Posts from — December 2012

U.S. Asks Court Not To Consider Targeted Killing Challenge

14 December, 2012 – American Civil Liberties Union

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK ­– The U.S. government today filed its first response to a lawsuit challenging the targeted killing of the three U.S. citizens in Yemen last year, Anwar Al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman and Samir Khan. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the case on behalf of the families of the Americans who died, issued the following statement about the government’s motion to dismiss:

“The essence of the government’s argument is that it has the authority to kill Americans not only in secret, but also without ever having to justify its actions under the Constitution in any courtroom. To claim, as the administration has today, that the courts have no role at all to play in assessing whether the government’s targeted killings of Americans are lawful – even after the fact – simply cannot be squared with the due process clause.

“The president himself has acknowledged that the targeted killing program must be subject to more meaningful checks, but there is little evidence of that recognition in the brief filed by the government today. If the court accepts the government’s position, it is not only the current president but every future president who will wield the power to kill any American he or she deems to present a threat to national security, without ever having to explain that action to a judge. The Constitution requires more.” …more

“My brother is dying”: an urgent appeal from family of hunger striker Samer Issawi
by Malaka Mohammed – The Electronic Intifada – Gaza City – 17 December 2012

Samer Issawi has just turned 33. He spent his birthday on hunger strike.

On Sunday I phoned his sister Shireen. “Save Samer, he is dying,” was the first thing she said. Samer had gone without food for 138 days.

“The last news we got was on 14 December when the Israeli occupation court refused to release Samer on bail. I have received news from different sources indicating that my brother has recently started suffering from severe pain in all of his body especially in his muscles, abdomen and kidneys.

“He has an acute vitamin B-12 deficiency. His body has begun to eat his muscles and nerves. It seems he has lost the control of his limbs as a result of malfunction of the nerves. His vision is frail as a result of fainting four to five times a day and his body is covered with bruises. He is vomiting blood, his heart is weakening and he can barely breathe.”

I asked Shireen: “When have you seen your brother?”

“Like a skeleton”

“No one has met or spoken to him since his current arrest. I have seen him on Thursday [13 December] when he appeared in court. He looked like a skeleton sitting in a wheelchair, and he can’t move or walk. My brother was put in the slaughterhouse of Ramleh Prison Hospital during his first month of the strike. A month later he was put in a small cell as a punishment. He suffered the solitary confinement in a two-meter square room, meant to pressure him to end his strike.”

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“He is still in a small dark room in Assaf Harofeh hospital. He is kept in isolation; no one can see him, not even his loved ones. The only human contact he has is the guards, who misleadingly wear white uniforms. His legs are tied with shackles that look even bigger now against his tiny skeleton.”
Loss of consciousness

Shireen spoke of how her brother lost consciousness seconds after being given a medicine by the Israeli prison authorities on 9 December. It was two days before he regained consciousness. “There is no doubt that they want to kill him,” Shireen said.

Samer Issawi wrote a letter about the incident, which was translated and published by the Ahrar Center, a prisoner rights group, on 12 December. …more

Sandy Hook: America’s culture of violence
17 December,2012 – by Heidi Morrison – Le Monde Diplomatique

Seeking an explanation for tragic violence, we often turn to history and ask ourselves how we got to this point. Writing the historical narrative for the forces that led to the horrific elementary school massacre of 28 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook has already begun. Commentators correctly place Sandy Hook in a recent line of similar incidents (Aurora, Fort Hood, Virginia Tech…) — all testimony for America’s lack of dialogue on gun control and commitment to mental health services. The narrative holds that American culture is becoming increasingly violent.

In the last decade, children in places like Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and Gaza have also died at the hands of America’s culture of violence. Yet, there is no national outpouring of grief and outrage in America for these children. There is a disconnect in the American psyche between what causes our own children to die and what causes other children abroad to die.

A recent study by Harvard’s School of Public Health revealed that where there are more guns, there are more incidents of homicide. Yet, there is little regulation of arms in America and token regulation of American arms in the world. Most people in America can purchase a gun without having to undergo training, meet health requirements, obtain liability insurance, or participate in a system of renewals and inspections. It is easier to own a gun license than a driver’s license. There are not adequate monitors to prevent weapons from flowing freely in American homes, cities, states, and regions. The weapons control us. We do not know when or where we will be gunned down; even our children learning their ABCs here in America are fair game.

