This is Part 2 of a four-part series, “How Petraeus Created the Myth of His Success.” Part One: “How the Myth Began – Petraeus in Mosul” was published November 27, 2012.

How Petraeus Quietly Stoked the Fires of Sectarian War Without Getting Burned
4 December, 2012 – By Gareth Porter – Truthout

Introduction

The discovery of his affair with Paula Broadwell has ended David Petraeus’ career, but the mythology of Petraeus as the greatest US military leader since Eisenhower for having engineered turnarounds in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars lives on.

A closer examination of his role in those wars reveals a very different picture, however.

As this four-part series shows, Petraeus represents a new type of military commander, whose primary strength lay neither in strategy nor in command of combat, but in the strategic manipulation of information to maintain domestic political support for counterinsurgency wars of choice, while at the time enhancing his own reputation.

The series shows how Petraeus was engaged from the beginning of the Iraq war in creating a myth about himself as a commander with unique ability to defeat insurgents, that he had failed in his first two commands in Iraq and that he did not believe that war was winnable.

But the account also shows that Petraeus seems to have eventually begun to believe his own myth of himself as successful counterinsurgency strategist. The shift from deception of others to self-deception is the dominant theme of his command of the war in Afghanistan.

Sectarian Militias and “Frago 242”

In April 2004, the US-supported Iraqi Civil Defense Corps units, recruited from Sunni communities, collapsed in the face of insurgent offensive, shrinking overnight by more than 50 percent – including 82 percent of the troops in the Sunni stronghold of western Iraq. The US military and the Bush administration suddenly realized that they could not rely on the Sunni troops and police to fight the Sunni insurgency.

That event propelled David Petraeus into a new level of responsibility. He was given a new command to oversee the creation of a new Iraqi military and police force, along with his third star. Petraeus told Newsweek that he had met with President George W. Bush and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and they had told him, “Whatever you need, you’ve got it.”

The decision to name Petraeus commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) was accompanied by another momentous decision: the Defense Department abandoned its previous public policy of requiring that sectarian militias disband – a policy it had not actually carried out. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 19, 2004, Wolfowitz said, “The approach to those militias is to try over time to integrate them into new Iraqi security forces.”

The militias in question were both Shi’a and Kurdish, and the idea of using them to fight Sunni insurgents raised the specter of sectarian and ethnic warfare. But that was consistent with the larger strategy of Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy: a de facto alliance with the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its military arm, the Badr Organization.

Their friend Ahmad Chalabi, head of the anti-Saddam Iraqi National Congress who was aligned with SCIRI and Badr, had promised them that that a Shi’a government would normalize relations with Israel. Along with the rest of the neoconservative elite, Wolfowitz and Feith refused to believe Chalabi’s allies intended to pursue a sectarian Shi’a political agenda, with support and direction from Iran.

A third consequential Bush decision followed the Petraeus command decision and the new reliance on Shi’a troops: an order to US commanders not to interfere, in effect, with the torture of prisoners by Iraqi security forces. On June 26, 2004, the US military command in Baghdad issued “Frago [fragmentary order] 242,” regarding the handling of incidents of detainee abuse by Iraqi troops and police. The order said, “Only an initial report will be made for apparent LOAC [Law of Armed Conflict Violations] … not involving US personnel. No further investigation will be required unless direct by higher HQ.”

That order, issued a few weeks after Petraeus had set up the new training command, opened the door for the use by newly formed Iraqi security forces of brutal interrogation techniques on suspected insurgents. It came shortly after the Abu Ghraib scandal over mistreatment of Iraqi detainees by US troops had blown up in April, raising serious questions about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s previous approval of the use of torture by the US military to obtain intelligence on the Iraqi insurgency from detainees. …more

Urgent Appeal: Political Prisoner Ali Radhi’s Health Rapidly Deteriorating on 4th Day of Hunger Strike
4 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The 23 year-old political prisoner Ali Radhi from Al-Eker village is on the fourth day of a hunger strike to protest being placed in a solitary confinement for the last four days without any explanation. His health is rapidly deteriorating.

