a minority of protestors are increasing. Human Rights First is concerned that al-Muhafdah’s detention is part of a systematic policy of targeting and arresting prominent civil society representatives in an attempt to intimidate human rights defenders from speaking out. For example, Nabeel Rajab is currently serving a three-year sentence for his “involvement in illegal gatherings.” In addition, Hussain M. Jawad, Chairman of the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR), has received a summons from the Public Prosecutions office to appear for questioning on November 11.

Last week, in an attempt to further curtail freedoms, Bahraini authorities banned all public gatherings. In doing so, they cited “repeated abuse” of the right to freedom of speech. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed his concern over these restrictions and said that they “could aggravate the situation in the country” and urged the government of Bahrain to lift the ban “without delay.”

The recent demonstrations came as a civil court sentenced three men on charges of insulting Bahrain’s king in Twitter posts. Today two of these men received sentences of four months and one month in prison and last week another man received six months in prison. The fourth man is expected to be sentenced this month. …source

Bahrainis stage anti-regime demos over woman’s killing
6 November – Shia Post

A large number of Bahrainis have staged anti-regime demonstrations in several towns and villages in the Persian Gulf kingdom to mourn the death of a female protester, Press TV reports.

Angry protesters renewed calls for freedom and democracy and demanded the downfall of the Al Khalifa family of Bahrain, which has been headed by the Al Khalifas since 1783.

Forty-three-year-old Assia Hassan al-Madeh died on Sunday after inhaling toxic tear gas in the town of Jidd-hafs.

The exact details of the incident are not available yet but activists say she was attacked during a pro-democracy demonstration.

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. …source

Chicago lawyer Valerie Jarrett is leading the effort, although she has no experience in high-stakes diplomacy

Senior Obama Adviser Leads Secret Talks With Iran
by John Glaser – 5 November, 2012 – Anti-war.com

President Obama’s close confidant and long-time friend of First Lady Michelle Obama, Chicago lawyer Valerie Jarrett, is leading behind the scenes negotiations with representatives of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Israeli officials with knowledge of the effort say.

Jarret, who was born in the Iranian city of Shiraz to American parents, is a senior advisor to US President Barack Obama and, Israeli officials claim, initiated and led secret talks with Iran in Bahrain, although she does not have any past experience with such high-stakes diplomacy.

Last month, the New York Times reported that the US and Iran have agreed to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program immediately following the US presidential elections. Officials later tried to deny this, but admitted the secret talks took place for a meeting in principle.

Such high-level, one-on-one negotiations between the Iranian regime and Washington would be unprecedented, and many have hopes that a grand bargain will be agreed up.

But even if the talks do occur in the event of a victory for Obama, it’s not clear they’ll be fruitful. Talks have floundered at various levels throughout Obama’s first term.

The closest the parties came to settlement was a deal in which Iran would halt 20 percent uranium enrichment in exchange for swapping enriched uranium for foreign-made fuel rods. Iran initially rejected the deal, but reluctantly agreed after Brazil and Turkey joined in the discussions. By that point, the Obama administration rejected Iranian acquiescence, in favor of sanctions.

Most of the so-called diplomacy with Iran has been “predicated on intimidation, illegal threats of military action, unilateral ‘crippling’ sanctions, sabotage, and extrajudicial killings of Iran’s brightest minds,” writes Reza Nasri at PBS Frontline’s Tehran Bureau. These postures have spoiled much chance to resolve the issues. …more

State Dept. Concerned over Bahrain Violence, BICI Progress
POMED – 5 Novemebr, 2012

After an explosion claimed two lives in Bahrain, the U.S. State Department condemned the violence, saying, “we remain deeply concerned about the rise of tensions in Bahrain. Recent violence in Bahrain has claimed the lives of protesters, of security forces, of innocent bystanders, and all of this just undercuts the process of national reconciliation that we have strongly been urging on Bahrainis of all stripes for many, many months.”

The State Department spokesperson added, “we’re concerned that a year has gone – almost a year has gone by [since the BICI report was released] and we’ve only seen about half of the recommendations go forward and that dialogue is not going forward between the government and the opposition.” While commenting on the presence of American John Timoney in Bahrain’s police reform efforts, the spokesperson said, “We’ve been concerned that these recommendations of the BICI, particularly in the area of police reform, have not been strongly enough implemented. It is one of the issues that we are continuing to urge on the Bahrainis, in terms of needing to really work on how the police respond to unrest, building a police force that’s representative of all Bahrainis, and taking some of these other steps.”
…more

Officials call bomb blasts that killed 2 in Bahrain terrorism
Newsist – 5 November, 2012

MANAMA, Bahrain – A series of bomb blasts in Bahrain’s capital killed two people Monday, authorities said, a sign that some factions within the opposition may be increasingly turning to violence in the nearly 21-month uprising against the Gulf nation’s Western-backed rulers.

The apparently coordinated string of five explosions in Manama — described by officials as “terrorism” — comes less than a week after Bahrain banned all protest gatherings in attempts to quell the deepening unrest in the strategic kingdom, which is home the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Clashes have not eased, including crowds pelting three police stations with firebombs early Sunday. More than 55 people have been killed Bahrain’s unrest since February 2011 as the nation’s majority Shiites press for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled island nation.

Officials also suggested three could be crackdowns against Shiite religious leaders, and that could sharply intensify the clashes. Government spokeswoman Sameera Rajab blamed the attacks on statements by some Shiite “religious figures who haven’t ceased inciting violence against civilians and police.”

She said authorities would show “zero tolerance” in its efforts to stamp out unrest.

In Monday’s violence, two Asian men were killed and a third person was injured as at least five homemade explosive devices were detonated, the Interior Ministry said. One man died after kicking a bomb and triggered an explosion, and the other died from injuries in a separate blast, officials said, but they did not immediately give names or nationalities.

Like all Gulf Arab countries, Bahrain has a large South Asian community of expatriate workers. …more

Two Saudi border guards killed in ambush, blasts reported in Bahrain capital
5 November, 2012 – Albawaba

Two Saudi border guards were killed on Monday at dawn in an ambush by armed elements affiliated to Al-Qaeda. The gunmen were trying to cross the southern border to Yemen, the Saudi authorities conveyed.

Eleven attackers were arrested, including one Yemeni, after an exchange of fire with border guards, according to the spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry. Among the attackers are 10 former Saudi prisoners involved in terrorism cases. According to a source quoted by Saudi “Al Arabiya” television, these former terrorists were recently released after being “rehabilitated.”

Simultaneously, five homemade explosive devices were detonated in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, killing two and wounding another. The authorities said it was terrorism. The Shiite majority in the monarchy, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, is supported by Iran. For nearly two years, Bahrain has been the scene of violent demonstrations, acts of sabotage, and repression. …source