On an international scale, America exports its culture of under-regulated violence. CIA drone attacks in Pakistan between 2004-2012 killed 176 children, just as innocent as those at Sandy Hook. The recent assault on Gaza killed 33 children with the full endorsement (and military aid) of President Obama. People around the world never know when they will be the next targets of American attacks. Children in Pakistan and Yemen hear American drones buzzing overhead on a regular basis, wondering when one will land on their school. …more

The tunnels of Gaza are a lifeline of the underground economy but also a death trap. For many Palestinians, they have come to symbolize ingenuity and the dream of mobility.

The Tunnels of Gaza
By James Verini – National Geographic – December, 2012

Editor’s note: As this issue went to press, the conflict in Gaza escalated. Hamas and other groups stepped up rocket fire on Israel, and the Israel Defense Forces launched an air and sea assault on Gaza, targeting the Hamas leadership and sites containing rockets and other weapons, along with civil government and media offices. Israel also extensively bombed the smuggling tunnels in Rafah.

For as long as they worked in the smuggling tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, Samir and his brother Yussef suspected they might one day die in them. When Yussef did die, on a cold night in 2011, his end came much as they’d imagined it might, under a crushing hail of earth.

It was about 9 p.m., and the brothers were on a night shift doing maintenance on the tunnel, which, like many of its kind—and there are hundreds stretching between Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula—was lethally shoddy in its construction. Nearly a hundred feet below Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, Samir was working close to the entrance, while Yussef and two co-workers, Kareem and Khamis, were near the middle of the tunnel. They were trying to wedge a piece of plywood into the wall to shore it up when it began collapsing. Kareem pulled Khamis out of the way, as Yussef leaped in the other direction. For a moment the surge of soil and rocks stopped, and seeing that his friends were safe, Yussef yelled out to them, “Alhamdulillah!—Thank Allah!”

Then the tunnel gave way again, and Yussef disappeared.

Samir heard the crashing sounds over the radio system. He took off into the tunnel, running at first and then, as the opening got narrower and lower, crawling. He had to fight not to faint as the air became clouded with dust. It was nearly pitch black when he finally found Kareem and Khamis digging furiously with their hands. So Samir started digging. The tunnel began collapsing again. A concrete-block pillar slashed Kareem’s arm. “We didn’t know what to do. We felt helpless,” Samir told me.

After three hours of digging, they uncovered a blue tracksuit pant leg. “We tried to keep Samir from seeing Yussef, but he refused to turn away,” Khamis told me. Screaming and crying, Samir frantically tore the rocks off his brother. “I was moving but unconscious,” he said. Yussef’s chest was swollen, his head fractured and bruised. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth. They dragged him to the entrance shaft on the Gazan side, strapped his limp body into a harness, and workers at the surface pulled him up. There wasn’t room for Samir in the car that sped his brother to Rafah’s only hospital, so he raced behind on a bicycle. “I knew my brother was dead,” he said.

I was sitting with Samir, 26, in what passed for Yussef’s funeral parlor, an unfinished-concrete room on the ground floor of the apartment block in the Jabalia refugee camp where the brothers grew up. Outside, in a trash-strewn alley, was a canvas tent that shaded the many mourners who had come to pay their respects over the previous three days. The setting was a typical Gazan tableau: concrete-block walls pocked by gunfire and shrapnel from Israeli incursions and the bloodletting of local factions, children digging in the dirt with kitchen spoons, hand-cranked generators thrumming—yet another Gaza power outage—their diesel exhaust filling the air.

“I was so scared,” Samir said, referring to the day in 2008 when he joined Yussef to work in the tunnels. “I didn’t want to, but I had no choice.” Thin, dressed in sweatpants, a brown sweater, dark socks, and open-toe sandals, Samir was nervous and fidgety. Like the others in the room, he was chain-smoking. “You can die at any moment,” he said. Some of the tunnels Yussef and Samir worked in were properly maintained— well built, ventilated—but many more were not. Tunnel collapses are frequent, as are explosions, air strikes, and fires. “We call it tariq al shahada ao tariq al mawt,” Samir said—“a way to paradise or a way to death.” …more

Thousands of Palestinians Celebrate Gaza Victory in Hamas Celebration: West Bank
moqawama.com – 14 December, 2012

Thousands of Palestinians took part in a demonstration that was organized by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the city of Nablus, northern of Occupied Palestine’s West Bank.

The event was held on Thursday to celebrate the recent victory over “Israel” during the eight-day bloody attack the Zionist entity launched against the Gaza Strip.
The demonstration, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hamas, was the first of its kind authorized by the Palestinian Authority since 2007, according to AFP.

Some marchers carried wood models of the rockets fired at “Israel” during the war, which killed more than 150 Palestinians.
“Hamas – you are the guns; we are the bullets,” and, “Hamas, fire more rockets on Tel Aviv” chanted the demonstrators.

