Syria deal needs to face down US terror
13 September, 2013 – PressTV

Russia’s diplomatic efforts to avert a potential international conflagration over Syria are to be lauded. But it would be preferable if Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and others in Moscow refrained from referring to US officials as “our American partners.”

Washington is not a “partner” or “colleague” to anyone who is serious about upholding international law and peace. Its behavior is that of an outlaw state that needs to be faced down, not pandered to.

Ironically, Washington says that the world needs to take a tough stance towards President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, otherwise other alleged tyrants will be emboldened. The truth is that the world needs to take a tough stand on Washington to curb its predatory aggression that seems to know no bounds.

Lavrov and his American counterpart John Kerry are currently holding talks in Geneva in a bid to come up with a credible formula by which the Syrian government can hand over its stockpile of chemical weapons.

The proposal that Syria submits these weapons to international control was formally announced at the start of the week by Russia’s top diplomat.

It was greeted enthusiastically by the Syrian government, which within days signed up to the international Chemical Weapons Convention banning such munitions. US President Barack Obama also made a surprise swerve from his war agenda, disclosing in a televised nation-wide address that he would explore the Russian initiative.

This development appears to provide a welcome diplomatic alternative to the drive for war that the United States has been pushing. The US threat of military action against Syria escalated dramatically since 21 August following an alleged chemical weapons attack near the Syrian capital, Damascus, in which it appears that several hundred people were killed.

With US warships toting more than 200 cruise missiles mobilized in the East Mediterranean and plans to deploy long-range B-52, B-1 and B-2 fighter bombers, the world was watching the makings of a catastrophic collision, given that any such attack on Syria would inevitably draw in other antagonists, including nuclear-powered Israel and Russia, as well as Iran and America’s allies Britain, France and the Persian Gulf monarchies.

Hence, there was palpable international relief when Russia proffered the gambit for Syria to decommission its arsenal of chemical weapons.

The plan, in principle, has been endorsed by European governments, China and Iran, and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

However, the chemical solution, so to speak, is being framed in a manner that does not bode well. It is incumbent on Russia and others to ensure that the US and its allies do not abuse the initiative to create just another lever for their criminal agenda of regime change against the Syrian government.

At the opening of the Geneva meeting on Thursday between Lavrov and Kerry, the American diplomat displayed his usual arrogance by asserting in the joint press conference that “the Syrian regime” was guilty of using chemical weapons. Kerry also said that the US reserved the right to use military force if Damascus does not deliver on commitments to disarm these munitions.

This high-handed attitude from Kerry flies in the face of the facts that the perpetrators of the latest chemical weapon attack near Damascus were the Western-backed militants. Russia’s Lavrov should have abruptly struck down this American arrogance and calumny.

Disturbingly, the Russian diplomat showed too much humor and camaraderie in the face of outrageous American criminality.

The Americans and their Western allies have not presented a scintilla of credible evidence to support provocative claims that the Assad government used chemical weapons. Western claims are negated by Syrian government denials, and by official Russian reports that it was the so-called rebels who committed this and previous chemical weapons crimes, in a blatant effort to trigger the very kind of military intervention that Washington is threatening.

Several other sources refute Western assertions, such as admission by the militant groups themselves, and testimony from recently released European journalists who say their militant captives acknowledged responsibility for the attack.

The release of classified US army files also show that Washington knew that the mercenary groups were in possession of the deadly nerve agent sarin. The latter disclosure supports other evidence that the US and its allies colluded in the atrocity on 21 August, which they have audaciously blamed on the Syrian government.

On the basis of fabrication and lies, Washington dispatched an armada of warships in order to point a gun at the head of the Syrian people.

Moreover, the Obama White House threatened that it would attack Syria unilaterally regardless of the United Nations Security Council. As Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others, noted, such action amounts to the crime of aggression. Even without firing a single cruise missile, the mere threats that Washington has issued and continues to issue constitute a crime of aggression.

