Bahrain brutal ally of US, Saudi Arabia: Activist
29 December, 2012 – PressTV

Saudi Arabia and the US are supporting the Al Khalifa regime to preserve their own interests, even if the cost is the lives and rights of the people of Bahrain, an activist says.

Bahrain is “home to the headquarters of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols regional shipping lanes, assists with missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and monitors Iran as tensions in the region mount,” activist Zainab al-Khawaja said in a letter published by The New York Times.

The activist wrote, “The struggle for freedom and democracy in Bahrain seems hopeless” because of Bahrain’s allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United States.

“The United States speaks about supporting human rights and democracy, but while the Saudis send troops to aid the Khalifa government, America is sending arms,” she added.

Al-Khawaja criticized the United States for its “obvious double standard” approach toward the human rights situation in the Middle East.

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

She said that the US support of the Al Khalifa regime has given the Bahraini government the belief of having international immunity despite committing widespread human rights violations.

“This is why the most prominent Bahraini human-rights defenders are languishing in prison,” Al khawaja said.

In conclusion the activist proposed that the US halt its arms sales to Bahrain and that nongovernmental organizations, United Nations human rights investigators and journalists to be allowed to enter the country and investigate abuses.

Since a popular uprising began in Bahrain in mid-February 2011, scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more have been detained. …source

Report: Saudis shopping for more German heavy weapons
30 December, 2012 – DW

Major German newspaper Bild has reported that Saudi Arabia is seeking 30 new German armored transport vehicles. The government’s weapons export policies have come under heavy media scrutiny of late.

The mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday that the Saudi Arabian government wanted to purchase at least 30 heavily-armored infantry mobility vehicles from Germany.

Bild said, citing government sources, that the government in Riad was hoping to spend 100 million euros ($132 million) on 30 “ATF Dingo 2” vehicles. In the long term, the report said, the Islamist government could be in the market for up to 100 of the vehicles.

The paper said that the government’s council which meets in secret to discuss such matters had signaled its approval for the deal, which usually permits a producer to make the sale – adding, however, that it was not yet finalized. Although most international weapons sales are conducted by private manufacturers in Germany, almost all of them require approval from the federal government in Berlin.

A news magazine has provided new insight into the secret committee, chaired by Angela Merkel, that approves Germany’s weapons exports. Germany is selling more arms to the Middle East – especially Israel and Saudi Arabia. (04.12.2012)

The wholly-enclosed Dingo 2 can carry eight infantry personnel, and is equipped with a top-mounted machine gun as standard, operated from within by remote control. Other weaponry can be mounted on its roof. The Dingo 2 also boasts special sensors and other equipment designed to help seek, analyze and even withstand some traces of atomic, biological or chemical attacks.

The German government’s arms sales have come under intense media scrutiny of late. Weekly magazine Der Spiegel put a doctored image of Merkel in military uniform on its front page earlier in December, with the cover headline “German weapons for the world.”

That edition of the magazine was particularly critical of a proposed deal with Saudi Arabia to sell several hundred Boxer armored fighting vehicles. In August of 2011, Spiegel reported plans to sell 200 Leopard tanks to the Saudis, a story that prompted a Constitutional Court complaint from the opposition Greens.

The Social Democrat candidate for chancellor in next year’s federal elections, Peer Steinbrück, said in a newspaper interview last week that it was “a scandal and extremely dangerous that Germany has become the world’s third largest exporter of weapons.”

Critics of the German arms sales say that the weaponry might be used to suppress civilian protesters in the event of civil unrest comparable to regional neighbors. At the height of the 2011 unrest in tiny, neighboring Bahrain, Saudi security forces were deployed.

Saudi Arabia’s Sunni government is frequently criticized by rights groups and democracy advocates. Authorities said on Friday that a Shi’ite man, described as a rioter, was shot dead by security forces. …source

Behind the Bahraini Revolution: An Interview with Maryam Al-Khawaja
30 DEcemebr, 2012 – Shia Post

[The following is an interview conducted with Maryam Al-Khawaja, the acting president of theBahrain Center for Human Rights and the deputy director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights. She is currently in self-imposed exile in Denmark due to safety and security reasons, but remains closely connected to events on the ground in Bahrain. She posts regular updates on her Twitter, @MARYAMALKHAWAJA.]

Samia Errazzouki (SE): Can you give us a general overview of the current situation in Bahrain?