Addressing demonstrators, Secretary-General of Ramallah-based Palestinian faction, Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, Amin Maqbul stated, “Hamas has given thousands of martyrs, prisoners, and wounded for Palestine,” adding “Hamas steadfastness and victory in Gaza was a big victory for all Palestinian people.”

The popularity of Hamas has been on the rise despite “Israeli” and western attempts to undermine the group through Tel Aviv’s suffocating siege of Gaza and continued aggression against the Palestinian territory. …source

From Manama to Gaza: Solidarity Between Bahrain and Palestine
By: Yazan al-Saadi – 16 December, 2012 – Al Akhbar

As the Bahraini monarchy eagerly seeks to befriend Israel, the citizens of Bahrain have taken a different route, seeing parallels between theirs and Palestinians’ struggle against repression. A recent solidarity trip to Gaza by Bahraini medical officials is testament to the links that can’t be stymied by governments.

“Palestinians are in our heart since birth. It is in the heart of all Bahrainis. It is the central cause for all Arabs and Muslims – to the extent that [we are willing] to be a martyr for Palestine,” Dr. Nabeel Tammam tells Al-Akhbar.

It is the connection of these forces that clashes directly with the growing alliance between Israel and the Bahraini monarchy.
Tammam is one of Bahrain’s leading otolaryngologist, or ear, nose, and throat, consultants. Beyond his renowned medical expertise, he is also known for his political activism in opposition to the Bahraini monarchy, as a member of both the Bahrain Human Rights Society and the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) – the largest leftist political party in the country.

His human rights and political work have come at great risk. Together with hundreds of other medical professionals in Bahrain, Tammam was detained, tortured, and convicted as part of an overall Bahraini government policy of retribution against those who dared to support the pro-democratic protests that erupted in February 2011.

Since receiving a three-month jail sentence, Tammam has spent most of his time between his medical practice and raising awareness of the repression faced by medics and Bahrainis in general. Despite pledges by authorities to implement recommendations for reform outlined by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), this repression is ongoing.

Of late, Tammam and a group of Bahraini doctors organized and participated in a three-day medical visit to the besieged Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity and support with the Palestinian people.

This trip in late November represents but one example of the rich history of solidarity and cooperation between Bahraini and Palestinian civilians, who share an understanding of life under repression. It is the connection of these forces that clashes directly with the growing alliance between Israel and the Bahraini monarchy.

The 2012 Medical Trip

Tammam has a long history of supporting the Palestinian cause. He is a board member of the Bahrain Society Against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy and was one of the founders of the Bahraini medical trips to Gaza, initiated in 2009 after Israel’s brutal three-week assault on the densely-populated, encaged strip of land.

The 2009 trip concluded with the signing of a number of mutual cooperation agreements between the visiting Bahraini doctors and Palestinian medical organizations that included donations of equipment and medicine, as well as planning joint solidarity actions between the two parties.

This year, Tammam explained in an email correspondence with Al-Akhbar, the goal of the trip was to take “a humanitarian stand” in response to Israel’s latest massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

“The whole trip was at our own expense (tickets, accommodation, and transport costs) and it was all a solidarity stand, as the day we reached Gaza started the declaration of ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israel,” he wrote.

The medical team spent three days in Gaza, during which they mainly visited medical buildings such as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Al-Shifa Hospital, the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, and the Ministry of Health, among other institutions.

“The destruction and the devastation caused to buildings, construction, and facilities were very clear as a result of the Israeli bombardment. All the serious [medical] cases were transferred to Egypt for intensive medical care. Only the mild and moderate ones remained in the local hospitals for follow-up treatments,” Tammam noted to Al-Akhbar. …source

Martyrs day faces tear gas as marches move into Manama
17 Decemebr, 2012 – Shia Post

Bahraini security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse anti-regime protesters gathering to commemorate the Day of Martyrs in the capital city of Manama.

Hundreds of protesters once again took to the streets of the capital on Monday to mark the annual commemoration of two protesters martyred by the Al Khalifa regime forces in 1994.

Outraged demonstrators chanted anti-regime slogans in the streets, where Bahraini police tried to disperse them by stun grenades and tear gas.

According to reports, the Bahraini military had already set up checkpoints and extended patrols across the capital ahead of the Monday demonstration.

In a similar move on Sunday, the Saudi-backed Bahraini forces attacked hundreds of protesters who censured an annual speech by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in which he praised security forces of the country.

The Bahraini uprising began in February 2011. The regime promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states to help crush the demonstrations.