Following his arrest last October, Ali Radhi has been allegedly beaten, tortured, and forced into signing a confession against his will as well as implicate a list of people in other alleged crimes; Ali did not know many of the people on the list. During his interrogation, one of the main interrogators and torturers, Isa Al-Majali, told Ali “You will say what we want you to say, or you will be taken into the ‘black room’”. Ali continued to demand to see a lawyer, and he was taken into the ‘black room’ where he was brutally beaten.

Radhi was taken to the office of the Public Prosecution, and initially was relieved to be in a location where there is not supposed to be any facilities for torturous interrogation. When Radhi spoke to the Public Prosecutor, he informed him that the confession was made under duress, that he was tortured, and that he wanted to see a lawyer. The Prosecutor warned Ali to not continue with these claims, and when Radhi repeated his demand for a lawyer, according to information received by the BCHR, he was taken behind some stairs in the public prosecution building, and severely beaten.

When Ali was sent to the Dry Dock prison, he could barely walk and required the use of crutches. During the attack on prisoners few days ago, Ali’s cell has been raided by prison guards, and he was severely beaten before being moved from to Alnabih Saleh police station and put in solitary confinement without giving him any explanation. According to what he has told his lawyer during a quick phone call yesterday, Ali has started a hunger since 1 Dec 2012 to demand that he is taken out of solitary confinement and is returned to the Dry Dock where he was originally being held. On the 4th of December, his family received an update on his health, after a doctor was allowed to examine his conditions: his blood sugar level is low, and he is urinating blood.

Radhi was arrested in Al-Eker village, which has recently been the site of an intense government crackdown in association with the incident of a policeman’s death in which the government has accused the protester. Police officers and civilian militias raided homes and beat and arrested people without warrants, and blocked the supply of food and medical supplies to the injured. (See BCHR article from October 21st, 2012: bahrainrights.org/en/node/5487 and bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5486 )

The BCHR has received reports that many other prisoners are on a hunger strike, but because of the lack of transparency and communication, it has not yet been possible to confirm these other cases.

BCHR believes these acts are in violation of the prisoners’ rights and aim at discouraging other prisoners from speaking out against the abuses they are subjected to. BCHR believes that the Bahraini authorities are taking extra measures, including placement in solitary confinement, to control the hundreds of political prisoners, in absence of regular and independent monitoring of the prisons. …more

UN calls on Israel to open nuclear facilities
4 December, 2012 – By Edith M. Lederer – Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on Israel to quickly open its nuclear program for inspection and backing a high-level conference to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East which was just canceled.

All the Arab nations and Iran had planned to attend the conference in mid-December in Helsinki, Finland, but the United States announced on Nov. 23 that it wouldn’t take place, citing political turmoil in the region and Iran’s defiant stance on nonproliferation. Iran and some Arab nations countered that the real reason for the cancellation was Israel’s refusal to attend.

The resolution, approved Monday by a vote of 174-6 with 6 abstentions, calls on Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty “without further delay” and open its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Those voting “no” were Israel, the U.S., Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.

Resolutions adopted by the 193-member General Assembly are not legally binding but they do reflect world opinion and carry moral and political weight.

Israel refuses to confirm or deny it has nuclear bombs though it is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal. It has refused to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, along with three nuclear weapon states – India, Pakistan and North Korea.

The Arab proposal to create a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone in the Mideast, and to pressure Israel to give up its undeclared arsenal of perhaps 80 nuclear warheads, was endorsed at an NPT conference in 1995 but never acted on. In 2010, the 189 parties to the 1970 treaty called for convening a conference in 2012 on the establishment of a WMD-free zone in the Middle East.
…more

Royal Guard patrol cars could be used to crush ‘popular dissent’ in the Gulf Kingdom

Storm over German plan to supply Saudi Arabia with armoured vehicles
Tony Paterson – 3 December, 2012 – The Independent

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is reported to be considering a request from Saudi Arabia for the supply of several hundred German-made “Boxer” armoured patrol vehicles which are purpose built to help the military combat rebel forces and could be used to crush popular dissent.

