Posts from — November 2013

Iran picks the results of its resistance
By Ghaleb Kandil -Voltaire.net – 10 November, 2013

Whatever the outcome of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, the reality that emerges from the image of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the great powers, who rushed to Geneva after information about an agreement -which could be followed by other rounds of talks-, is that 34 years of blockade and war ended in a dismal failure for the West. The strength of leadership and the Iranian people and their determination to move forward failed all the plots.

The timing of the U.S. decision to recognize the strength and power of Iran coincided with the renouncement by the United States to project their aggression against Syria. The determination and the strength of the resistance axis and its allies opposing American unilateralism succeeded in blocking American war plan. Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have strongly expressed their willingness to face any attack, because they are aware that an aggression against any member of this alliance is actually aiming at dismantling the entire axis.
Thanks to the commitment of the Iranian people to their independence and freedom, to the determination and skill of its leadership, Iran has managed to overcome the imperialist blockade imposed on it for more than three decades. And that ’s not all. Tehran managed to acquire and accumulate enormous economic, technical, scientific and military capabilities, allowing it to make its entry into the club of great powers. American recognition of the Iranian force crown these achievements against the imperialist and Zionist conspiracies, funded by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. These developments have taken place due to the choice of resistance, established by the alliance between the Raba Syrian State and the Islamic Iran, whose foundation was laid during the historic meeting between the two great figures now deceased, President Hafez al-Assad and Ayatollah Khomeini. It would be appropriate to compare the U.S. recognition of the Iranian force to the recognition by Washington of the Popular Republic of China, in the late 70s. And as is to recognize the role and power of China has paved the way for changes in East Asia, the recognition of Iran pave the way for significant changes in the Arab Mashreq and the Gulf.
Those affected and concerned by the submission of the United States to the new realities show their true faces in Riyadh and Tel Aviv. For decades, these have built their interests on offensive and aggressive actions of the United States against Iran. Actions for which huge financial, military and intelligence capabilities were deployed in order to counter the strategy of Tehran, that has made the Palestinian cause and support the resistance in Lebanon and in Syria, the cornerstone of its regional policy. These same principles are applied in Iran’s approach to the situation in Iraq and the crisis in Yemen and Bahrain.

The future relationship between Iran and the United States will be analyzed through the prism of a regional and global Cold War. It would be illusory to believe that the negotiations will result in immediate and comprehensive compromise on all contentious issues. It is clear that there are differences in priorities. Washington wants arrangements that precede the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, while Palestine is in the heart of Iranian concerns. All previous stages of the confrontation showed the strength of the Iranian position in its support for Syria and its refusal to enter into bargaining at the expense of its constants. It is this strength that forced the United States and its allies to recognize tacitly their failure. Indices marking the decline of the West will begin to appear soon, especially as U.S. and European allies to send emissaries to Damascus.

The shape of the confrontation has changed but the foundation of the contradiction between a free and independent Iran and its allies on the one hand, the imperialist, Zionist and collaborators from other states alliance remains unchanged. This confrontation is now underpinned by new rules, which are in favor of Iran and its partners. …more

Strangers in the night: What can we really expect from a US-Iran thaw?
10 November, 2013 – Hamid Dabashi – Al Jazeera

More than three decades, and a whole lot of bitter history, after the Iranian revolution of 1977-1979, high ranking Iranian and American officials are openly meeting and exchanging more than glances.

The 1979 Iranian revolution, the very raison d’être of the Islamic Republic, was launched with fierce anti-American slogans woven into its ideological foregrounding. The hostage crisis of 1979-1980 was the defining moment of the Iranian revolution whereby the militant Islamists out-manoeuvred all their domestic political rivals, and by appearing to fight a foreign enemy, silenced and eliminated them and established and consolidated an Islamic republic.

The Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988 pitted the two Muslim nations against each other with the Reagan administration aiding and abetting Saddam Hussein to curtail any revolutionary appeal of Iran to its Arab neighbours, while the Iran-Contra Affair revealed that the US was arming Iran too. Ever since the launch and success of the revolution, the chanting of “Death to America” has been as definitive to Muslim Friday prayers in Iran, as the invocation of Allah-u Akbar.

Muslim revolutionaries leading the Islamic Republic, of course, did not sit still inside its borders. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, they began to actively spread the sphere of their militant influence into the immediate vicinity of Israel – the chief US military base in the region. The line of resistance – though now much weakened in the aftermath of the Arab revolutions – that eventually emerged among Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas has been a thorn in Israel’s side for decades. The catastrophic aftermath of the US-led invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq has created even more fertile grounds for the extended Iranian influences.