Bahraini protesters say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demands for the establishment of a democratically elected government and an end to rights violations are met. …source

State Minister for Information Affairs criticises the opposition for misusing a call for national dialogue
16 December, 2012 – BNA

Manama, Dec. 16 (BNA)— State Minister for Information Affairs Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab, the government’s official Spokesperson, criticized, in a statement to Asharq Alawsat newspaper, the opposition for misusing a call for a national dialogue and falsely promoting it in the media.

Any national dialogue to overcome the crisis will not ignore any component of the Bahraini society and will not be with one side at the expense of the other. It will, however, be complementary to the national consensus dialogue that took place in July 2011 and will commence as soon as the opposition stops violence and relinquishes conditions and restraints put to engage in that dialogue, it was stressed. …source

Bahrain king says he respects ‘liberties’ as clashes erupt
17 December, 2012 – By Al Arabiya

King Hamad said on Sunday that Bahrain still respects “liberties” and “tolerance,” as witnesses reported that police dispersed dozens of protesters in Shiite Muslim villages.

“Bahrain will remain a nation of law, institutions, liberties and tolerance between different religions and cultures,” he said in a speech marking National Day.

“Ensuring national consensus was and still is a purely Bahraini feature, without any foreign interference.”

The monarch also praised the Sunni-ruled kingdom’s “armed, security, and National Guard forces who are always ready” to ensure “security and stability.”

As he made his speech in Manama, police clashes broke out between police and youth protesters who took to the streets of several Shiite villages, witnesses said.

Acting head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Yousef al-Muhafedha told AP hundreds of protesters were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas in a neighborhood near the capital Manama. Elsewhere, masked youths blocked roads with burning tires.

No casualties were reported.

Most opposition religious leaders are suspected to have ties with Iran, which is accused of being behind the trouble in this small country.

On Friday, thousands demonstrated in Manama chanting slogans against the regime and calling for reform.

Protest groups are calling for large-scale marches later this week, according to Associated Press.

Bahrain was shaken by a protest movement in February 2011 led by Shiite protesters demanding a constitutional monarchy.

At least 80 people have died since the start of the unrest, according to the International Federation of Human Rights.

Bahrain, despite of wide criticism of crackdown on opposition, is considered provide more freedom women and the media than most Gulf states.

Bahrain’s crown prince this month renewed an appeal for dialogue to end the impasse, which was welcomed by the opposition, but there seems to be no end in sight to increasingly violent protests. ….source

Bahrain police fire tear gas, grenades on protesters as ‘Martyrs Day’ rally starts
17 December, 2012 – Russia Today

Bahraini security forces have fired tear gas and stun grenades as crowds of protesters gathered in the capital Manama. Some people were injured and arrested amid the preparations for a larger ‘Bahrain’s Martyrs Day’ demonstration.

­Some locals have reported witnessing extensive use of teargas, pellet shotguns and sound bombs that have caused severe and critical injuries to protesters.

Groups of protesters gathered and chanted slogans in the narrow streets of Manama’s traditional market district. Activists also blocked public streets in preparation for a mass demonstration to mark ‘Bahrain’s Martyrs Day,’ an annual commemoration for two protesters killed in 1994.

Local witnesses reported that police made several arrests, including women. …source

Bahrain Martyr Day December 17th 2012
17 December, 2012 – ABNA

Martyrs’ Day is an annual observance held on December 17th in Bahrain to honour those recognized as martyrs for the nation.

Martyrs’ Day is an annual observance held on December 17th in Bahrain to honour those recognized as martyrs for the nation. The government of Bahrain has chosen the 16th December as the National day of Bahrain, when the truth is Bahrain gained independence from Britain on the 14th August 1971. The people of Bahrain have never accepted nor agreed to it since the previous.

In 1994 uprising the first two martyrs, Hani Alwasti and Hani Khamis were killed on 17th December. Since then the Bahraini people designated it as Martyrs’ Day.

Many lost their lives during the 1990’s uprising including women such as Fahdela Almetghawy and Zahra Kadhem. Now in 2011 the martyrs continue to fall, the youngest martyr is Sajida Faisal Jawad. Sajida was only a baby girl of just 5 days of age. She had inhaled tear gas in her house.

