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

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

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

Christmas in Prison
by Brendan Kiley – The Stranger

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

And the waiting. Lots and lots of waiting.

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

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

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

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

That was all he asked about the May Day vandalism.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bahrain: Detained Activist Masooma Al-Sayed is Facing Trumped up Charges Aimed at Prolonging her Detention
22 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Activist Masooma Al-Sayed continued o be held in detention on trumped up charges after she was arbitrarily arrested on 21st September 2012 following her participation in a peaceful protest called for by the 14th Feb Youth Coalition in the capital Manama. The use of excessive force during the arrest caused bruises on her hands and legs.(1) Masooma is a mother of two, Al-Hur (7 years old) and Nouh (5 years old) and suffers from sickle cell disease.

AlSayed was accused of “illegal protesting” pending trial while detained. The judge kept postponing the trial for 1 month and 21 days.

On 11th November 2012 Masooma AlSayed was to be released without a verdict, but when her family went to the police station to receive her, the police denied her released because on the same day she was accused of insulting police officer Fareeda Khamees.

AlSayed was taken to the public prosecution on 14th November 2012, and her detention was extended until the 18th November 2012. On the 18th of November, the public prosecution decided to renew her detention for another 10 days pending trial which was renewed again to 4th December 2012.

On 4th December, Masooma AlSayed was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment for insulting a police officer. On the appeal date, which was 19th December, AlSayed and her lawyer were surprised to find that the lower criminal court did not add the necessary documents to her file, which is a prerequisite for the appeal court. This resulted in postponing the appeal until 7th January 2013, then AlSayed’s total number of days spent in detention will be 3 months and 17 days.

It is the belief of Masooma AlSayed’s family that the documents were intentionally not filed to cause further delay in AlSayed’s case.

Masooma AlSayed has been arrested several times in the past year and a half, and there are more than 4 cases against her. She stood trial in the cases outlined below, which could in the future result in extended prison sentences:

1. Illegal gathering in Manama, trial kept postponing from 21st September until 17th November 2012, with no final verdict. She was released.

2. Insulting a public official while she was in detention, sentenced to 3 months before the Lower Criminal Court since 17th Nov 2012: Pleading on 19th December 2012, postponed to 7th Jan 2013.

3. Illegal gathering in AbuSaiba roundabout and inciting hatred against the regime: Verdict expected on 26th December 2012.

4. Illegal gathering in Al-Qalaa Roundabout, Verdict expected on 26th December 2012.

Photo: Masooma Al-Sayed and Zainab Al-Khawaja during a peaceful sit-in at Abu-Saiba Roundabout – Bahrain

Similar complicity of the judiciary system in supporting the crackdown was used in detaining human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja. Zainab is currently facing 7 simultaneous active cases against her [Click here for details of all cases] (2).

The Bahraini authorities continue to use the judiciary system as a tool to harass, target and detain citizens who are critical of the regime. In AlSayed’s case, her detention continues to be prolonged unnecessarily and on trumped up charges. This, to a large extent, is due to the fact that the Bahrain judiciary system is neither fair nor independent; in addition to not adhering to the international standards of a fair trial.

It is believed that Masooma AlSayed’s imprisonment is solely due to her practicing her right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. She is well known for being the pioneer for the project “Martyr’s Kids are our Kids” where children of Bahrain’s victims of extra-judicial killings are enrolled in educational and entertainment programs.
(YouTube Video: Clips from “Martry’s Kids are Our Kids”)

The BCHR calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and all allies and international institutions to put pressure on the Bahraini authorities to:

1- Call for the immediate release of Masooma Al-Sayed and political prisoners in Bahrain.
2- Immediately and unconditionally drop all trumped up charges against Masooma AlSayed and all other political prisoners.
3- Immediately stop the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters.
4- Allow all citizens the right to practice freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
…source

UK Think Tank: Al Khalifa Regime Fails to Implement Reforms in Bahrain
22 December 2012 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

Bahrain’s Al Khalifa regime has not done anything substantial to implement reforms in the tiny Persian Gulf country despite its repeated promises, a UK think tank said.

The Chatham House in a roundtable titled ‘The Bahrain Outlook’ and attended by both supporters and opponents of the Al Khalifa regime discussed the trend of political developments in Bahrain.

The participants noted that a joint report by the Project on Middle East Democracy, a US pro-democracy NGO, and Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) has concluded that only three out of BICI’s 26 recommendation have been fully implemented.

The commission was set up at the order of the Bahraini king himself last year.

They said after the publication of BICI’s recommendations, the progress had been disappointing.

Participants also pointed to the government’s decision to revoke the nationality of 31 Bahrainis in November.

The list included prominent opposition members, including two former MPs from Al-Wefaq and an academic, some have dual nationality and others have been made suddenly stateless, including two who happened to be in the United Kingdom when the news broke.

It was noted that some of those affected had first heard the news on Twitter, where it had been leaked by an account known for denouncing opposition activists, suspected by some of belonging to a member of the security services.

Several participants mentioned the importance of the media, both as a source of conflict and as a potential solution. Bahrain’s media landscape is growing increasingly polarized as government and opposition-affiliated newspapers, websites and television channels cover events in a partisan and often myopic manner.

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

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

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

daughter of detained human rights defender Said Yousif al-Muhafdah carrying his photo during a protest today