Posts from — December 2012

Saudi special military unit assists Bahrain crackdown on protesters
26 December, 2012 – PressTV

Press TV has learned that the specially trained military unit, named Fahud Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, has been operating in Bahrain to help the kingdom’s forces silence ongoing demonstrations against the decades-long rule of the Al Khalifa royal family.

The unit is reportedly under the control of Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry and was founded when Nayef was serving as the kingdom’s interior minister.

The Saudi forces were deployed to Bahrain in mid-March 2011, to help the Manama regime launch brutal crackdowns on peaceful protests. Saudi forces have also reportedly used Bahraini police uniforms when cracking down on protesters.

The Fahud unit is also regarded as a full army, which is in charge of torturing prisoners in tens of detention centers across the country.

It is now controlled by Nayef’s son, Mohammad bin Nayef Abdul Aziz, who was appointed as the country’s Interior Minister last month.

The Fahud unit was has been used by Saudi Arabia to crack down on protesters due to its notorious reputation in the region.

The unit is also involved in the arrest, murder and suppression of people in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province, which has been rocked by anti-regime protests since last year.

The uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011. Dozens of people have lost their lives in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including rights activists, doctors and nurses.

Saudi Arabia has been also facing a rise in protests against arbitrary detentions and widespread demands for the release of political prisoners.

According to the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, there are about 30,000 political prisoners in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has also been rocked by anti-regime protests since February 2011 with demonstrators holding numerous protests in different parts of the country, mainly in the oil-rich Eastern Province. …source

Zainab al-Khawaja, an activist, was arrested and jailed earlier this month and charged with inciting hatred against the Bahraini government.

Bahrain, a Brutal Ally
By ZAINAB al-KHAWAJA – 25 December, 2012 – NYT OpEd

EARLIER this month, Aqeel Abdul Mohsen, 19, was shot in the face for protesting against Bahrain’s government. He was covered in blood, with the lower side of his face blown open, his jaw shattered, and a broken hand hanging awkwardly from his wrist. It’s one of those images that you wish you had never seen, and can never forget.

After more than 10 hours of surgery, and before Mr. Abdul Mohsen regained consciousness, his hospital room was already under guard by the police. Had he been able to speak, he might even have been interrogated before going into surgery. Others have lain bleeding without medical attention while government security agents asked questions like: “Were you participating in a protest? Who else was with you?”

Bahrain, a small island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia, has been ruled by the Khalifa family for more than 200 years. It is also home to the headquarters of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols regional shipping lanes, assists with missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and monitors Iran as tensions in the region mount.

The oppressed people of Bahrain joined the Arab Spring soon after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. With newfound hope, Bahrainis took to the streets on Feb. 14, 2011. Rich and poor, Shiite and Sunni, liberal and religious, they felt what it was like to speak freely for the first time in the capital, Manama, at a traffic circle with a pearl monument at its center. The Pearl Roundabout came to symbolize the Bahraini revolution.

But this newfound freedom didn’t last long. The government’s security forces attacked the peaceful protesters, then tore down the Pearl monument. And in March 2011, troops from neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened to suppress our pro-democracy protests.

Going out on the streets, carrying nothing but a flag and calling for democracy could cost you your life here. Chanting “down with the dictator” could lead to your being subjected to electric shocks. Giving a speech about human rights and democracy can lead to life imprisonment. Infants have died after suffocating from toxic gases used by riot police. And teenage protesters have been shot and killed.

It’s not unusual in Bahrain to find families with four or five members in prison at the same time. My father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was beaten unconscious in my apartment in front of my family, as a report last year by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry documented. He was then taken away with my husband and brother-in-law; they were all tortured.

My husband was released in January, and my brother-in-law was released after a six-month sentence in late 2011; my father was sentenced to life in prison. He staged four hunger strikes; the longest lasted 110 days and almost cost him his life. (He was force-fed at a military hospital.)

But despite all these sacrifices, the struggle for freedom and democracy in Bahrain seems hopeless because Bahrain’s rulers have powerful allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United States.

For Bahrainis, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the Saudis and the Americans. Both are supporting the Khalifa regime to preserve their own interests, even if the cost is the lives and rights of the people of Bahrain.

The United States speaks about supporting human rights and democracy, but while the Saudis send troops to aid the Khalifa government, America is sending arms. The United States is doing itself a huge disservice by displaying such an obvious double standard toward human rights violations in the Middle East. Washington condemns the violence of the Syrian government but turns a blind eye to blatant human rights abuses committed by its ally Bahrain.