In a report on the proposed arms deal which was leaked to Der Spiegel magazine, it was said that the request was discussed last week at a secret session of Germany’s federal security council which had previously given the go ahead for the controversial supply of anti-tank rocket launchers to Israel.

The magazine said the Saudi government had requested the Boxer vehicles for the Saudi Royal Guard – a unit whose role is confined mainly to protecting the Saudi royal family. “The Boxer is roadworthy and suitable for combating uprisings,” it noted.

It said that in the event of the “Arab Spring” spreading to Saudi Arabia, the Royal Guard would almost certainly be used to defend the royal family to the last. “Then there would be the possibility of German armoured vehicles being used against the masses,” the magazine wrote.

The Boxer is currently used by German forces in Afghanistan as an armoured troop transporter and patrol vehicle. It can also be used as a mini field hospital. The Saudi demand for the vehicles comes on top of a request for the supply of 270 German-built Leopard 2 tanks, which rate as the most sophisticated of their kind in the world.

The Leopard 2 “A7” version Saudi Arabia has requested is specifically designed for use in close combat situations such as house-to-house fighting. The deal could earn the manufacturers, the German arms producer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, up to €2bn.

Krauss-Mafffei is reported to have sent a Leopard 2 “A7” to Saudi Arabia for test purposes in July this year. A German army tank specialist was also sent along to monitor firing tests. However, Ms Merkel’s government is reported to have postponed any decision about the Saudi request for both the Leopard 2 tanks and Boxer armoured vehicles until next year.

The supply of German Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia was dismissed as “morally indefensible” by German opposition parties when news of the request emerged last year. Critics pointed out that the Saudi government had helped to crush a popular uprising in Bahrain in 2011. Volker Rühe, a former conservative defence minister, protested that Saudi Arabia needed “far-reaching reforms not weapons”.

Germany’s federal security council, which Ms Merkel presides over in person, was said to have secretly waived through the supply of anti-tank rocket launchers to Israel after first postponing the idea.

The German manufacturers, Dynamit Nobel Defence, advertise the weapons as being ideal for use over short distances or for firing from inside buildings. “They would be perfect for use against Hamas in the Gaza strip,” Der Spiegel wrote.

The security council decided against taking any decision about an Israeli request for anti-tank rocket launchers in June this year because of German Foreign Ministry concerns that they might be used for house-to-house fighting in areas of civilian unrest. However, on Monday their export was agreed because Israel was perceived to be under serious threat from Hamas, Der Spiegel said.

Like all her post-Second World War predecessors, Chancellor Merkel has insisted that for Germany the security of the state of Israel is “not negotiable”. Earlier this year the German government was reported to have supplied Israel with submarines capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads. …source

President Bush said: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear-weapons production.”

But Thielmann disagreed with Powell’s statement: “My understanding is that these particular vehicles were simply fire trucks. You cannot really describe as being a unique signature.” ….more

Alarm over Syria’s secretive chemical weapons
4 December, 2012 – Agence France Presse – The Daily Star

WASHINGTON: Activity around Syria’s chemical weapons is ringing alarm bells in Washington and other world capitals, but secrecy surrounding the stockpile makes it difficult to gauge its nature and size.

US President Barack Obama on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “there will be consequences” if he unleashed those weapons in the civil war wracking his country.

A US official told AFP that Syria had begun mixing chemicals that could be used to make sarin, a deadly nerve agent, while CNN reported Damascus could deploy the gas in a limited artillery attack on advancing rebels.

Experts, though, are unable to define the extent of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, emphasising that little public information exists. Syria is one of the few countries that has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Damascus has however signed the Geneva protocol, which bars the first use of chemical and biological weapons, though it does not make stipulations about production, storage and transfer.

“We are closely following information about Syria… but we can’t say more without sending inspectors on the ground,” Michael Luhan, a spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told AFP.

