U.S. blacklists al-Qaeda-linked rebel group in Syria
By Agence France-Presse – 11 December, 2012 – Raw Story

Washington blacklisted an Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group in Syria Tuesday, warning extremists could play no role in building the nation’s future as the US readies to recognize the new Syrian alliance.

The move against the Al-Nusra Front came ahead of talks in Morocco on Wednesday, when the United States is expected to give full recognition to the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Though a minority, Al-Nusra has been one of the most effective rebel groups fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, raising concerns that hardline extremists are hijacking the 21-month-old revolt.

“What is important is to understand that extremists fighting the Assad regime are still extremists and they have no place in the political transition that will come,” a senior State Department official said.

“Extremists should not dictate that political transition,” he insisted on a conference call with journalists, asking to remain anonymous.

The State Department designated the group linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) a foreign terrorist organization, while the Treasury also slapped sanctions on two of its leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al-Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab.

“Exposing the operation and the identities of Al-Nusra’s leaders is a key objective here,” another top US official said.

Topping the agenda at the Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakech will be two key issues — the political transition after Assad’s fall and mobilizing humanitarian aid as winter sets in amid a growing refugee crisis.

Declaring Al-Nusra a terrorist group freezes its assets and bans Americans from any transactions with it, but US officials said it would also help ensure that vital aid is falling into the right hands.

Countries wanting to support the opposition need to ensure they are helping “those opposition groups who truly have the best interest of Syria and Syrians in mind,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

They should not back “groups coming from the outside who want to hijack what the Syrian people have started for their own means, and have a very different future in mind, a future that is based in Al-Qaeda-based values and principles, not democratic-based principles and values.”

The group has claimed responsibility for recent suicide bombings that killed scores of people, and has said it hopes to replace the Assad family’s four-decade hold on power with a strict Islamic state.

Wednesday’s talks could mark a step forward for the Syrian opposition, which had struggled for months to unite until a new coalition arose from November meetings in Qatar.

“Now that there is a new opposition formed, we are going to be doing what we can to support that opposition,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Brussels last week. …source

Lenin on Marxism and Bourgeois Democracy
by Thomas Riggins – 9 December, 2012 – Political Affairs

Marxists must continue to work within bourgeois democratic parameters in order to maintain contact with the masses.

In chapter seven of “‘Left-Wing’ Communism an Infantile Disorder” Lenin addresses himself to the ultra-left claim that socialists should no longer work with or be members of bourgeois parliaments. This may not be a very pressing issue for American (i.e., U.S.) socialists and it seems settled as far as other countries are concerned (as a result of widespread agreement with Lenin’s views) but in Lenin’s day there were many so-called Left socialists who supported boycotting all bourgeois electoral work. Lenin thought this totally incorrect.

The ultra-Left’s position was that bourgeois democracy was historically and politically obsolete; the wave of the future was advancing worker’s democracy in the form of Soviets and so all Marxist socialists must only work to build that future. Lenin’s response to this is philosophically interesting and rooted in his reading of Hegel and his understanding of the latter’s historicism.

Lenin had made a profound study of Hegel’s Logic while in exile (among other of the German’s works) and could not but have been impressed by the following passage in Hegel’s introduction to his “Lectures on the Philosophy of History” (even though he thought Hegel had been completely antiquated with respect to most of his views on history by the work of Marx and Engels.) But the following Hegelian passage, I believe, still had meaning for him, and for us today as well.

Hegel wrote that he wished to call his students “attention to the important difference between a conception, a principle, a truth limited to an ABSTRACT form and its determinate application and concrete development.” An example would be that “all men are created equal” was an abstract truth, the civil war was a determinate application– as was the later civil rights movement. That application is still working itself out.