This double standard is costing America its credibility across the region; and the message being understood is that if you are an ally of America, then you can get away with abusing human rights.

If the United States is serious about protecting human rights in the Arab world, it should halt all arms sales to Bahrain, bring Bahrain’s abuses to the attention of the United Nations Security Council, support a special session on Bahrain at the United Nations Human Rights Council, and begin a conversation about potential diplomatic and economic sanctions. The Obama administration should also demand that high-level Bahraini officials be held accountable for human rights abuses, and that nongovernmental organizations, United Nations human rights investigators and journalists be allowed to enter the country and investigate abuses.

At present, the Bahraini government believes it has international immunity. It commits widespread human rights violations, and business continues as usual: the government continues to buy arms and negotiate lucrative deals, without having to face any real consequences. This is why the most prominent Bahraini human-rights defenders are languishing in prison. Until the United States starts to put real pressure on its ally, Bahrain’s government has no incentive to change.

No matter the price, Bahrainis will keep demanding the very values — human rights and democracy — that the United States claims to stand for. It is an outrage that America continues to back a regime that tramples them. …source

Bahrain: Court Sentences Opposition Leaders of Amal Society on Charges Related to Freedom of Expression
8 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concern over the continued exploitation of civilian courts in the suppression of free speech, and particularly against political opposition leaders, which was most recently seen in the verdict against the leaders of the Islamic Action Society.

On the 28th of November, 2012, the higher court of appeal reduced the sentence of the General Secretary of the Islamic Action Society (Amal) Sheikh Mohammed Ali al-Mahfoodh, to 5 years in prison, one year after a military court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment on the 4th of October, 2011. An additional three members of the same society had their military sentences reduced from 10 to 5 years in prison, five members had their sentences reduced from 5 years to either 1 year, 6 months, or 1 month, and these five individuals were therefore released for having completed their sentences. In addition, Shaikh AbdulAdheem AlMuhtadi, who was accused in the same case and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by the military court, has been acquitted after spending nearly 2 years in prison.

The charges against these opposition leaders included: “Promoting the overthrow of the government by force and illegal means, and resort to marches and rally the crowds to resist the authorities, and incitement to refrain from work.”

These charges are solely based on the coerced confessions of the defendants, which were made during a time when the authorities used torture as a means to extract false confessions. This has been well documented in the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry report (BICI).

The daughter of Amal General Secretary, Al-Mahfoodh says that while in detention, her father was tortured, electrocuted, and whipped so badly she could barely recognize him when she saw him for first time several weeks after his arrest.

Throughout the appeal trial sessions, the defendants repeatedly informed the court of the torture they were subject to. The defendants stated that they were tortured by Bahraini and Jordanian officers, and that there were nurses and doctors who were responsible for checking the pulse of the tortured defendant to advise the officers on whether they could continue the torture when the victim collapsed. Witnesses have informed the court of the beating of the defendants at time of their arrest. Although the court formed a medical committee to examine the defendants, the court has avoided conducting a full investigation into these allegations of torture.

Hisham AlSabagh, a representative of the Amal Society has stated that there are approximately 200 individuals who are involved with the society currently detained in prison. The opposition society, which was licensed since 2005, was unjustly dissolved by a court ruling in July 2012.

While the BCHR welcomes the acquittal of one defendant in the case, the BCHR stresses the fact that all the defendants should be acquitted and released immediately as their charges are directly related to the exercise of their freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. The prosecution has failed to provide any evidence of the use of violence by the opposition leaders in this case.

Several more opposition leaders are serving long-term prison sentences, including the General Secretary of the National Democratic Work Society, Ebrahim Sherif, who was sentenced to 5 years by a military court last year, and whose appeal was rejected in September 2012.

Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls for the following:

• Release all the prisoners of conscience where the ruling was made in a court that lacks transparency and independence, and particularly the opposition leaders who were targeted for the practice of the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in accordance with the universal declaration of human rights.

• Comply with the recommendations made in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, and especially the recommendations that indicate the necessity of investigating torture allegations and prosecuting those responsible for it, especially in the National Security Apparatus.