Syrian President Assad is entirely correct therefore to insist that his country’s disarmament of chemical weapons must be on condition that the US drops its unlawful military threat immediately.

Furthermore, any proposal to remove Syrian government chemical munitions must be part of a multi-lateral process.

Some of the other urgent factors that need to be addressed include Western stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction that are threatening peace and stability in the Middle East, principally those of Israel, which is why Syria has historically acquired its arsenal.

Another essential part of a multilateral process is for the US and its allies to halt immediately the supply of weapons and mercenaries into Syria. This criminal covert destabilization has been going on for more than two and half years and is the primary reason why the country is ensnared in a conflict that has resulted in 100,000 deaths and up to seven million refugees out of a population of only 22 million.

Washington’s state terrorism is central to the problem in Syria, including the use of chemical weapons by foreign-backed mercenaries. The US is in no moral or legal position to lay down demands on the Syrian government over its compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Syria’s ally Russia needs to adopt a more militant attitude towards the US and its Western co-conspirators. The US is not a colleague or partner. It is a criminal party that should feel the full force of international law.

Pretending otherwise is only pandering to Washington’s state terrorism, and instead of finding a chemical solution to the Syrian crisis, the very real danger is that we are only postponing American aggression. …source

Bahrain: Security Forces Detaining Children
By Albany Tribune – 15 September, 2013

Bahrain security forces routinely detain children without cause and subject them to ill-treatment that may rise to the level of torture, Human Rights Watch said today, based on reports from victims, family members and legal rights activists.

On September 12, 2013, the European Parliament issued a further resolution on the deteriorating rights situation in Bahrain, urging it, among other things, “to respect the rights of juveniles, to refrain from detaining them in adult facilities, and to treat juveniles in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Bahrain is a party”.

“Rounding up kids, throwing them in jail and beating and threatening them is no way for a country to treat its children,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The Bahraini authorities need to look into these allegations and immediately call a halt to any arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of children.”

Information recently obtained from victims, family members, and local rights activists suggests that Bahraini authorities often hold children for long periods in detention and subject them to similar forms of mistreatment as adult detainees, including beatings and threats of torture. The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires governments to protect children from ill-treatment and torture, to give all child detainees – those under 18 – special protections and to separate them from adults in detention.

Bahraini rights groups told Human Rights Watch that the detention of children suspected of involvement in anti-government protests is common. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights recorded 15 such detentions in August and said that the number of child arrests makes it impossible to document every detention to ascertain its lawfulness and the age of the people involved. The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights recorded 22 such detentions since August 1.

Murtada al-Muqtad, the brother of an arrested boy, told Human Rights Watch that police arrested a group of 14 people, including 9 boys between the ages of 15 and 17, on September 5 at a swimming pool near the Ain Adhari National Park. He said that they were among a group from the nearby town of Bilad al-Qadim who had rented the swimming pool to enjoy a last night out before school started on September 8.

Al-Muqtad said that Jafar al-Muqtad, the youngest of the group at 15, called his family the day after his arrest, but it was not until September 9 that he was able to tell his family that he was in Dry Dock detention center and describe the circumstances of his arrest. He said that six police cars arrived at the swimming pool at 4 a.m., arrested the 14 people who were still there and blindfolded, punched, and kicked the group of youths while detaining them. He also said that interrogators later mistreated them, pressing them to confess to a September 2 attack on a police officer with Molotov cocktails. On September 11, officers at Dry Dock refused the family’s request to see him.

Murtada al-Muqtad said that his younger brothers had not had access to a lawyer or social worker, though the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Bahrain and nearly every country in the world, requires that “every child deprived of his or her liberty… has the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance.”

In a separate incident, more than 10 plain-clothes and uniformed police went to the home of another 15-year-old boy, Ali Rustam, in the village of Al Arad in the early hours of September 8 and arrested him, Bahraini rights activists said. They said that Rustam, who has diabetes and requires four daily injections of insulin, had not had any contact with his family since then. …more

Main Opposition: Bahraini People Seeking Downfall of Al-Khalifa Regime
15 Septemebr, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The secretary-general of Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq underlined international condemnation of the country’s discriminatory laws, and stressed that the overthrow of the Al-Khalifa regime is the ultimate goal of the Bahraini nation.