Tens of thousands Bahrainis held a huge demonstration today 17th December 2012 in commemoration of their martyrs in Manam capital of Bahrain. …source

SaudiPrisoners: Saudi Bloggers Demand Rights in One of World’s Most Repressive Regimes
14 December, 2012 – by Morgan Hargrave – Movements.org

Saudi activists and bloggers are launching an awareness campaign on Twitter to publicize the issue of the political prisoners in Saudi Arabia. The campaign, starting on December 17th and using the hashtag #SaudiPrisoners, aims to draw attention to the reported 30,000 political prisoners currently under detention, and increase pressure on Saudi Arabia to reform. The Saudi regime is considered to be one of the world’s worst abusers of human rights. As the BBC put it last year: “Demonstrations are illegal in the autocratic kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country with no legal political parties or mass movements that has been governed by the House of Saud for 80 years.” Yet reports on the severe lack of freedom are relatively rare worldwide, and there is little discussion of the Mabahith (the Saudi secret police) and the horrific plight of Saudi political prisoners that are put behind bars simply for expressing their thoughts and beliefs peacefully.

The primary contributer to the campaign is Saudi blogger Hadeel Mohamad, who blogs at thehadeel.wordpress.com and tweets via @The_hadeel. We will follow up with Hadeel next week via a live Twitter and Facebook chat, so keep an eye on the blog and our Twitter feed (@AYM), but suffice it to say that we will be following the #SaudiPrisoners campaign closely. Can an important issue like political prisoners catch on with the growing wave of social media users in the kingdom? Can a young woman and her fellow bloggers get their voices heard in a country where the people are far from free to express themselves?

Hadeel translated the campaign statement for us, and it reads as follows:

“Arbitrary arrest” and “arbitrary detention” are described as the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no evidence of a crime committed, and/or not permitted due process of law. These human rights violations are characteristic of dictatorships and police states. The Saudi government routinely conducts both arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, providing no explanation for the arrest, not showing an arrest warrant, and completely divesting a citizen’s rights to a lawyer and often trial courts. The detainees are often held in solitary confinement, without access to phone their families, for over 24 hours, and subjected to physical or psychological torture during interrogation. The detainees’ families are often kept in the dark about their whereabouts.

According to “The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association,” or ACPRA and other organizations, the number of arbitrary detainees in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be 30,000. Most of them are detained because of crimes of conscience and political opposition.

Many prisoners have been in jail for years without proof of crime, or charges made; and when charged, they’re usually charges without merit, like contacting foreign organizations (UN, Amnesty,etc), discrediting the country, supporting the Bahraini revolution and “obstruction of the development wheel” for those who call for a constitutional monarchy.

In case of any peaceful demonstration or “sit-in,” the participants, usually, family members of prisoners, are arrested. Then, other family members gather in protest and are arrested as well. It’s not unusual to meet a Saudi family that is comprised of two or three generations that have been detained and or imprisoned. Today, anyone and everyone face the risk of arrest; those who write, tweet, protest, upload a video to youtube. No one citizen can be secure in staving off the risk of being detained.

The Saudi government believes that these rampant human rights violations will go unchecked, and the victims’ plight will go unchallenged. In the name of human rights for all, we ask you to stand in solidarity with 30,000 prisoners, their families and the rest of us, who might run the risk of arrest at anytime. On December, 17, Hadeel Mohamad among many others will launch a campaign for those people.

Follow the campaign, or join in the discussion, using hashtag #SaudiPrisoners on Twitter. And stay tuned for more analysis from Movements.org here on the blog and on our Twitter feed @AYM. We will feature Hadeel next week in our ongoing #ActivistChat series where you will able to join the discussion and ask questions liv

Saudi activists and bloggers are launching an awareness campaign on Twitter to publicize the issue of the political prisoners in Saudi Arabia. The campaign, starting on December 17th and using the hashtag #SaudiPrisoners, aims to draw attention to the reported 30,000 political prisoners currently under detention, and increase pressure on Saudi Arabia to reform. The Saudi regime is considered to be one of the world’s worst abusers of human rights. As the BBC put it last year: “Demonstrations are illegal in the autocratic kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country with no legal political parties or mass movements that has been governed by the House of Saud for 80 years.” Yet reports on the severe lack of freedom are relatively rare worldwide, and there is little discussion of the Mabahith (the Saudi secret police) and the horrific plight of Saudi political prisoners that are put behind bars simply for expressing their thoughts and beliefs peacefully.

The primary contributer to the campaign is Saudi blogger Hadeel Mohamad, who blogs at thehadeel.wordpress.com and tweets via @The_hadeel. We will follow up with Hadeel next week via a live Twitter and Facebook chat, so keep an eye on the blog and our Twitter feed (@AYM), but suffice it to say that we will be following the #SaudiPrisoners campaign closely. Can an important issue like political prisoners catch on with the growing wave of social media users in the kingdom? Can a young woman and her fellow bloggers get their voices heard in a country where the people are far from free to express themselves?