• Hold accountable all those involved in the National (Military) Safety Courts for the human rights violations committed against the defendants.
…source

Bahrain: Disturbing Updates on the Current Situation of Talib Ali and 4 Other Citizens kidnapped by the authorities
16 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the well-being of 5 citizens of Mehazza, who have reportedly been kidnapped by the Bahraini authorities in Nov 2012 following the siege and house raids on the village (see BCHR report for more details bahrainrights.org/en/node/5536). These men were taken by the security forces without any information about their location being known for several weeks, and now they are being detained in Bahraini prisons while sham charges are being brought against them. According to received information, these men are being ill-treated, they are being tortured, and they have been denied access to adequate medical care.

Said Yousif Al-Muhafadha, Acting Vice President and Head of Monitoring at the BCHR met with the families of detainees after the men were first allowed to receive visitors. This was several weeks after they were first kidnapped by the Bahraini authorities. Al-Muhafdha received very disturbing and worrying updates from the families on the detainees’ current situation.
The family of Talib Ali (36 years-old, and father of two children), who was reportedly kidnapped from his car on the 14th of November 2012, stated that Talib informed them that he was severely tortured and sexually assaulted. His family members reported that Talib was beaten with sticks all over his body, and especially in his face, they were able to see that his eyes were very red and his face was swollen.

His family stated that Talib became partially deaf in his right ear and that his right jaw is broken due to the repeated beatings that he was subjected to for 15 days. Talib informed his family that he was shocked with electric wires on his stomach, waist and his genital area. They were able to see that Talib is missing 4 finger nails. Two finger nails were reportedly removed from each hand while he was being tortured.

Talib was taken to the 7th floor at the Public Prosecution office on the 16th of November, 2012, at 1:00 AM to be interrogated by Public Prosecutor Fahad Al-Boainain. Talib stated to his family that Al-Boainain put a gun on the table and threatened to kill Talib if he did not confess to the fabricated charges against him, which allege that he participated in bombings in Adliya city; as many as 15 police officers were waiting to beat him if he did not sign the document.

Talib was deprived of his right to have a lawyer present while being interrogated and while at the public prosecution. The BCHR documented many reports on the complicity of the Public Prosecution in supporting these human rights violations. …more

Bahraini court overturns sentences for protesters
26 December, 2012 – Reuters

The Bahrain government says it has taken steps to address the brutality of security forces by dismissing those responsible and introducing cameras at police stations to monitor abuses.

But little progress has been made in addressing the grievances that led to the protests and talks with the opposition stalled.

The Shi’ite opposition wants a constitutional monarchy and a more equitable political system that would allow them to have greater representation, ending decades-old discrimination against them in jobs including the army and security forces.

The appeals court also reduced sentences of 15 years in prison that were handed last year to 15 people for the attempted murder of a soldier, vandalizing the buildings at the University of Bahrain and “inciting hatred of the ruling system”, Jishi said.

The new sentences vary between three, five and seven years in jail. …source

Austin Cops Arrest Santa For Being Nice and Chalking ‘Peace’ on Sidewalk
by Abby Zimet – Common Dreams – 24 December, 2012

Occupy Austin held a rally for “acclaimed Arctic peace activist Kris Kringle” after he was arrested by Texas state troopers for chalking incendiary words like ‘Community,’ ‘Peace,’ ‘Grace’ and ‘Friendship’ on the sidewalk with children who had gathered for the event. After wrestling Santa to the ground and handcuffing him, more and more (visibly sheepish) troopers arrive, pushing back bystanders and eventually arresting an elf for chalking “Free Santa.” Videos by unhappy incredulous observers shouting, “You’re arresting Santa Claus?!” Maybe Texas should secede after all.

Bahrain regime urged to free prisoners
21 December, 2012 – PressTV

The head of a European Parliament human rights delegation has called on the Bahraini regime to free political prisoners.

During a Thursday visit to the Bahraini capital Manama, Inese Vaidere called on Bahraini officials to release all “prisoners of conscience” to soothe political tensions in the country.

Vaidere further said the European delegation paid a visit to imprisoned opposition leaders, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been sentenced to life in prison.

The European team’s visit to Bahrain comes nearly a week after the Bahraini prince called for dialogue with the opposition on December 5, saying only talks could solve the political unrest in Bahrain.

The uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011.

The Manama regime promptly launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have lost their lives in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including rights activists, doctors and nurses.

Bahraini demonstrators say they will continue holding anti-regime protests until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met. …source

The crackdown has, in turn, hardened the opposition, which increasingly turns to Molotov cocktails, rocks and other weapons to confront the authorities. Moderates on both sides are being marginalized.