“The people’s choice is expressed through the ballot box, and the laws which don’t meet people’s demands have no value and the international community doesn’t give credit to suppressive laws in Bahrain either,” Sheikh Ali Salman said on Sunday.

“The Bahraini people are demanding the ouster of the government and not the approval of dictatorial laws and the UN should interfere to materialize the people’s demands,” he added.

Salman said that the Bahraini people want to hold free and transparent elections to choose their own rulers.

Bahrain, a small Persian Gulf state, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, has been rocked by bouts of unrest since February 2011 when an uprising led by members of the Shiite majority demanded the al Khalifa dynasty give up power.

The authorities crushed the revolt but protests and clashes have persisted despite continuing talks between government and opposition.

At least 80 people have been killed since the protests erupted in Bahrain in early 2011, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council on Monday that she was frustrated with reports of widespread human rights violations in Bahrain.

“I regret to report that the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern,” she said. “The deep polarization of society and the harsh clampdown on human rights defenders and peaceful protesters continue to make a durable solution more difficult to secure.”

“I reiterate my call on Bahrain to fully comply with its international human rights commitments, including respect for the rights to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association,” Pillay said. …source

Bahrain opposition welcomes UN condemnation of Al Khalifa regime
15 September, 2013 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

The secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq has welcomed a new statement by UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay on condemning the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on peaceful protests in the tiny Persian Gulf Arab nation.

“During her recent remarks, Navi Pillay has condemned the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on Bahraini civilians and government-sponsored terrorism against them,” Sheikh Ali Salman said on Thursday, referring to her address to the Human Rights Council about human rights violation in Bahrain.

Referring to the public calls for fall of the regime, he said that “I am sure that most of the people in Bahrain want the ouster of the current regime and the establishment of a popular government.”

The Sheikh also underlined the need for holding open referendum in Bahrain to meet the demand of people.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council on Monday that that she was frustrated with reports of widespread human rights violations in Bahrain.

“I regret to report that the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern,” she said. “The deep polarization of society and the harsh clampdown on human rights defenders and peaceful protesters continue to make a durable solution more difficult to secure.”

“I reiterate my call on Bahrain to fully comply with its international human rights commitments, including respect for the rights to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association,” Pillay said.

The small Persian Gulf Arab state, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, has been rocked by bouts of unrest since February 2011 when an uprising led by members of the Shia majority demanded the al-Khalifa dynasty give up power.

The authorities crushed the revolt but protests and clashes have persisted despite continuing talks between government and opposition.

At least 80 people have been killed since Arab Spring-inspired protests erupted in Bahrain in early 2011, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. …source

On Int’l Day of Democracy: the tyranny rules Bahrain and the vast majority demand democracy
16 September, 2013 – ABNA.co

On Int’l Day of Democracy: the tyranny rules Bahrain and the vast majority demand democracy
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said in a statement marking International Day of Democracy that Bahrain is living under the dominance of the tyranny and authoritarianism. According to the Economist’s Democracy Index, Bahrain is classified as an authoritarian regime with full absence of democracy.

The dictatorship in Bahrain is a result of the tribal rule in place of the people’s will. However, the people of Bahrain had raised their demand for democracy back in the 70s, following their country’s independence. Bahrain has not witnessed any state of democracy, it has long been under the control of a dynasty that uses repression and national resources to rip the social fabric and harm national unity.

Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has called leaders “to hear, respect and respond appropriately to the voices of the people”. This is a clear call to resort to the people who are the‘source of all powers’ and legitimacy in forming authorities.

The people of Bahrain are well enlightened to live real democracy through self-determination far from any official guardianship of a small group that controls power and wealth, and which contradicts the fundamental basis of democracy in the world, making Bahrain victim to setback and authoritarianism.