Hadeel translated the campaign statement for us, and it reads as follows:

“Arbitrary arrest” and “arbitrary detention” are described as the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no evidence of a crime committed, and/or not permitted due process of law. These human rights violations are characteristic of dictatorships and police states. The Saudi government routinely conducts both arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, providing no explanation for the arrest, not showing an arrest warrant, and completely divesting a citizen’s rights to a lawyer and often trial courts. The detainees are often held in solitary confinement, without access to phone their families, for over 24 hours, and subjected to physical or psychological torture during interrogation. The detainees’ families are often kept in the dark about their whereabouts.

According to “The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association,” or ACPRA and other organizations, the number of arbitrary detainees in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be 30,000. Most of them are detained because of crimes of conscience and political opposition.

Many prisoners have been in jail for years without proof of crime, or charges made; and when charged, they’re usually charges without merit, like contacting foreign organizations (UN, Amnesty,etc), discrediting the country, supporting the Bahraini revolution and “obstruction of the development wheel” for those who call for a constitutional monarchy.

In case of any peaceful demonstration or “sit-in,” the participants, usually, family members of prisoners, are arrested. Then, other family members gather in protest and are arrested as well. It’s not unusual to meet a Saudi family that is comprised of two or three generations that have been detained and or imprisoned. Today, anyone and everyone face the risk of arrest; those who write, tweet, protest, upload a video to youtube. No one citizen can be secure in staving off the risk of being detained.

The Saudi government believes that these rampant human rights violations will go unchecked, and the victims’ plight will go unchallenged. In the name of human rights for all, we ask you to stand in solidarity with 30,000 prisoners, their families and the rest of us, who might run the risk of arrest at anytime. On December, 17, Hadeel Mohamad among many others will launch a campaign for those people.

Follow the campaign, or join in the discussion, using hashtag #SaudiPrisoners on Twitter. And stay tuned for more analysis from Movements.org here on the blog and on our Twitter feed @AYM. We will feature Hadeel next week in our ongoing #ActivistChat series where you will able to join the discussion and ask questions live. …more

Saudi Arabia: Arrest and detention of prominent human rights defender, lawyer and former judge, head of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights
Gulf Center for Human Rights – Sheikh Suliaman Al-Rashudi – 16 December, 2012

On the morning of Wednesday, 12 December 2012, prominent human rights defender, lawyer and former judge, and head of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), Sheikh Suliaman Al-Rashudi, has been arrested as he was on his way heading to the Qassim region. According to some reports, he was taken to the detention centre at “Naif Academy for Security Sciences” located in the east of Riyadh city. The arrest comes hours after the publication of a lecture given by Sheikh Al-Rashudi entitled “the rule of demonstrations and sit-ins in Islamic law” in which he explained the legality of peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins to claim confiscated rights.

Sheikh Al-Rashudi was arrested several times in the past, including his arrest on 2 February 2007, by officials from the Directorate of General Investigations (DGI) in Jeddah, together with eight other advocates of reform and defense of civil rights who have been named “Reformists of Jeddah”. He spent nearly five years in a continued detention during which he was transferred between prisons in Jeddah. On 22 June 2011, Sheikh Al-Rashudi has been released on bail.

The nine detainees including Sheikh Al-Rashudi were convicted of alleged involvement in, forming a secret organization, attempting to seize power, incitement against the King, financing terrorism, and money laundering. On 22 November 2011 the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh handed out on the nine prominent advocates of reform prison sentences ranged from five to 30 years, where Suliaman Al-Rashudi sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and 15 years’ travel ban following release. Although the case is at the appeal stage in the very same court, the Saudi Interior Ministry used the verdict to arrest Sheikh Salman Al-Rashudi and imprison him.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights expresses serious concern over the arrest and detention of Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Rashudi by the Saudi authorities and believes that these measures are only a direct result of his legitimate and peaceful work in defense of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

The GCHR urges the authorities in Kuwait to:

Immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Sheikh Salman Al-Rashudi;

Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Sheikh Salman Al-Rashudi;

Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in KSA are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

The GCHR respectfully reminds you that the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders, their right to freedom of association and to carry out their activities without fear of reprisals. We would particularly draw your attention to Article 6 (c) “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others: (c) To study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters” and to Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”. …more

Bahrain’s Changing Opposition
13 December, 2012 – Reese Erlich – Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

MUHAZZA VILLAGE, Bahrain — After nearly two years of frustration, the Arab Spring uprising against Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, a key US ally, is growing increasingly tense.