Nick, I think you have it wrong about the Molotovs increasing and a dualist extremism evolving. This is the scenario the regime has sought but it has failed to produce the desired result; dialogue unto reform advantageous and preserving of the brutal monarchy.

What preceded the “extremism” from the streets was the systematic elimination of ‘non-reformist’ leaders through imprisonment. Since 14 Feb. it has been clear the regime has worked to create and environment of “reform” that will preserve their rule and thwart a move toward real democracy. In the early days of the recent uprising the regime tried to “buy-off” the “majority opposition” by “power sharing arrangement” but the underlying popular support of the majority opposition wasn’t having any of it.

The Molotov throwing youth are being exploited as “extremists” in a pretentious bid to build a “middle ground of reform” advantageous to preservation of the brutal kingdom. Your missing the urgent need to free the opposition leaders from al Khalifa’s prisons in order to have a meaningful dialogue for the sake of the future of Bahrain. Without them the al Khalifa’s rule will simply die from a slow bleed of the unquenchable flames of street rebellion… …either way the al Khalifa’s are finished. Phlipn Out.

When Bahrain Said: Get Lost
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF – 22 December, 2012 – NYT

BAHRAIN, one of America’s more repressive allies, tries to keep many journalists and human rights monitors out. I recently tried to slip in anyway.

The jig was up at the Bahrain airport when an immigration officer typed my name into his computer and then snapped to attention. “Go back over there and sit down,” he said, looking at me in horror and keeping my passport. “We’ll call you.”

The Sunni monarchy in Bahrain doesn’t want witnesses as it tightens its choke hold over a largely Shiite population. Almost every evening, there are clashes between the police and protesters, with both sides growing more enraged and violent.

Around 100 people have been killed since Arab Spring protests began in Bahrain in February 2011. I was in Bahrain then as troops opened fire without warning on unarmed protesters who were chanting “peaceful, peaceful.”

The oppression has sometimes been nothing short of savage. Police clubbed a distinguished surgeon, Sadiq al-Ekri, into a coma — because he tried to provide medical aid to injured protesters. By all accounts, torture has been common.

In the larger scheme of things, Bahrain is a tiny country and maybe doesn’t matter much to the United States. What nags at me is that this is a close American ally — assaulting people in some cases with American equipment — yet the Obama administration mostly averts its eyes. This is a case not just of brutal repression, but also of American hypocrisy.

After that initial crackdown in 2011, the king commissioned a blunt outside report, and the Obama administration hoped that the country would ease up under the more open-minded crown prince. That hope is collapsing, and Bahrain is now clamping down more tightly.

“The human rights situation in Bahrain has markedly deteriorated over recent months, with repressive practices increasingly entrenched,” Amnesty International noted in a recent report on Bahrain. It concluded: “the reform process has been shelved and repression unleashed.”

The crackdown has, in turn, hardened the opposition, which increasingly turns to Molotov cocktails, rocks and other weapons to confront the authorities. Moderates on both sides are being marginalized. …more

Third week of Bahraini child in detention under “terrorism law”
24 December, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is gravely concerned about the continuous violations against children’s rights in Bahrain. The authorities’ arrest, detention and ill treatment of children is on-going, with children as young as 13 getting arrested.

In a recent case, security forces held children aged 6 to 16 on a school bus. While the Bahraini authorities’ actions are a clear violation of the Convention of the Right of the Child, Bahrain was awarded a seat in the United Nations committee of the Right of the Child.

On 7 Dec 2012, Hussain Ali Al Saqqai (13 years old), Mohammed Abdulghani Al Shawaikh (13 years old) and Hussain Abduljalil Alhawaj (15 years old) were arrested from Manama following clashes between protesters and police, although to-date no evidence has been presented of them being part of it. According to information received by the BCHR, the children reportedly beaten and kicked in the head at the time of arrest. They were accused of attacking a police patrol and were taken to the public prosecution office. Mohammed Al Shawaikh and Hussain Al Saqqai were taken to the Juvenile prison in Isa Town while Hussain was detained for fifteen days at the Dry Dock prison with adults. Mohammed Al Shawaikh and Hussain Al Saqqai’s detention was extended twice to this day, as they are to be held in detention until December 27, 2012.