Principles relating to freedom, respect of human rights, periodic integral elections through public voting are all necessary elements of democracy. Nonetheless, these elements are stated in the constitution of Bahrain in Article 1, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 21, paragraph (3) “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”.

While the United Nations is celebrating the International Day of Democracy under the slogan, “Strengthening Voices for Democracy”, the Bahraini people’s voice in deciding how they are governedis totally absent and it is marginalized in the Judicial Authority. As for the Legislative Authority, integral free elections do not exist and a fair electoral system is absent. In Bahrain, 1 voice in areas loyal to the regime can be equivalent to as much as 6 voices in opposition areas. In one governorate, where the loyalists make the majority, 6 representatives are elected, while another governorate with the same number of voters, but where opposition is majority, elects only one representative. Thus, gerrymandering is blatant in Bahrain.

Freedom House has considered Bahrain ‘not free’ in its 2013 index, while it ranked 150 in authoritarian regimes for the same year, according to the Economist Democracy Index. …source

Bahrain seeks fast track trials in terrorism cases
4 September, 2013 – 24×7 News

His Royal Highness Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has instructed the concerned judicial sides to adopt mechanisms to fast-track litigation procedures, especially regarding terrorism cases, so as to activate the recommendations of the National Assembly on toughening anti-terror penalties and protecting community.

HRH Premier was commenting on reports on the success of the security forces in identifying 54 terror cases since 2012, 88% of which have been referred to the Public Prosecution and are currently being examined by the courts, with only two final verdicts issued.

This came as HRH Premier chaired here on Wednesday a high-level work meeting devoted to the security situation in the kingdom.

The Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa briefed HRH Premier on the efforts exerted by the Interior Ministry to eradicate terrorism and violence, noting that four policemen martyred, 54 ones were seriously wounded, two residents died and 5 others were injured.

He added that a total of 192 suspects accused of terrorism charges had been arrested.

HRH Premier was informed about the efforts made by the relevant sides to follow-up on the implementation of mechanisms to control money-raising for public purposes and keep track of suspicious accounts in order to block them and dry up terrorism-financing resources, in line with the recommendations of the National Assembly.

The Prime Minister praised the efforts exerted by the Interior Minister and the Ministry’s affiliates, and stressed that all government sides should be committed to applying the penal laws on whoever breaks the law, disrupts order or harms the citizens’ security or property without leniency or excess.

He also reviewed the precautionary measures required to face any repercussions or emergency, and got assured on the steps taken by the ministries to ensure the stability of services and food supply, stressing that those measure have to be effective and efficient. …source

Bahrain Jails 3 More Citizens ’for Security Reasons’
Local Editor – AlManar – 15 September, 2013

Bahrain revolutionA Bahraini court jailed on Sunday three citizens for 10 years each after accusing them of attempting to kill police officers in last February during anti-government peaceful protests in the village of Karzakan, lawyers said.

The trio, Jaafar Ali, Hussein Mansur and Mustafa Abdulkarim, had been charged of attempting to kill three policemen “with premeditation” on February 16, , southwest of Manama.

The public prosecution had also accused the men of “possessing homemade shotguns, as well as employing violence against police, and participating in an unauthorized protest.”

They opened fire on police as security forces were dispersing a protest in the village, the prosecution said.

Bahrain, a Gulf kingdom ruled by the Al-Khalifa dynasty, was rocked by peaceful demonstrations in February and March 2011.

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

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, around 80 people have been killed in Bahrain by Al-Khalifa forces since the uprising first erupted in 2011. …source

Bahrain’s human rights black hole – When will there be enough?
9 September, 2013 – PressTV

Countless reports of physical and psychological abuses have been reported, documented and witnessed by rights groups since 2011, painting the horrific realities of life under a repressive, amoral and unlawful regime.

But… reports that the regime brutalized and unlawfully detained a pregnant Shiite woman have incensed activists around the world and created a popular backlash of such magnitude that it could very well mark a turning point in the opposition movement.”