What has brought the Iranians and Americans together today is not just the fabricated question of “the nuclear issue” and the crippling economic sanctions that the US, the EU and the UN have imposed on Iran. The far more strategically significant issue is the unfolding Arab revolutions that have destabilised the region to the detriment of both the US and Iran. The two historic enemies have a common interest in micromanaging a very volatile region – and Iran and the US can offer each other help not available in the Saudi and Israeli (US-made) arsenals.

What has brought the US and Iran together is their shared interests in a vastly changing region. President Barack Obama is winding down and thinking of his proverbial place in history, while the Islamic Republic thinks itself eternal. There is fierce opposition to any rapprochement with the US in Iran as there is in the US. While Israel and Saudi Arabia lead the cause of anti-Iran in the US and around the world, their counterparts in Iran, the vested interests of the ruling regime for over three decades invested in anti-Americanism, do the same in Iran. But the force of history pushes forward.

The fact is that there is a clear air of hope and optimism about Iran and Iranians these days – they now sport a smiling president and even a handsome foreign minister whose wide grin and silvery goatee and fancy footwork on his Facebook page, has put a positive twist to Iranian politics.

What now?

Iran has put forward its most diplomatic and conciliatory face, and Obama is in no mood for another war on his watch. The region is in radical turmoil. Syria is bleeding, Egypt is going wayward, the Saudis see their immediate and long-term interests in the region radically modified. They have no clue on whom to place their bets, as Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi now faces trial in the country in which he was democratically elected. Yemen and Bahrain and Tunisia are unstable. From Morocco to Jordan monarchies wonder and wobble. Israel is the grand loser of this game, and does all in its power to grab more Palestinian lands and create more chaos and confusion, and delay the democratic fate of a region that spells out trouble for the apartheid state.

The Iran and US are poised to strike a deal (if not a “Grand Bargain”), and strike a deal they will. Sanctions will be eventually eased, Iran will happily reduce enrichment and increase transparency. It will lose nothing. With the current condition of nuclear knowledge and infrastructure, and within the NPT regulations and even additional protocols, Iran’s nuclear program can be weaponisable within a year, and there is very little (nothing in fact) that either Israel or the Saudis or the US can do to alter that historic fact. In addition, Iran can and will offer Obama substantial help in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Syria and where ever else he is in trouble.

Years ago, at the commencement of the Green Movement in Iran, I suggested that the ruling elite in Tehran cornered a lucrative market for themselves so that if the US attacks them they will win, and if they sit down to negotiate with them they will win too. Their weakest spot is their domestic front – which they seem to be addressing – but so far the operative word is “seem”.

In these cautious steps towards détente between Iran and the US, we are witness to the decreasing power of the US to rule the world at whim, and the inability of the Islamic Republic to deny the democratic rights of an entire nation. Neither can the US rule the world at whim, nor can the regime in the Islamic Republic deny a vastly cultivated people their democratic demands. …more

Iran, world powers conclude talks in Geneva
10 November, 2013 – Shia Post

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have concluded three days of intense talks on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland.

The closed-door talks, which started on Thursday and were to end on Friday, continued into early Sunday amid divisions among the six world powers.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the marathon ministerial talks ended without a deal.

“The meetings in Geneva have made it possible to move forward, but we have not yet managed to conclude [a deal], because there are still some questions remaining to be dealt with,” Fabius said.

In a final joint press conference with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said progress had been made during the “productive” talks and that the two sides had reached an agreement on a number of issues.

“I’m not disappointed at all because the meeting we just had, very long, running after midnight, was a good meeting,” Zarif said. “We are working together and hopefully we will be able to reach an agreement when we meet again.”

Ashton also said that the two sides had made “concrete progress” in the talks, which she described as “intense and constructive discussions.”

She, however, said some issues remained to be resolved in future talks. “Our objective is to reach a conclusion and that’s what we will come back to try and do,” she told reporters.

Ashton said Iran and the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany would meet again on November 20.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Abbas Araqchi said that the Iranian negotiating team will hold talks with the world powers’ political directors to work out a draft agreement.

Araqchi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, said the next step will be for the foreign ministers of Iran and the six powers to finalize a deal. …source

Bahrain jails four for car bomb outside mosque
10 November, 2013 – Reuters

(Reuters) – A Bahraini court sentenced two men to life in prison and two others to 15 years for a car bomb attack outside a mosque in July, state news agency BNA said on Sunday.