Following a series of brutal government crackdowns, young protesters who say they have little choice are taking a more militant approach, and in some cases, resorting to violence.

In late October, Bahrain’s conservative monarchy banned all demonstrations, but human rights activists estimate that at least 100 illegal protests have been held since then.

At 7 p.m. sharp on a recent night here in Muhazza, a small village just outside the capital, residents gathered for one such show of discontent. The scene appeared peaceful: old men in long, white robes stood calmly next to children wearing jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps. Women completely covered in black hijab sat nearby, shouting slogans against the all-powerful Bahraini monarch.

But for the traditional opposition, there was a troubling new contingent of young men, their faces covered in checkered headscarves. They circled the outskirts of the rally, disdainful of their elders entreaties to remain peaceful. This night they did not engage in violence. But in other villages, youth have hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police.

Activists say this more militant trend is gaining support as nonviolent tactics fail to yield results.

“They are a real force in the movement now,” said Ali Salman, leader of the Al Wefaq Islamic Society, the largest opposition group in Bahrain. “We tell them to remain nonviolent, but some don’t listen.”

In most countries, the low-key Muhazza protest would barely interest law enforcement. Here, in less than 10 minutes, police fired tear gas. The crowd fled into nearby stores and apartments. Children and seniors stayed indoors. But within a few minutes, everyone else poured back into the streets, shouting “Allah Akbar” (God is Great).

This night’s action repeats itself frequently in Muhazza. Villagers say they have been under siege for six weeks. Police set up checkpoints in Muhazza during the day, and conduct raids at night. …more

Bahrain: Activist in solitary confinement for over 12 days
17 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human rights expresses grave concern over the ill-treatment of Activist Mohamed Al-Tal who is being held in solitary confinement for more than 12 days according to information received by the Center.

Activist Mohamed Al-Tal has been in detention since 14 Oct 2012 when he was summoned for interrogation on the charge of “participating in illegal gathering” in reference to the Friday protest in Manama (12 October 2012) titled “Self determination”. He was held in the Dry Dock detention center until the beginning of Dec 2012 when several prisoners were subjected to abuses and attacks following the formation of a coalition of Prisoners of Conscience (see BCHR report here bahrainrights.org/en/node/5539). Al-Tal was then moved to the West Riffa police station where he was put in solitary confinement according to his lawyer, Mr Mohamed Al-Marzooq. He was not informed of the reason for this transfer or why he is being held in solitary confinement.

Al-Tal has been previously detained for several weeks following his arrest from a previous protest in Manama. He is already standing trial in a different case on similar charges in which he is accused of participating in illegal gathering in Manama. The next hearing of his trial will be on 14 Jan 2013.

His lawyer has requested the release of Al-Tal while guaranteeing his place of residency to avoid losing his job as a teacher, and to allow him to attend his medical appointments.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights believes that the placement of Al-Tal in solitary confinement is in violation with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, article 30 “(1) No prisoner shall be punished except in accordance with the terms of such law or regulation, .. (2) No prisoner shall be punished unless he has been informed of the offence alleged against him and given a proper opportunity of presenting his defence. The competent authority shall conduct a thorough examination of the case.” And article 32. “(1) Punishment by close confinement .. shall never be inflicted unless the medical officer has examined the prisoner and certified in writing that he is fit to sustain it.”

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights believes that activist Mohamed Al-Tal is targeted because of his peaceful exercise of freedom of assembly in accordance with the universal declaration for human rights.

Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the government of Bahrain to immediately put an end to the solitary confinement of Mohamed Al-Tal. The BCHR also calls for Al-Tal’s immediate release and dropping of all trumped up charges against him and all other detainees who are being held for exercising their freedom of assembly. …source

British state terrorism from Northern Ireland to Syria
14 December, 2012 – Finian Cunningham – PressTV

The surge in violence and killing of civilians, with a notable agenda of inciting sectarian war, is proof that the British expertise in fomenting terror is paying dividends for the Western imperialist objective of destabilizing Syrian society and the government of President Bashar al-Assad.”

This story connects far-flung places. Kenya, Malaya, Northern Ireland and now Syria. The one over-arching theme is British counter-insurgency strategy, or more plainly, the use of state terrorism by British forces to achieve political objectives.

The story came alive again this week with two seemingly unrelated news developments. First, we learn of deeper involvement of Britain’s military in the violence raging across Syria. British military officers and Special Forces are reportedly training – in Jordanian territory – foreign-backed militants to step up their campaign of terrorism across Syria.