Grasping that Hegelian principle we can understand Lenin when he agrees with the ultra-left that indeed bourgeois democracy IS historically obsolete. Lenin says this is true in a “propaganda sense.” Capitalism has also been obsolete for over a hundred years, he says, it is obsolete today in that we know its contradictions, that it doesn’t work and cannot feed the people and insure their future and we know that socialism is the answer and the only future available if humanity is not to perish but this ABSTRACT truth, from the point of view of world history, does not mean that its determinate application, its concrete development will not require “a very long and persistent struggle ON THE BASIS of capitalism”

Lenin says world history is measured in decades, indeed he could have said centuries (Napoleon saw the Sphinx looking down on him from 40 centuries): whether the concrete development reaches fruition now or a century from now is something indifferent to world history. Lenin was mistaken in seeing the revolutionary era of his day as the fruition of the social ideal just as we are wrong to see the globalization of the capitalist world market as the refutation of the social ideal which from the point of view of world history may be ushered in by a new revolutionary era which may even now be at the heart of the current world capitalist breakdown and may take place in a decade or in 20 decades. For this “very reason,” Lenin says, “it is a glaring theoretical error to apply the yardstick of world history to practical politics.”

So, while in a technical sense the ultra-left is correct about the historical “obsolescence” of bourgeois democracy, the real question is, is bourgeois democracy politically obsolete? The answer to that is a resounding “NO!” The masses of working people participate in bourgeois elections and think in terms of bourgeois constitutionality and for Marxists to ignore that fact and refuse to engage in political work where the masses are is the height of irresponsibility. This mistake that is raising its head again in 1920 was already refuted and abandoned in 1918 by the German socialists. Both Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, “outstanding political leaders” opposed it in Germany and subsequent events have proven them to be correct. …more

‘You have to demolish them while they’re small’ — Israel’s chief justice approves destruction of mosque
by Annie Robbins – 11 December, 2012 – Mondoweiss

Amira Hass wrote an important article in Haaretz yesterday about a gruesome phrase uttered by Israel’s new Supreme Court Chief Justice referencing the demolition of a mosque in the south Hebron Hills last week: “You have to demolish them while they’re small.”

On its face, the demolition was nothing extraordinary and what we’ve come to expect. But the destruction of this little mosque in the village of Al Mufaqara provides yet another example of how Regavim, a rising, extreme-national-religious social movement whose goal is to encourage the state to demolish Palestinian homes and public buildings, works in symmetry with Israel’s recently radicalized Supreme Court to escalate efforts to remove Palestine from the map.

This is about a new political constellation: Regavim, the Supreme Court, and the Knesset are working together to circumvent the law and cleanse the land. In the past, though the court acted to facilitate the land grab, it was still an instrument of legal recourse, and at times worked in Palestinians’ favor. But recent changes by the Knesset’s judicial selection committee are apparently being used to make the court a more activist component of the push to clear Palestinians from Area C.

Oddly, some Israeli supporters consider the words of the Chief Justice “a minor miracle.” Hass referenced the website Hakol Hayehudi (“The Jewish Voice,” whose tagline is “News for Happy Jews” ), which reported ‘rejoice’-ing at the judge’s phraseology.

I unearthed this same glee in an article at another site, the Jewish Press, which describes the mosque as an “ugly thing.” So let’s take a closer look at a ‘miracle’ and later, what it tells us about Israel’s annexation plans . …more

Bahrain opposition welcomes dialogue
11 December, 2012 – Jafria News

JNN 11 Dec 2012 Manama : Bahraini opposition groups have welcomed a recent call by Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa for a national dialogue.

The opposition groups, led by al-Wefaq, said in a statement on Saturday that they “look favorably upon the appeal by the crown prince.” They also called for a “serious dialogue with agreement on the participants, agenda and duration.”

“The opposition is ready to take part in a dialogue whose result must be put to the people, the source of all powers. From the very beginning, the opposition has opted for peaceful means to gain democracy,” the statement added.

On Friday, the Bahraini prince called for dialogue with the opposition, saying only talks could solve the political unrest in Bahrain.

“I soon hope to see a meeting between all sides – and I call for a meeting between all sides – as I believe that only through face-to-face dialogue will any real progress be made,” he said in an address to a conference organized by the International Institute for Security Studies.

However, no opposition figures were invited to the conference.

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 been killed 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. …more

Viral Justice: The MOI’s Continued Failure to Hold Police Accountable Despite Evidence
11 December, 2012 – Marc Owen Jones blog

On 9th December, the Ministry of the Interior announced that they would be launching an investigation into the brutal arrest of a young man in the village of Diraz. This announcement came after a video of the incident was distributed on Twitter and Facebook the day before. The video in question shows police hitting and slapping a young boy who is clearly subdued and under control.