If Syria is quite rightly monopolizing much of the world’s attention as fears of a global war are slowly materializing now that Washington has put in motion its rhetoric of war, walls of terror and despair are closing in on Bahrain, a once joyful and united nation.

Plagued by protracted political and social unrest, the people of Bahrain have since 2011 relentlessly called on their government and leader – King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah – to implement broad social, political, judicial and constitutional reforms as to reflect their democratic aspirations.

Unbending and unwilling to renounce his kingly privileges for the sake of justice or democracy, King Hamad has so far met his people’s demands with fire and lead, thus prompting a national resistance movement.

While political activists and politicians of the opposition remained true to their peaceful aspirations, determined to see through change without resorting to violence, the regime, led by King Hamad has been ever increasingly sinking to new levels of infamy.

Countless reports of physical and psychological abuses have been reported, documented and witnessed by rights groups since 2011, painting the horrific realities of life under a repressive, amoral and unlawful regime.

But if al-Khalifa has authorized and even instructed its security apparatus to act viciously against whomever would dare rise in opposition to his rule, reports that the regime brutalized and unlawfully detained a pregnant Shiite woman have incensed activists around the world and created a popular backlash of such magnitude that it could very well mark a turning point in the opposition movement.

Many Bahrainis have already asked how one could even contemplate agreeing to any form of political agreement with a regime that could behave beyond what is humanly tolerable, or even acceptable.

Because if torture and sectarian-based repression are indeed despicable human rights violations, the persecution of a pregnant woman falls under crime against humanity.

The case of Nadya Ali

Earlier this month the authorities ruled that Nadya Ali, a young wife and mother-to-be would have to remain in detention pending trial, based on fabricated allegations that she physically assaulted law enforcement officers.

As reported by Ahlul Bayt News Agency, “Nadya has been facing false accusations, after she was stopped at a checkpoint on 30th May, during a security clampdown on the village of Bani Jamra. The complaint against her is lacking in credibility, especially with the plaintiff holding the power of arrest. Nadya has been held continuously since her arrest, although has not yet been convicted of any crime. Therefore her detention is considered a punishment against her and her unborn child, outside the course of both justice and humanity.”

Nadya’s family have told reporters time and time again that the young woman’s terrifying ordeal with the law started when she and her husband were stopped at a checkpoint in Bani Jamra.

Without giving any reason or justification, the police demanded that Nadya’s husband step out of his vehicle, before they moved to handcuff him and threw him in a van to be transported to the police station and processed.

As Nadya protested, stressing her husband’s innocence, not understanding why the police would perceive him to be a threat, officers turned their attention to her. In what can only be characterized as a random and sectarian-based targeted attack, police confiscated her ID card, warning she would face prosecution should she continue to resist.
…more

Death of activist sparks fresh protest in Bahrain
13 September, 2013 – PressTV

People in Bahrain have held yet another demonstration to protest the killing of a young opposition activist by Saudi-backed regime forces.

The protesters chanted anti-regime slogans during the rally in the village of Nouedrat on Saturday.

The rally was held in protest at the killing of Mohammed Abdul Jalil Yousif on Wednesday at the hands of the regime forces. Activists say Yousif was run over by a vehicle belonging to the security forces.

On Friday, several protesters were arrested in the north of Bahrain after Yousif’s mass funeral turned into a rally.

The situation has been volatile in the Persian Gulf country since anti-regime protests began in 2011.

Bahrainis primarily demanded political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Manama also called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Scores of people have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in Bahrain began.

Protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

On September 9, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that she was frustrated with reports of human rights violations by Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain. …source

Voices in Danger: “They said I shouldn’t report because I was ruining my country’s reputation.”
Helena Williams – 9 September, 2013 – The Independent

Amid the chaos of the 2011 protests in Bahrain, France 24 correspondent Nazeeha Saeed was tortured and humiliated by police – and she’s still awaiting justice.