These terror gangs, whom the Western mainstream media call “freedom fighters”, have been plunging Syria into bloody chaos for the past 22 months, with car bombs ripping through civilian neighbourhoods and death squads massacring whole villages, the latest being Aqrab in Hama Province where over 125 people where murdered this week. Ample evidence shows that the mercenaries, recruited from various countries including Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, are covertly supplied with weapons and training from the US, Britain and France via the conduits of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

The surge in violence and killing of civilians, with a notable agenda of inciting sectarian war, is proof that the British expertise in fomenting terror is paying dividends for the Western imperialist objective of destabilizing Syrian society and the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The second development this week was the publication of an official British report into the murder 23 years ago of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane. The two issues, Syrian violence and the killing of Mr Finucane, are intimately related – although the British government and its media have done their best to bury any connection.

Let’s unravel the layers of obfuscation.

When the review of Mr Finucane’s murder by Sir Desmond de Silva QC was published this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron offered an apology to the family of the Belfast man. “I am deeply sorry,” said Cameron in the British House of Commons, and he went on to acknowledge that the killing pointed to “shocking levels of collusion” between British security forces and loyalist death squads. The latter were paramilitaries recruited from Northern Ireland’s pro-British civilian population that perpetrated many heinous murders during the conflict in that territory between 1969-1994.

However, the widow of Mr Finucane and their children denounced the latest review as a “white wash”. Geraldine Finucane has good reason to dismiss the report because it portrays the murder of her husband as a rogue act of violence. Cameron added to the white wash by saying that the case represented a “failing” by the British military forces to prevent the murder.

This is typical official British deception. For what the murder of Pat Finucane reveals is not a failure, but rather a successful deployment of Britain’s policy of state terrorism – a policy that involved the systematic collusion between British military intelligence and loyalist death squads. This practice was and is a central part of British counter-insurgency tactics – a policy that was overseen from the highest office of British government in Downing Street.

Much of Britain’s “dirty war” strategy, as an institutional practice, can be attributed to one of its most decorated military commanders – General Sir Frank Kitson.

Kitson published his war manual – Low Intensity Operations – in 1971. It has since become a standard text for British military counter-insurgency techniques, or as we have noted, state terrorism.

Kitson developed his techniques from his involvement in suppressing popular uprisings in the British colonies of Kenya during the Mau-Mau rebellion (1953-55) and in Malaya (1957) against a communist
insurgency there.

In 1970, the then Brigadier was dispatched to Northern Ireland, which itself was on the cusp of a renewed Irish republican struggle against British rule in that province of the United Kingdom. One of Kitson’s innovations was the recruitment of what he called “counter gangs”. For his endeavours and “meritrocious service”, he was later knighted by the British Queen, later going on to serve as her aide-de-camp and elevated to Commander-in-Chief of UK land forces from 1982-1985.
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Turk activist reveals ugly truth in Bahrain
Hürriyet Daily News – İpek Yezdani – 14 December, 2012

A Turkish forensics expert sneaked into Bahrain as a tourist and conducted a secret autopsy to prove that government forces had tortured a 23-year-old Bahraini man, Yousef Mowali, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, who has devoted her life to fighting torture and human rights violations around the world, proved with her autopsy that the victim was electrically tortured to the point that his life was at risk.

Mowali had left his home near the international airport to go for a walk on Jan. 11 and never returned. Police said they found Mowali’s body floating in the sea on Jan. 13 in the Amwaj region not far from his family’s home in Muharraq. A state doctor reported the cause of death as drowning and ruled out signs of violence.

However Mowali, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia a few years earlier, was taken into custody by the police during his walk.

His family, who were only able to receive his body after eight days, wanted a second autopsy report done by an independent forensic pathologist in order to prove that torture was used.

Following the family’s request, human rights activists in Bahrain contacted the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) for help.

“The lawyers in the IRCT sent an email to our group and asked for a forensic expert who could take the risk to go to Bahrain and examine the body of a torture victim. I was the most suitable among all of us because I did not need a visa to go inside Bahrain and did not look European at all, so I would not attract any attention,” Fincancı said.

Fincancı went to Bahrain Jan. 20 and stayed at the home of an activist to make it easier to collect what she needed for the forensic examination.

“I bought the surgical equipment in Bahrain, and we also found the necessary chemical solutions to put tissue samples in. I wore a long dress and hijab in order to look like a relative of the family who was visiting to express condolences. There were several police outside the place of the funeral but they were not suspicious of me because they were probably expecting a man and a European,” Fincancı said.

Fincancı made the two-hour-long forensic examination secretly inside the place where the funeral was being held. …more