Bahrain, a Western ally which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since a 2011 uprising led by majority Shi’ites. They demand reforms and more share in running the kingdom, which is ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa dynasty.

Several vehicles were destroyed but no one was hurt in the explosion outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in al-Riffa, south of the capital Manama, where some members of the royal family live.

Government officials said at the time the attack, which took place during evening prayers in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was an attempt to inflame sectarian tensions.

Among other charges, the defendants were convicted of setting up and joining an organization “that uses terrorism as a means to achieve its aims”, setting off an explosion to terrorize innocent people, stealing cars and training to make explosives, BNA said.

The authorities have quelled the revolt in the island kingdom, which sits between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Washington’s main regional antagonist, Shi’ite power Iran.

But protests and small-scale clashes continue, and bomb attacks have been increasing since mid-2012. At least one policeman was killed and five security officers were wounded by explosions and homemade bombs in recent months.

Bahraini Shi’ites complain of discrimination in areas such as jobs and public services – something the government denies. Talks between the government and opposition have failed to end the political crisis.

Opposition Figure Blames Saudi Prince Bandar for Increased Tensions in Bahrain
9 November, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- A prominent Bahraini opposition figure took Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan responsible for the recent exacerbation of tensions between the Bahraini people and the ruling al-Khalifa government and the security forces’ harsher crackdown on the protestors.

“Informed sources have said that Prince Bandar is behind the increased tensions in Bahrain; tensions have intensified after Riyadh’s failure in the Syrian case and it failed in changing the power balance in Syria and after the al-Saud sustained much regional and international damage in this case,” a member of Tamarod (Rebellion) Movement and political analyst Ali al-Fayez told FNA on Saturday.

“The Al-Saud headed by Bandar Bin Sultan want to compensate for their failures in Syria and other regional issues in Bahrain,” he added.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty. 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 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

Al-Fayez underlined that despite all plots hatched by Riyadh and other allies of al-Khalifa regime, the opposition forces will not succumb to pressures and will continue their protests until the overthrow of al-Khalifa regime and empowerment of a popular and fair government.

In relevant remarks in August, a political analyst said that Prince Bandar is behind the unrests created in most of the countries in the Middle East.

“The Pressures by Prince Bandar for restoring the battlefield balance in the interest of terrorists in Syria and a political balance in Lebanon helped failure of talks between Washington and Damascus,” Syrian political analyst Akram Ali Al-Ahmad told.

“Saudi Arabia has taken charge of the leadership of the front against the resistance axis to proceed with the regional affairs according to the plans and programs the US and Saudi Arabia,” he added.

In July, the Syrian Dam Press news website reported that Prince Bandar Bin has been forming terrorist groups in Lebanon.

Bin Sultan has created several terrorist groups in cooperation with Lebanese politicians, including Head of the Lebanese Al-Mustaqbal party Saad al-Hariri and Samir Jaja, it reported.

Prince Bandar has sent a number of its mercenaries to Lebanon via Syria, Dam Press quoted informed sources as saying.

The sources noted that Bandar’s mercenaries have had special terrorist trainings in camps of the al-Nusra Front terrorist group and the so-called Free Syrian Army in Syria.

The sources also revealed that the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah is the main target of Prince Bandar’s terrorists.

Saad al-Hariri and Bandar Bin Sultan had a meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah in October after a terrorist bomb blast in Beirut which led to the killing of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces Chief, General Wissam al-Hassan.

At the meeting, the two sides conferred on ways of intensifying tensions in Lebanon through terrorist operations by extremist groups who are supported by the al-Saud regime, Palestinian weekly al-Manar reported in October.

Prince Bandar coordinates terrorist operations and blasts in Lebanon with Israel and he occasionally makes secret visits to Tel Aviv, the weekly quoted informed sources as saying.

The Jeddah meeting presided by (Saad) al-Hariri was held with the aim of creating chaos in Lebanon, and supporting and expanding terrorism in Syria with the coordination and cooperation of their international and regional allies, the sources told Al-Manar.

In June, the Lebanese newspaper Assafir reported that Prince Bandar supervised the operations of providing the foreign-backed militants fighting the Syrian government, with German anti-aircraft missiles in Antakia.

Arab sources told Assafir that Prince Bandar Bin Sultan supervised supplying the militant groups in Syria in June with a batch of heavy weapons that includes mainly German anti-aircraft missiles in Antakia before the militants distributed the weapons over their different groups in Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, and Idleb.