Nazeeha Saeed expected the phone call from al-Rifaa’a police station in Bahrain’s capital Manama, which asked her to come in for questioning during the early days of the 2011 uprising. What she did not expect, when she arrived on 22 May 2011, was to be taken in to custody, tortured and humiliated by police officers for thirteen hours.

A correspondent for French channels France 24 and Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya, she had been covering the chaos as Shia protesters, unhappy with the ruling of the Sunni Al-Khalifa royal family, clashed with security forces.

“It was a messy time,” she says.

Reports of people being detained, injured and killed were rife, emotions were running high. Journalists had been mistaken for activists and caught up in the crackdown.

She decided not to contact her family, expecting no more than a couple hours’ interrogation before returning home. But she did call France 24, and told them where she was going.

“I was blindfolded and beaten with a hose all over my body. I was harassed, I got electrical shocks – it was humiliating,” she told The Independent.

The beatings on her face, back, shoulders and legs were so severe that she was unable to walk for days.

That was just the beginning. During her ordeal, Nazeeha, who is 32, says she was accused of participating in the protests, lying in her reports and was interrogated about possible links to the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah television station al-Manar and the Iranian Arabic station Al-AlamIranian – serious accusations, as Iran had been accused of fomenting the largely Shia-Muslim majority demonstrations against the Sunni-Muslim ruling family. She vehemently denies these claims.

“They kept saying that I didn’t respect my country, that I’m a traitor,” she says. “They said I shouldn’t report because I was ruining my country’s reputation.

“I would care if it was about the reputation of my country I was ruining, but it was not – it was the police force’s reputation.”

“I didn’t do the things I thought would really upset the government. I just did my job – OK, not the way they would like it, but it’s my job.”

She told The Independent she was forced to sign a confession she was not allowed to read, and she was made to bray like a donkey.

She said that one police officer forced her head into a toilet and flushed it, while another tried to make her drink an unknown liquid.

Somebody in the room said it was urine. Nazeeha refused, so the officer spilled it over her clothes and hair, to which she had an allergic reaction.

I don’t know to this moment what it was,” she says. “Even the medics who examined me later didn’t know what it was.”

“I thought at that moment, ‘I’m not going to get out of this place, ever’. The way they treat you, and when you are locked in a room and blindfolded – you don’t know how long you are going to be there. It was too long for me. I didn’t know I was only there for thirteen hours. I thought it was a few days.”

“Thank God I informed my channel that I was on my way to the police station,” she says. …more

Bahrain: Schools open doors, students detained and pursued
FARS – 10 September, 2013

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Schools opened doors in Bahrain on Sunday 8th September while tens of students remain behind bars and denied right to study. The arbitrary measures and violations of human rights continue to take place in Bahrain without legal or moral deterrent.

The Liberties and Human Rights Department (LHRD) in Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said that more than 100 school students from different ages are detained. Some of whom have been convicted in political cases and cases related to freedom of expression and opinion. The youngest prisoner is 13 year old Mahdi Salman.

The LHRD mentioned that a group of minors were arrested two days before schools opened doors. The security forces had raided a swimming pool and arrested 15, including 9 children. The Public Prosecution ordered for their detention for 60 days under the Terrorism Law.

The LHRD confirmed that a number of children have been subjected to torture and mistreatment. It also mentioned that 10 children were denied access to lawyers in the Public Prosecution, this doubles concern over the violations they are subjected to.

Denial of right to education practiced by the Authority against students is considered one of the most aggressive violations against citizens, the LHRD added, tens of university students are denied right to education for the very same reasons.

“A big number of students are pursued by the security forces for reasons related to freedom of expression and demands for democratic transition” the LHRD said.

The Ministry of Educations remains silent in the police state that controls power subordinating all official institutions, a situation that is wasting all opportunities for political solution, the LHRD stated.

“The detained students must be given right to education in accordance to the constitution, law and universal covenants. Denying this right to students illustrates the Authority’s vengeful dealing with citizens, including children, in attempt to silence the people’s demands for justice and freedom”.