Ebrahim Al Muqdad, 15 years old, and Jehad Sadeq, 16 years old, were arrested on 23 July, 2012. The two young boys were subjected to ill treatment and their families did not know anything about their whereabouts for 24 hours. They have been in detention for more than four months to this day. Their last court hearing was yet again postponed to December 25 because of the absence of the Ministry of Interior’s witnesses, prolonging the process while they unlawfully remain in detention. The two boys are detained in an adult prison while being tried under Bahrain’s terrorism law. This law is condemned by many international groups including UN experts, as the definition of “terrorism” is very vague, and punishment under it is very harsh.

Qasim Juma Al Kuwait, 15 years old, was arrested on 12 December 2012, reportedly during a house raid. According to his family he was taken to the public prosecution and interrogated without the presence of a lawyer. He is currently held in Dry Dock prison.

Bahraini authorities continue to spread terror amongst children, as seen in the case which occurred on the on the 18th of December. Security forces stopped a school bus when it passed by Sitra police station. Children from Al Yarmook Elementary and Intermediate school (ages 6-16 years old) were forced off the bus and held at the police station. The children were held in the police station until their parents came to sign a pledge, and then were allowed to go. It was reported that one of the children argued with a policewoman and she yelled at him threatening him with imprisonment. The parents were notified that those of them who were “wanted” or had a prior record would be contacted by the police station[1]. …more

1000s of Bahrainis hold Anti-government Demonstration
24 December, 2012 – Tehran News

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Bahrain in fresh protest rallies against the decades-long rule of the Al Khalifa royal family.

The demonstrators on Saturday called for the resignation of the prime minister, Sheikh Khalifah bin Salman Al Khalifah, who has held his office since the early 1970s.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

However, opposition rallies have continued in Bahrain in defiance of a government ban on public gatherings. The government’s harsh crackdown on demonstrations has also failed to keep protesters off the streets.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more have been detained since the popular uprising in Bahrain began. …source

Europe MP and Journalist Denied Entry in Bahrain to Conceal Human Rights Abuses
24 Decemebr, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Member of the European Parliament, Ms. Marietje Schaake, was denied an entry visa into Bahrain for her planned travel on December 18th as part of a delegation of Members of the European Parliament with a program focused on human rights. On December 4th, Ms. Schakke co-hosted a round table discussion with FIDH entitled “Bahrain: How to step-up the EU’s response to ongoing Human Rights violations?”, and Bahraini activists were among the participants on it. She has also worked extensively in other areas concerning EU relationships with Bahrain. The BCHR believes that it is this work which led to the denial of her visa. …source

President Obama Might Be Time’s Person of the Year, But Not the Middle-East’s
By Ali Younes – 24 December, 2012 – FPIF

The biggest disappointment of Obama’s presidency, from an Arab perspective, was his lackluster support for Arabs revolting in Egypt and Syria.

Time Magazine’s selection of President Barack Obama as Person of the Year for 2012 should not come as a surprise, after all, Obama’s presidency is by all measures a historic one.
From an American perspective, Obama’s rise to power as a man of color and a minority represents deep social, cultural and demographic changes in American society without which Obama’s presidency would still be a dream.

As Time editors noted in their report, Mr. Obama garnered the majority of the minority vote which was the decisive factor that put him back in the White House for four more years. President Obama’s might deserve his new title for many reasons here at home, but from an Arab perspective, he does not deserve the title. For his perceived negative inaction exceeds his positive actions.

Until two years ago, change in the Arab World seemed almost impossible if it wasn’t for a street vendor in Tunisia named Mohammad Bouazizi who, by setting himself alight, ignited a revolution that swept several countries in the Arab world. It is true, moreover, that Bouazizi was the catalyst for the Arab Spring, but it was, much like Obama’s America, the deep social, economic changes that occurred in the Arab world that were its true causes. It was mainly economic deprivation, lack of freedom and hope that needed Bouazizi’s spark to set the Arab Spring in motion.

The election of president Obama in 2008 was perceived as a sign of relief and great hope in the Arab World. The idea, it was thought then, was that a man with Obama’s background might be able to right America’s historic tilt against the Arab causes as far as its support for Arab dictators and its bias toward Israel. This was especially true after eight long years of the President George W. Bush administration that embarked on a foolish mission of “nation-building” in the Middle East but ended up destroying one of its most ancient and its most modern nations, Iraq.