Although continued police brutality (despite the government’s vociferous claims of reform) is hardly surprising, it is odd that the MOI should announce an investigation into the Diraz incident almost 3 months after the video first surfaced. Indeed, video evidence of the incident in question was first uploaded on 20th September.

Not viral? No ‘justice’

So why has it taken 3 months for the MOI to announce an investigation? Was whoever runs the MOI Twitter account absent the day the video was first posted? Given that the original video has about 66,000 hits, you’d think the police would be among those who had seen it (what with it being their job to investigate crime etc). In all fairness, I guess the police are more reluctant to investigate crime when they are the ones carrying it out. Maybe 66,000 hits isn’t enough to warrant an investigation? I mean, a video that showed police beating a man in Bani Jamrah got 86,000 hits, and the MOI described this as a ‘ viral video’. Maybe 80,000 is the cutoff point for defining something as viral/worthy of announcing an investigation into. Usually the MOI respond on Twitter to these ‘viral videos’ pretty soon after they occur. The usual format is to announce an investigation and then to say nothing more about it. Indeed, Fig 1 at the bottom of this post that documents incidents involving police criminality that the MOI have pledged to investigate. …more

Mumia: The Unsilenced Voice of a “Long-Distance Revolutionary”
10 December, 2012 – By Chris Hedges – Truthout.org

I am sitting in the visiting area of the SCI Mahanoy prison in Frackville, Pa., on a rainy, cold Friday morning with Mumia Abu-Jamal, America’s most famous political prisoner and one of its few authentic revolutionaries. He is hunched forward on the gray plastic table, his dreadlocks cascading down the sides of his face, in a room that looks like a high school cafeteria. He is talking intently about the nature of empire, which he is currently reading voraciously about, and effective forms of resistance to tyranny throughout history. Small children, visiting their fathers or brothers, race around the floor, wail or clamber on the plastic chairs. Abu-Jamal, like the other prisoners in the room, is wearing a brown jumpsuit bearing the letters DOC—for Department of Corrections.

Abu-Jamal was transferred in January to the general prison population after nearly 30 years in solitary confinement on death row and was permitted physical contact with his wife, children and other visitors for the first time in three decades. He had been sentenced to death in 1982 for the Dec. 9, 1981, killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. His sentence was recently amended to life without parole. The misconduct of the judge, flagrant irregularities in his trial and tainted evidence have been criticized by numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International.

Abu-Jamal, who was a young activist in the Black Panthers and later one of the most important radical journalists in Philadelphia, a city that a few decades earlier produced I.F. Stone, has long been the bête noire of the state. The FBI opened a file on him when he was 15, when he started working with the local chapter of the Black Panthers. He was suspended from his Philadelphia high school when he campaigned to rename the school for Malcolm X and distributed “black revolutionary student power” literature.

Stephen Vittoria’s new film documentary about Abu-Jamal, “Long Distance Revolutionary,” rather than revisit the case, chronicles his importance and life as an American journalist, radical and intellectual under the harsh realities of Pennsylvania’s death row. Abu-Jamal has published seven books in prison, including his searing and best-selling “Live From Death Row.” The film features the voices of Cornel West, James Cone, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Alice Walker and others. It opens in theaters Feb. 1, starting in New York City. In the film Gregory says that Abu-Jamal has single-handedly brought “dignity to the whole death row.” …more

Is anyone wondering why the FBI took out Petraeus using a deranged whore and a shirtless FBI agent? Did Obama need to discredit Petraeus to get him out and shut him up about Obama and Clinton’s inept bumbling on foreign policy? Phlipn.

Al Qaeda in Syria
10 December, 2012 – NYT

The presence of rebel fighters in Syria that were trained and supported by Al Qaeda poses a serious problem for the United States and Western allies. The Nusra Front, an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq, has become one of the most effective forces fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr. Obama has blacklisted the Nusra Front as a terrorist organization, which would make it illegal for Americans to have financial dealings with it. It makes sense to isolate the group and try to dry up its resources, but the designation by itself isn’t sufficient. American officials have to make a case directly to the countries or actors that are believed to be most responsible, either directly or as a conduit, for the weapons and other assistance to the Nusra Front: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. However much they may want to see Mr. Assad fall, they play a deadly game in empowering any affiliate of Al Qaeda, which though weakened, is dedicated to global jihad and the violent overthrow of Sunni monarchies.