The Liberties and Human Rights Department (LHRD) in Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society demanded the immediate release of all students, stressing that their detention is a violation to their right, especially to education.

The Authorities in Bahrain had suspended thousands from jobs, universities and schools in a vengeful campaign following the eruption of the 14 February pro-democracy revolution in 2011.

The campaign, that targeted the majority of the people, was widely condemned by the international community and rights organizations. However, the regime is continuing in this campaign in many different ways. A number of those who were suspended have not yet been reinstated in jobs, or have been subordinated to lower positions. …source

Teargas, birdshot fired at protesters in Bahrain
14 August, 2013 – Gulf Times

Reuters/Manama – Bahraini police fired teargas and birdshot to disperse scattered protests across the country yesterday, as Shia Muslims responded to a call by online activists for pro-democracy demonstrations.

The main opposition group said around 60 rallies were held in 40 locations, in an upsurge of a two-and-a-half-year-old campaign for more democracy in the nation of 1.25mn people.

The US temporarily closed its embassy and Bahrani authorities tightened security after opposition figures used social media to call for rallies.

Small protests passed off peacefully across Bahrain earlier in the day, witnesses and activists said, but demonstrators and riot police clashed in some areas as evening fell.

Security forces converged on the Al Seef district of Manama after activists used Twitter to encourage demonstrators to gather there, in defiance of a blanket ban on protests in the capital.

In a village west of Manama, a standoff deteriorated into a clash between police on one side of a barbed wire fence they had erected overnight and about 300 demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans on the other.

Witnesses said police charged the crowd, firing birdshot and teargas. Similar clashes occurred in other Shia villages where demonstrators threw fire-bombs at police.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights activist group said at least 10 people suffered from teargas inhalation or were wounded by birdshot. A spokesman for the main opposition Al Wefaq Society said two people were in a serious condition.

“Despite the campaign of intimidation and surrounding villages with barbed wire, thousands of people turned up for the protests,” said Sayed Yousif al-Muhafda of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

The interior ministry reported that an Asian worker had been injured by a fire-bomb as he tried to open a road blocked by protesters in a village south of Manama, and said burning tyres had been used to block a main road in Muharraq to the northeast.

It described the use of fire-bombs and roadblocks as “terrorism”, for which new laws passed this month allow tougher penalties including longer prison terms and the stripping of Bahraini nationality.

Police arrested a woman driver and other occupants of her car, saying she had tried to run over a policeman at a roadblock.

The concerted new pro-democracy push is being driven by “Tamarod” (Rebellion), a loose association of opposition activists who coalesced in early July.

Tamarrod is named after the Egyptian movement that helped muster massive protests against president Mohamed Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood before the military removed the country’s first freely-elected leader on July 3. …more

Bahraini authorities prohibit distribution of books related to Hezbollah due to ‘promotion of sectarianism, hatred, extremist radical ideologies’
14 September, 2013 – ynetnews.com

Bahrain authorities banned the circulation of books that are about Hezbollah, written by people who are affiliated with the Shiite group or who support it, the Bahrain news agency reported Friday.

Authorities have reportedly shut down a publishing house affiliated with Hezbollah.

The state’s Information Affairs Authority issued a statement in which it explained the ban was due to the fact that publications related to the Lebanese organization were promoting “sectarianism, hatred and extremist radical ideologies,” and are “a direct threat to the safety and security of Bahrain.”

The statement, quoted in the Lebanese news website Naharnet, that any “attempt to import these books is a blatant and heinous violation against the will and sovereignty of Bahrain due to the poisonous sectarianism and ideologies that target the unity of the Bahraini society.”

Ties between Bahrain and Hezbollah have deteriorated after Hassan Nasrallah and his men announced they were in support of a 2011 uprising attempt in the country.

Bahrain had already blacklisted Hezbollah “due to its meddling in the country’s internal affairs.” …source