Maryam Al-Khawaja (MA): Whenever you want to know the human rights situation of any country, ask where their human rights defenders are. In Bahrain, all of the most prominent human rights defenders sit in prison cells today. The human rights situation has been deteriorating continuously since the beginning of the Bahraini Revolution on 14 February 2011. There are currently up to one hundred extrajudicial killings, and approximately one thousand eight hundred political prisoners, a significant amount of which are children under eighteen. At the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), we continue to document cases of excessive force against protesters, arbitrary arrests, lethal use of tear gas, kidnappings, and systematic torture (physical, psychological, and sexual). The protests have continued on a daily basis since 14 February 2011.

One of the main problems for why the country has not moved forward in regard to stopping human rights violations is the culture of impunity that exists within the country, in addition to the existence of international immunity for Bahrain. The culture of impunity enforced by the regime and the king is the reason why nothing has changed. As Bahraini activists, we were hoping that the regime would take the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) as an opportunity to take a step in the right direction and implement real reforms. Instead, the regime used this five hundred-page report as a tool to buy itself time while it continues to commit the same violations. In some cases, the violations got worse. Additionally, during this period, Western countries continued to sell arms to the Bahraini government and business continued as usual. The people who were responsible for the massive widespread human rights violations in high positions were kept in their position or even promoted.

SE: What is the background for the political and civil rights movement in Bahrain?

MA: The 1990s Intifada was only one of many uprisings in Bahrain. To understand what led to the 1990s Intifada and the current revolution of 14 February 2011, one must understand the history of uprisings in Bahrain and the role of the civil rights movement. Since the 1920s, Bahrain has witnessed some sort of uprising almost every ten years. For example, in the 1950s, Intifadat al-Haya’a, which was led by the religious leaders of both the Sunni and Shia communities, started. At the time, Bahrain was still a British protectorate, so with the help of the British, the regime arrested all of the leading figures of that movement. The Sunnis among them were sent to Saint Helena Island and those who were Shia were exiled to Iran and Iraq.

In 1971, the British withdrew from Bahrain and one of the only good things they did for Bahrain was leave a constitution that gave people a real parliament. The constitution was passed in 1973. The parliament was elected, but in 1975, when Emir Isa tried to pass a decision to enforce a state of emergency, the parliament refused. In response, he dissolved the parliament. When people took to the streets in the 1990s, they were demanding a return to the 1973 constitution. There was systematic torture, arbitrary arrests, and people were killed. The general perception was that Isa’s brother, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who was appointed prime minister in 1971, was the person actually ruling the country. During the 1990s, there was an uprising demanding a return to the 1973 constitution and an elected parliament. People were arbitrarily arrested, a number died under torture, and the crackdown continued for years. The main person known for setting up the systematic torture in Bahrain was Ian Henderson, who was nicknamed the “Butcher of Bahrain.” …more

Police beatings in the streets away from station monitors rampant among US-UK Trained Police force

Bahrain policemen jailed over detainee’s torture, death
30 December, 2012 – Agence France Presse

DUBAI: A Bahrain court on Sunday jailed two policemen for seven years each after convicting them of torturing to death a Shiite detainee in the wake of last year’s crackdown on protests, a local daily said.

The Gulf kingdom’s high criminal court found the two national security members guilty of torturing Abdul Karim Fakhrawi to death while in detention, Al-Wasat’s online edition reported.

The court had in May thrown out the case against the two defendants for lack of proof and sent it back to the prosecution for further investigation.

A number of policemen are being investigated or are on trial for allegedly torturing detainees after hundreds of Shiites were rounded up when security forces in the Sunni-ruled state quelled a month-long protest in mid-March 2011.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011.

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

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

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

Karim Fakhrawi Founder of Al-wasat tortured to death by Regime just over 18 months ago
12 April, 2011 – CPJ

Fakhrawi, founder and board member of Al-Wasat, the country’s premier independent daily, died in state custody a week after he was detained, according to news reports. Human rights defenders told CPJ that Fakhrawi had gone to a police station on April 5 to complain that authorities were about to bulldoze his house.

Bahrain’s official news agency said on Twitter that Fakhrawi died of kidney failure. Photographs published online, however, showed a body identified as that of Fakhrawi with extensive cuts and bruises.

The journalist’s arrest came amid sweeping civil unrest in Bahrain and a government crackdown on independent reporting. In early April, the government accused Al-Wasat of “deliberate news fabrication and falsification,” said it would file criminal charges against three of the paper’s senior editors, and deported two of its senior staffers.

Fakhrawi was one of numerous investors in Al-Wasat, local journalists told CPJ. He was also a book publisher, the owner of one of Bahrain’s biggest bookstores, and a member of Al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s chief opposition party.

Fakhrawi’s death was the second media fatality in Bahrain in less than a week, both occurring in government detention facilities. In the two decades prior to that, no journalists had died in relation to their work in Bahrain, CPJ research shows. …source