Intelligence services also have little to say on the subject.

“Syria’s well-established chemical warfare program includes a stockpile of nerve agent, which can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles,” Defense Intelligence Agency chief Lieutenant General Ronald Lee Burgess said in March 2011 testimony before a Senate panel.

“Syria continues to seek chemical warfare-related precursors and expertise from foreign sources.”

Syria is stockpiling “hundreds of tons” of various chemical agents, according to Leonard Spector of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

…more

Nearly two years on from Bahrain’s uprising, protests continue on a daily basis and human rights violations are rampant. Roshan Muhammed Salih argues the revolution has proven an inconvenient one not only for a complicit West but for the region’s Sunnis too.

Despite Western complicity and Arab indifference, Bahrain’s revolution goes on
By Roshan Muhammed Salih – 2 December, 2012 – Ceasefire

Bahrain has all the ingredients of the typical Arab Spring uprising – mass protests against pro-western despotic rulers, human rights violations, unlawful detention, military courts, foreign intervention, heroic resistance and bravery.

This cocktail has proven to be an effective mobiliser of the so-called Arab street, encouraging millions to support “good against evil, the “people versus the regime”. But not in Bahrain.

The truth is that much of the Arab and wider Muslim world remains indifferent to the situation there, buying into the sectarian propaganda bandied about by satellite TV stations and media commentators.

This uprising is seen by many as a Shia revolt which might extend Iran’s influence in the region. This attitude, in my view, is a serious error which will only entrench US-led imperialism through its Saudi proxy, and will poison Sunni-Shia relations when Muslim unity is a pre-requisite for Arab Spring success.

Rather, the uprising in Bahrain should be seen as a mutiny against despotism and western imperialism. And it should be supported by Sunnis whose own schools of thought have always considered Shias to be their brothers, and who should realise that western imperialism is the major obstacle to true and meaningful change.

Yet the fact is that nearly two years after the uprising first broke out in February 2011, not much seems to have changed in the country itself. Protests take place every day (largely unreported), human rights abuses and discrimination remain rampant, and the so-called reform process remains stalled.

The uprising has also been overshadowed by events in Syria, and more recently in Gaza, while regional and international support for Bahrain’s despotic rulers remains firm. And the Sunni world, it seems, just doesn’t care.

Human rights

A year ago the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) excoriated the country’s rulers for using “excessive force” during a crackdown on protests in early 2011.

The head of the commission, Cherif Bassiouni, said many detainees were subjected to “physical and psychological torture” and their basic human rights had been violated. Many inmates, he added, had been blindfolded, whipped, kicked, given electric shocks and threatened with rape to extract confessions.

Sayyid Ahmad, who was recently granted asylum in Britain, says he has direct experience of this.

“Masked men beat me, they blindfolded and cuffed me when I was in detention,” he told me. “They made me chant slogans against Shia leaders, they pulled my hair, spat in my face. But the worst thing was when they sexually abused me – that was the only time when I felt I couldn’t take it anymore. That made me hate myself.”

Ahmed obtained his degree in electrical engineering from Brighton University before going back to Bahrain to find work in 2010. But on his return, he says, he couldn’t find a job because the best ones were reserved for Sunnis.

So after a frustrating 8 months unable to find the job he felt he deserved, Ahmad was more than ready to join the protests when they erupted in February 2011. …more

Bahraini Activist: Al-Khalifa Regime Powerless to Suppress Popular Revolution
3 December, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Bahraini opposition figure said that the incapability of the Al-Khalifa to suppress the popular uprising in the tiny Persian Gulf island shows that the regime lacks the power to confront people’s peaceful revolution.

“Some security and military bodies of Bahrain, whose decision-makers are not known and are involved in the suppression of the nation, are now facing internal differences emanating from power-mongering,” Jamil Kazzem, a senior member of Bahrain’s National al-Wefaq party, told Al-Alam television channel on Saturday.