The problem is that many Syrian rebel groups work closely with the Nusra Front precisely because its skilled fighters have been so effective at storming fortified Syrian positions and leading other battalions to capture military bases and oil fields.

Some say the terrorist designation could backfire by pitting the United States against the rebel forces. Others have argued that one way to marginalize the jihadi groups is for the United States to arm the moderate and secular rebel groups or even establish a no-fly zone that would forcibly ground the Syrian Air Force.

But the situation in Syria is extremely complicated, and President Obama’s caution in resisting military intervention is the right approach. As we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan, even after committing tens of thousands of troops, America’s ability to affect the course and outcome of armed conflict is decidedly limited.

Against the backdrop of war, the United Nations, the United States and some European officials are still promoting a negotiated deal to limit the bloodshed. Even if the warring sides were willing to abandon the fight, any deal would require Russian support, but talks between American and Russian officials over the weekend gave no sign that Moscow is prepared to abandon Mr. Assad. …source

Road Map Drawn Up by Syrian Traitors to Serve Imperialists, Gulf Monarchies
10 December, 2012 – By Noureddine Merdaci – Truthout

It will perhaps take months, if not years, before we will be able to reconstruct the process by which Syria found itself trapped in this civil war. Obviously, Damascus had not measured the danger, not only for the regime in power, but even for Syria itself, now in danger of disappearing as a nation-state. However, the veil begins to lift on the circumstances of the “conclave” held in Doha in early November, which saw a heterogeneous “opposition” – divided, without a program and without perspective – provide itself with a leader, Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, and a “coalition.”

But to achieve this, according to sources familiar with the matter, the Syrian “opponents” were ordered by Qatar to “find” an agreement, sine qua non, before leaving the room they were provided. This means that the “Syrian opposition” had a gun to its head, forcing it to reach this minimum agreement. Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, took a personal interest in the proceedings. In reality, the “revolt” in Syria, totally managed by foreign countries and their intelligence services, was a proxy war against the Syrian national state, a war which needed “Syrians at their service” only to serve as “local color.”

In Syria, it is fighters coming from many Arab countries, elements of al-Qaeda, jihadists from Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan – well-armed – who kill Syrian civilians and fight against the Syrian army alongside a handful of deserters. So, in Doha, it was necessary to “unify” the opposition, whose credibility was placed in question, even by one of its main sponsors, the United States, which has applied its full weight to restore a semblance of consistency and visibility to an opposition created completely by France, Qatar, and the United States in particular, and supported by Turkey, which “persuaded” NATO to install “Patriot” missiles on its territory – more precisely on the borders with Syria. Doha has been a refocusing of a rebellion that had not been able to achieve the goals ordered by its sponsors.

In fact, we can better understand the situation when we know the terms of the “Doha Protocol,” a document we have been able to consult, which contains the following 13 points:

1. Syria should reduce the number of soldiers of the Syrian army to 50,000;

2. Syria will assert its right to sovereignty over the Golan only by political means. Both parties will sign peace agreements under the auspices of the United States and Qatar;

3. Syria must get rid of, under the supervision of the United States, all its chemical and biological weapons and all of its missiles. This operation must be carried out on the land of Jordan;

4. To cancel any claim of sovereignty over Liwa Iskenderun (Alexandretta) and to withdraw in favor of Turkey from some border villages inhabited by Turkmens in “muhafazahs” in Aleppo and Idlib;

5. To expel all members of the Workers Party of Kurdistan, and to hand over those wanted by Turkey. This party should be added to the list of terrorist organizations;

6. To cancel all agreements and contracts signed with Russia and China in the fields of subsurface drilling and armaments;

7. To allow Qatari gas pipeline passage through the Syrian territory toward Turkey and then on to Europe;

8. To allow water pipes to pass through the Syrian territory from the Atatürk Dam to Israel;

9. Qatar and United Arab Emirates pledge to rebuild what has been destroyed by the war in Syria on the condition that their companies have the exclusive access to contracts for reconstruction and for exploitation of Syrian oil and gas;

10.To terminate relations with Iran, Russia and China;

11.To break off relations with Hezbollah and with Palestinian resistance movements;

12. The Syrian regime should be Islamic and not Salafi;

13. This agreement will come into effect as soon as power is taken ((Algerian) Editor’s note: by the “Opposition”).

This is the price of foreign pressures and of resignation and treachery on the part of Arab states. A high price, an exorbitant price for Syria that persons calling themselves “Syrian” have endorsed. Indeed, this agreement, or rather “Protocol,” is thus the price that the Syrian opposition will have to pay once installed in power in Damascus, as stated in Article 13 of the “Doha Agreement.”