Obama’s record in the Arab world is mixed at best. This is despite that he started off his first presidency with high hopes that he would achieve a breakthrough in the Arab Israeli conflict. But his efforts in that direction did not pan out after he realized that, when it comes to pressuring Israel, even the president of the United States might find himself with very limited power.

But the biggest disappointment in Obama’s presidency, from an Arab perspective, was his lackluster support for the revolting Arab citizens particularly in Egypt and Syria. At the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, Obama’s administration seemed hesitant as to whether it should support the demonstrators or back America’s long-time ally and dictator Hosni Mubarak. Even though Obama eventually supported the Egyptian revolution, it was viewed then as a disingenuous move that was made only to support U.S. interests.

The same dynamics exist today as many Egyptians suspect that the Obama administration is backing the Muslim Brotherhood government of President Mohammad Mursi, who is the first ever democratically elected president of Egypt. Much like Obama’s first term, President Mursi is presiding over a divided country in transition, but without the benefits of the strengths and stability of the American political system. Ironically, President Mursi made Time’s short list of the person of the year, but his inability to steer Egypt to safety after his election and his perceived divisive decisions cost him the venerable title. …more

“New coalitions and promises are being formed in Bahrain named ‘Ahd al-Shohada’ (Martyrs Convention) in which all the political groups have concluded that the Bahraini nation has no way but to get rid of the al-Khalifa suppressive regime,” Abdulrao’uf al-Shaeb told us on Sunday.

Bahraini Revolutionaries See No Way but Getting Rid of Al-Khalifa Regime
24 December, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – He said that the Bahraini people are also now aware that they should save their country from the Saudi occupation and should be able to decide about their fate and political path after toppling the ruling system.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Grand Jury Resister Maddy Pfeiffer ordered to turn self in to prison on December 26th
15 December, 2012 – supportresist.net

Maddy Pfeiffer was steadfast in their refusal to cooperate with the federal witch-hunt against Pacific Northwest anarchists. They found guilt of civil contempt and will be sent to prison on December 26th for being unwilling to give any information about the people they know or the politics they hold. It is possible that Pfeiffer will be held until March of 2014. In an earlier statement, the Committee Against Political Repression wrote: “The state is trying to use broken windows as a reason to ruin people’s lives. This is absurd, and I will oppose it to the fullest. This life-ruining system which they call “justice” is organized to defend property and capitalism. This system is against everything I believe in.” Currently a federal grand jury in Seattle is purportedly investigating the May Day protests, but it is widely decried as a witch hunt due to its focus only on the anarchist movement. Maddy will be joining KteeO Olejnik and Matt Duran who are in prison for their own dedication to their principles and refusal to provide information to an investigative body that they view as invalid. Both Oljnik and Duran remain strong in their resolve and appreciate the outpouring of support they have received from around the world. Hundreds of supporters called and emailed District Judge Richard A Jones yesterday demanding an end to the grand jury investigation targeting people based on their political beliefs and the release of all those being held in contempt. ….more

Katherine Olejnik and Matt Duran Have Not Been Charged with Any Crime, and Yet They Have Been Locked Up for Three Months and Counting… Duran, like Olejnik, believes that when the FBI comes knocking, handing out subpoenas, legally compelling them to tell a federal prosecutor about their fellow citizens’ private lives and political beliefs, they have a duty to object. And, like Bartleby the Scrivener, their most powerful tool of protest against a force like the federal government is to simply and politely say: “I would prefer not to.” (It’s worth remembering that Bartleby’s quiet, stubborn “I would prefer not to” eventually lands him in prison.)

Christmas in Prison
by Brendan Kiley – The Stranger

The visiting room of the SeaTac Federal Detention Center is bleak. Prison is supposed to be bleak, but it’s difficult to appreciate how bleak it is until you’ve walked inside—past the grim security checkpoint, the sallow-faced chaplain with the giant keys hanging from his pants, the many heavy doors that slam shut behind you like a metal thunderclap, the off-white walls and institutional lighting that seem to suck the color out of everyone’s hair and clothes, the frosted-over windows to block any view of the outside world, and into the visiting room with its plastic chairs arranged in sets of four with a guard sitting in a high booth, presiding over the room like a bored judge.

And the waiting. Lots and lots of waiting.

The large visiting room, with many doors leading off to other places, also serves as a transit point in the prison. Men (and the occasional woman) wearing prison khakis sit, staring into the middle distance with flat expressions, waiting until a guard, sometimes wearing latex gloves, opens a door and barks out names. Then the inmates get up, sometimes eagerly and sometimes hesitantly, and walk into some other chamber of the federal fortress.