He further lashed out at the Bahraini media for censoring the news coverage of the regime’s suppressions and besieging many regions of the country, specially Mahza village near the capital Manama.

Yesterday, hundreds of Bahrainis staged large demonstrations across the country, calling for the ouster of the al-Khalifa regime and the establishment of a democratic ruling system in their tiny Persian Gulf island.

The protesters asked for the downfall of the Bahraini regime, establishment of a democratic system, and voiced support for people in Mahza village, southern capital City of Manama, which has been under siege by the Bahraini security forces since two weeks ago.

According to the Bahraini media, the security forces have launched several night raids on the village residents.

The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by an overwhelming majority of the people, has resorted to any harsh measure to suppress popular protests and arrest political activists. It also revoked the nationality of 31 men on charges of harming national security earlier this month.

The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as clerics, human rights lawyers and activists.

Also on the list published by Bahraini News Agency (BNA) were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shiite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz.

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, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

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 people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Bahrain: ANHRI calls the Bahraini regime to respect the freedom of expression and the religious belief
Cairo – 2 December, 2012

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) today condemned the Bahraini security forces use of excessive force to address the demonstrations that took place in several villages near Manama on Friday, November 30, 2012.

Several villages near Manama had witnessed mass demonstrations to protest on the security siege imposed by the security forces since three weeks on “Mahza” village, in an answer to the call of the February 14 coalition. They carried banners include slogans opposes the regime and pictures of the detainees in the Bahraini prisons. Bahraini security have addressed the demonstrations by dense tear gas, sound bombs and shut gun bullets which resulted in several injuries among the protesters; such as “Ahmed Mohamed El-Elwani” who was arrested from the village of El-Mosli with a group of his friends then they were tortured before his releasing his friends and he still in the El-Khamis police station.

In a related context the Bahraini security forces destroyed some Shiite mosques in the some villages, among them “Abutaleb” mosque in “Hamd Dawar 19” city and the military mosque of El-Hussien in the city of Hamd Dawar 22. In addition to destroying a wall of Fadak mosque as well as tearing some religious banners and slogans in some regions.

ANHRI said that “the repressive policy of the regime, which escalated recently, begin to clear that it discriminates between the people. The regime started to follow the Shiite activists and villages in addition to destroying their worship houses and assaulting their special ceremonies. The regime also prosecuted the preachers due to their speeches in Friday prayers in order to represent the revolution as if its sectarian not popular in addition to increasing the intransigence of the regime in dealing with the legitimate requests of Bahraini people”.

ANHRI called the Bahrini regime to respect the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief to all the people. …source

330 Houses Raided in Mehazza, 90 arrested
4 December, 2012 – Shia Post

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society held a forum Sunday in solidarity with the Mehazza village under siege, in Sitra island, in which it demanded the siege be lifted and an immediate stop to daily house raids. Al-Wefaq sees these practices as part of the regime’s collective punishment against villages and areas where any opposition exists.
Al-Wefaq stated that the regime bears full responsibility of the abuses against citizens in the village of Mehazza.

Sayed Jameel Khadim, head of al-Wefaq Shura Council, said during the forum that abuses and violations are perpetrated in bright day light in Mehazza by the regime forces with no shame whatsoever. He denounced the immoral behavior of the forces and the regime’s silence.

Khadim questioned the role of the international community that has limited its condemnation of violence to the opposition. ” The authority is the one responsible for violence and incitement against and targeting of the opposition. Where is the international community from this? Is it only going to be concerned?”, he said. He also called on everyone that has been subjected to abuse or any kind of violation to document such incidents.

Sadeq Rabea, a municipal member representing Sitra who has been dismissed, mentioned in his speech at the forum that 330 houses in Mehazza village have been raided, some of which were houses of families of martyrs of the revolution. Rabea said that more than 90 citizens were arrested during these house raids, some have been released while others remain in detention.