In this way, each of the sponsors of the “revolt of the Syrian people” has helped himself according to his own interests and appetite. The United States, by disarming Syria and distancing the nation from its friends; Turkey, by retrieving Syrian villages and modifying the common borders according to its interests; Qatar, by being granted contracts for the “reconstruction” of the country; and Saudi Arabia, by the establishment of an Islamic regime of its devotion.

This is a virtual castration of Syria, to be stripped of its sovereignty just as Egypt was by the Camp David Agreements in 1979. Actually, it is as if the “opposition” – supported at arm’s length by Qatar – were to demand the immediate recognition of Israel, with, however, as in Article 2 of the Doha protocol, a negotiated settlement.

This is a sharing of Syrian hoard! Nowhere is there any question of democracy, freedom, human rights, building a new Syria in which the Syrians, whatever their ethnicity, religion and belief, enjoy the same rights. Instead, each of the “sponsors” served himself first, taking whatever he wanted.

For those who know the turbulent history of the Ottoman Middle East, everything is explained, and Doha was the point of no return for a Syrian opposition that no longer had a voice. It was only to justify the “syrianity” of the events. This was clearly seen in Cairo when the new “boss” of the “coalition,” Moez Ahmed al-Khatib, arrived in the baggage of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani for the Arab League meeting that took place in the mid-November.

In Syria, the scenario acted out for Libya is surpassed, and there is now danger of a general destabilization of the world, even that fragmentation for which American civilian “experts” and military have been working without interruption. We should consider this situation seriously!

Translated by Chrysanthie Therapontos, edited by Henry Crapo, translators for Humanité in English.

…source

Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab’s prison sentence reduced
11 December, 2012 – BBC

An appeals court in Bahrain has reduced the prison sentence handed to prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab from three years to two.

The court upheld Mr Rajab’s conviction of encouraging “illegal gatherings”.

His lawyer, Mohammed al-Jishi, told AP news agency that he had been cleared of a charge of insulting police.

Mr Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been a leader of the pro-democracy protests which have rocked the kingdom since February 2011.

The 48-year-old is also one of the most well-known activists in the Arab world, with more than 185,000 followers on Twitter.

Mr Rajab’s wife, Sumaya, said she had spoken to him briefly in court on Tuesday after the appeal against his conviction was rejected.

“He told me he was not expecting two years. He was thinking that they would release him,” she told the BBC.

Mr Rajab was originally sentenced to a year on each of three identical charges but in two cases the sentences were cut in half.

Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch called the decision “bizarre”.

“The Bahraini judiciary is extremely politicised,” he said, noting the pressure that international human rights groups have put on the government to release Mr Rajab and other political prisoners.

“They gave an inch to international concern but Nabeel Rajab is still facing two years in jail, punished for exercising his right to freedom of association.”

On Sunday, US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner urged the authorities to “drop charges against all persons accused of offenses involving non-violent political expression and freedom of assembly”.

The next day, another activist, Zainab al-Khawaja, was sentenced a month in prison for entering the “prohibited area” of the former site of Manama’s Pearl Roundabout – the focus of last year’s unrest. …source

Bahrain Sentences Opposition Leaders on Charges of Freedom of Expression
9 December, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – 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: Washington and London Endorse Dialogue With Tyrants, War Criminals and Torturers
by AIM – 3 August 2011 – Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission

Washington and London have both endorsed the Al Khalifas’ “dialogue and reform efforts” to give cover to their client regime

Efforts by the US and British-backed Bahraini regime to repair its international image over human rights violations are in tatters with the revelation that senior members of the oil kingdom’s royal family have been personally involved in torturing hundreds of civilian detainees, including doctors and nurses.

One of the torturers-in-chief is Captain Nasser Al Khalifa, son of the king. He graduated this year “with honours” from the US Marine Corps University at Qantico, Washington.