Amid all the bleakness, inmate Katherine Olejnik seems surprisingly smiley and optimistic. She is one of two inmates I’ve come to visit—the other is Matt Duran—who have been sitting in this prison for around three months. (Duran a few days more than that, Olejnik a few days less.)

They haven’t been accused of a crime. They haven’t even been arrested for a crime. They’re here because they refused to answer questions for a federal prosecutor, in front of a grand jury, about people they may (or may not) know: who those people are, who those people hang out with, and what political opinions those people hold.

Supposedly, that federal prosecutor is interested in the smashup in Seattle on May Day and finding the demonstrators who broke the windows of a federal courthouse. But Olejnik says the prosecutor only asked her four questions about May Day, which she answered truthfully: Was she in Seattle on May Day? (No.) Where was she? (Working at her waitress/bartending job in Olympia.) Had she been in Seattle a week before or a week after May Day? (No.) Had anybody talked to her about May Day? (No. In fact, she says she learned most of what she knows about the smashup while she was in court.)

That was all he asked about the May Day vandalism.

Then, she says, the prosecutor began rattling off names and showing photographs of people, asking about their social contacts and political opinions. Olejnik guesses he asked “at least 50 questions” in that vein, compared to the four about May Day. That’s when she shut down, refused to answer, was found in contempt of court, and was sent to SeaTac FDC.

She doesn’t regret it. “I truly believe that people have the right to believe whatever they want politically,” Olejnik says, sitting in a chair beside me in her prison khakis. “And it’s none of the government’s business.”

As far as she can tell, she’s not in prison because she couldn’t help with a vandalism investigation. She’s there because she refused, on principle, to help the federal government draw a social map of radicals and leftists in the Northwest.

Grand juries are secret—prosecutors are the only attorneys allowed in the room—but people who’ve been subpoenaed to appear before them are allowed to talk afterward about what happened. The two attorneys for Olejnik and Duran, who sit with us during the interviews in the SeaTac FDC, vaguely say the versions of events described by their clients are consistent with what they read in the transcripts. The US Attorney’s Office has repeatedly said it cannot comment on anything related to a grand jury, because grand juries are secret. So we have to rely on Duran and Olejnik and their attorneys’ vague corroboration.

I have to interview Duran separately, because the guards don’t want him and Olejnik—close friends and roommates at the time they got the subpoenas—to see each other. (They say they passed each other once in the visiting area and waved at each other, and the guards grumbled about that.) How, I ask Duran, would you explain why you’re here to people on the outside?

“Not everyone will understand,” Duran says in a soft voice. “You have to be in a different state of mind to be willing to go to jail to protect someone you basically have no knowledge of.” He talks about his years as a young student in the Army ROTC, when veterans would come and talk about serving their country because they felt a sense of duty. Not answering questions about other people, he says, “is the duty I can perform.”

Duran, like Olejnik, believes that when the FBI comes knocking, handing out subpoenas, legally compelling them to tell a federal prosecutor about their fellow citizens’ private lives and political beliefs, they have a duty to object. And, like Bartleby the Scrivener, their most powerful tool of protest against a force like the federal government is to simply and politely say: “I would prefer not to.” (It’s worth remembering that Bartleby’s quiet, stubborn “I would prefer not to” eventually lands him in prison.)

And that’s why they’re spending the holidays in prison. …more

Amnesty International: Over 80 Children Held in Al-Khalifa Prisons
22 December, 2012 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

The Amnesty International announced that in the past few months, a growing number, up to 80, of 15 to 17-year-old Bahraini children have been held in adult prisons and detention centers of the al-Khalifa regime.

Many of these children were arrested during demonstrations, where they were accused of “illegal gathering” and rioting.

In some cases, they appear to have been targeted and punished solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

Some of the child detainees have said that they were beaten during their arrest or on the way to detention, and some have also been forced to sign “confessions”.

Under international law, anyone under the age of 18 is a child, and children suspected of a criminal offence should be treated according to the rules of the juvenile justice system.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Police clampdown on protesters continues daily. Authorities have tried to stop organized protests by opposition parties over the last several months by refusing to license them and using tear gas on those who turn up.

The opposition coalition wants full powers for the elected parliament and a cabinet fully answerable to parliament. …source