Rabea also pointed out that the detainees have been forced to sign on confessions they knew nothing of. He mentioned, “A detainee’s wife said that her husband has been subjected to immoral torture,” he added, ” this is no exaggeration”. …source

Bahrain: Reports of Abuse, Threats & Beatings of Political Prisoners at the Dry Dock prison
02 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the wellbeing and safety of the Dry Dock political prisoners, especially the prisoners of section 3, who have been reportedly attacked on more than one occasion after the release of a statement by a newly formed Prisoners of Conscience Coalition (PCCB).

The statement was released on 27th, Nov 2012 and concentrates on the need for starting a new phase to object the injustices experienced by the political detainees. It also asked for the support of political societies, human rights and international movements. The statement ends with a promise of announcing more details in the coming few days.

On Thursday 29th Nov, the BCHR received information that section 3 was stormed by riot police and attacked. The families of section 3 detainees have had no communication with their sons since the day of the reported attack and there are worrying reports of political prisoners being beaten and some transferred to solitary confinement.

According to the information received by the BCHR, the prisoners were first attacked on the 27th of November less than 15 minutes after the release of the statement, which spoke of the worrying conditions of Bahraini political prisoners and vowed to take action in demanding their rights. PCCB stated that “the abuse” of prisoners “starts from the first stages of the usually brutal arrests carried out by security forces and secret agents, to the physical and psychological torture during interrogations, where prisoners are forced to sign confessions which are then used against them in courts that lack any form of justice and independence”

The BCHR has documented thousands of cases of abuse of political prisoners since the start of the February 14th mass protests, including physical and psychological torture, lack of medical treatment of injured prisoners, and imprisonment of minors. The BCHR fully supports the prisoner’s right to form a coalition to call for their rights and an end to violations.

Based on the above, the BCHR calls on the US, the UK, the UN and all other allies and international institutions to put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to:

1. Immediately grant access to the prison to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other independent human rights organizations with qualified and honest inspectors to examine the situation. Also, to reform the situation and to prosecute those involved in any violations and to punish or isolate delinquent administrative authorities.
2. Immediately release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who were detained for merely exercising their rights as granted in the universal declaration of human rights.
3. Immediately drop all trumped up charges, especially those relating to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
4. Immediately stop systematic torture of prisoners & allow them to call their families.
5. Hold all those within the government, it’s ministries and employees who are responsible for human rights violations accountable.

…source

Bahrain Continues to Drag Feet Along Pathway to Reform
3 December, 2012 – Human Rights First

Washington, DC – Today’s postponement of the an appeal hearing for the prominent dissidents known as the Bahrain 13 marks another missed chance for the Kingdom’s authorities to start making real human rights progress, said Human Rights First. The appeal hearing was postponed until January 7, 2013.

“The constant delays in court hearings only adds to the perception that Bahrain authorities are dragging their feet along the path to reform,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “These men were given a sham trial in military court last year and today’s decision just further postpones justice in this case.”

Last week, a Bahraini court ruled in the appeal of nine members of the political society Amal. Four of the men had their original sentences reduced from 10 to five years in prison, while the other five were released. Those still in jail are Sheikh Mohammed Ali Almahfoodh, Talal Abdulhamid, Sheikh Jasim Aldimistani, and Sayed Mahdi Almusawi .

“The delay to release the Amal people means a delay in reaching any solution in Bahrain,” a close observer of the case in Bahraini told Human Rights First. “The charges against them do not even meet the standards of official charges, and till now, there is no real evidence against them in court.”

The Amal Society, also known as the Islamic Action Society, was one of the groups prominent in the protests in Bahrain early last year. During the crackdown following the February and March protests the government closed its headquarters and de-registered Amal as a political society.

This week a four-member UN human rights team is in Bahrain to assess the human rights crisis and next week, on December 11, leading human rights defender and President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab is due to hear his verdict in his appeal against a three-year prison term for taking part in illegal gatherings.

Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino recently traveled to Bahrain, where she witness court proceedings in the case of 28 medics prosecuted after treating injured protestors during the democratic uprising last year. Her account of that trip was featured in an opinion piece published today by The Washington Post. …source