This criminal rule by inner-circle members of the House of Al Khalifa also exposes Washington and London’s efforts to positively talk up reforms and dialogue by their Persian Gulf ally as a cynical sham. In Libya and Syria, war and sanctions are declared against alleged human rights abusers. But in Bahrain, Washington and London say pro-democracy protesters must embrace the rulers’
so-called initiative for national dialogue.

Revelations of royal family brutality in Bahrain also make a mockery of King Hamad’s announcement last month of an “independent” human rights probe into violations that took place during the Western-backed Saudi-led military invasion of the oil-rich kingdom earlier this year.

Yet again Washington and London had trumpeted this move as a positive step to reform in the Gulf kingdom, where a minority unelected Sunni elite has ruled over a majority Shia population for 40 years since nominal independence from Britain in 1971.

But how can such a regime be taken seriously for investigating crimes against humanity when the perpetrators of those crimes are senior members of the regime? Since the popular and peaceful uprising against the US and British-backed monarchy began in mid-February, nearly 40 unarmed civilians have been killed by state forces. The head of the armed services is Supreme Commander King Hamad.

The king’s other son by his second of four marriages, Shaikh Khalid, is also named as being personally involved in meting out torture to prisoners. Shaikhs Khalid and Nasser are half brothers of Crown Prince Salman, who was greeted in Washington by President Barack Obama last month when he announced Bahrain’s “national dialogue” and “political reforms”.

The Crown Prince told media then after his White House meeting: “I fully share the President’s outlook concerning respect for universal human rights and the continuance of Bahrain’s process of meaningful reform.”

In stark contrast to such rhetoric about respecting universal human rights, many former Bahraini detainees described to Global Research a litany of brutalities that they endured at the hands of senior members of the Al Khalifa regime. The victims have told how they were punched, kicked and whipped and made to stand for days continuously without sleep. If they fell over from exhaustion, they would be kicked and punched and forced to resume standing.

Prisoners were routinely blindfolded, electrocuted, suspended from ceilings with handcuffs, or trussed like chickens on a metal pole and left to hang for prolonged periods. In many instances, former inmates said they or members of their families were threatened with rape if they did not sign confessions to scripted crimes.

Most of the torture is believed to have taken place in the underground cells of the Ministry of Interior headquarters – al Qala – in the capital, Manama. The king’s sons were present during interrogations and were personally involved in torture sessions, according to former detainees in independent testimonies. Other members of the Al Khalifa entourage are accused of participating in gross maltreatment of prisoners. They include high-ranking officers in the Bahrain Defence Forces.

One senior royal family member in particular with blood on her hands is Shaikha Noura Al Khalifa, who is a Ministry of Interior officer. Her precise relation to King Hamad is not clear, but she is one of the regime inner-circle. She is said to have overseen the torture of female detainees, including teachers, students, doctors and nurses.

One released female detainee told how she was blindfolded, beaten on the head and verbally abused. “I was called a dirty Shia whore,” she said.

The former detainee said her interrogators would refer deferentially to the torturer-in-chief present in the room by her royal title “shaikha”. At one point, the prisoner’s blindfold slipped off and she said she recognised the royal.

Other former female prisoners told how they were subjected to similar physical and mental trauma conducted by Shaikha Noura. Bahraini prison sources have told Global Research that the 20-year-old female poet Ayat Al Qurmezi, who was released last week from a one-year sentence, was also subjected to torture by the same royal. …more

Bahrain tries 8 policemen for torturing detainees
AFP – 10 December, 2012 – ahramonline

Bahrain’s public prosecution said Monday it charged eight policemen with torturing detainees in the wake of last year’s crackdown on Shiite-led protests.

“Five cases have been referred to special courts after charging eight policemen, including a lieutenant,” the prosecution said in a statement carried by the BNA state news agency.

The charges range from “using torture to force a defendant to confess, to causing a permanent disability, as well as insults and physical assaults,” the statement said.

In September, a policeman was jailed seven years for killing a protester during the month-long protests that were brutally quelled in mid-March 2011.

The authorities say they are implementing the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry called for by the king that confirmed allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during the uprising against the Sunni ruling dynasty.

Home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain still witnesses sporadic Shiite-led demonstrations, mostly outside the capital.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, around 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence began on February 14, 2011. …source