The sources added that Bandar is seeking an arm deal with France to provide the Syrian militants with French anti-aircraft missiles, yet the French expressed their concerns about their strategic interests, and refused to be the sole provider of weapons for the militants, calling on to share these burdens. …source

Bahrain: Letter Calling for Pardon of Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab
10 November, 2103 – Front Line Defenders

On 8 November 2013, Front Line Defenders sent a letter to the King of Bahrain Shaikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa calling for the pardon of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab; who has been imprisoned since May 2012 after being convicted on charges of inciting illegal gatherings. Nabeel Rajab is currently awaiting a response to his application for pardon.

The human rights defender is the President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. He is one of the most prominent human rights defenders in the Middle East and has been a leading voice in the Arab Spring in Bahrain. He has faced physical intimidation, arrest, detention and travel bans as a result of his work.

In its letter Front Line Defenders requests that the Bahraini government grant Nabeel Rajab access to his basic right to benefit from the Law for Pardons. Under the existing provisions, pardons are available to persons imprisoned for misdemeanours. So long as a prisoner’s conduct is satisfactory, he or she may apply for a pardon after completion of 75% of their sentence.

Nabeel Rajab’s lawyer has formally applied for a pardon but has yet to receive a decision from the judge. If a pardon were to be granted, Nabeel Rajab would be released from prison on 29 November 2013. …source

Bahrain’s October 2013: more than 1253 violations
10 November, 2013 – Al Wefaq

The Liberties and Human Rights Unit in Al Wefaq National Islamic Society has documented more than 1253 violations perpetrated by the Bahraini Authority, through its security and military forces, in October 2013.

The number of total arrests in October reached 151, 142 of which were men and of which were children*. Most arrests took place during home raids and which summed up to 79, while arrests from streets reached 39.

102 detainees were released during October, however, only 31 of whom were of the 151 arrested in the same month.

…source

BCHR: Authorities promoting sectarian tensions by targeting Shia during Ashoura
10 November, 2013 – Shia Post

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights express grave concern in regards to the targeted attacks on Shia Muslims in Bahrain by security forces during the religious period of Ashoura.

Since the beginning of the Islamic month of Muharram, security forces have led provocative attacks on several Shia Muslim neighborhoods in Bahrain. Pictures and videos show them taking down religious flags and banners that were placed earlier on homes and religious centers as part of the annual season for Shia Muslims commemorating the “martyrdom of Imam Hussain”, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

On 4 Nov 2013, riot police attacked a group of people participating in a religious procession in Maameer, which have taken place in Bahrain for decades. The riot police used excessive tear gas against dozens of people that included elderly citizens and children. People of all ages participate in these processions given that they do not expect to be attacked as they are not political protests.

On 7 Nov 2013, riot police stormed a religious center “Matam” in Aali without presenting any warrant. On the same day, security forces took down flags and destroyed religious banners in Tubli and Sanad.

On 8 Nov 2013, riot police fired tear gas in Nuwaidrat on people who tried to stop the security forces from taking down the religious banners in their neighborhood.

Furthermore, several citizens received police summons without a name specified on the summon, stating only “for the house’s owner”, due to placing Ashoura flags or banners on their own homes.

Additionally, the Government of Bahrain blocked a website which does live broadcasts of the religious events of Ashoura from over 30 areas in Bahrain http://matam.tv

The BCHR and BYSHR regard the above mentioned targeting and attacks as violations of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and a practice of discrimination against Shia’s with the intent to further cause a sectarian split in the society and push towards to sectarian violence.

These practices are not new and the BCHR had documented similar attacks in the past (Nov 2012 reporthttp://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/5502), however due to the culture of impunity, and the policy of discrimination, the harassment against Shia Muslims continues through judicial means.

The BCHR and BYSHR respectfully reminds the Government of Bahrain of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.

Maryam Al-Khawaja, the Acting President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said: “All sects and religions must be respected in Bahrain; that includes religious events. The Government of Bahrain is trying to purposely instigate a violent response from Shia Muslims by targeting them during an important religious period; and we have previously warned of the consequences of pushing people towards sectarian animosity. Allies of the Government of Bahrain must apply pressure for the immediate halting of sectarian based targeting; and promote respect for all religions and sects equally.”

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and other allies and international institutions to pressure the Bahraini authorities to:

1. Immediately end the systematic attacks on religious liberties.

2. Immediately stop all forms of sectarian attacks and/or promotion of sectarian tensions/violence.

3. Immediately investigate and hold accountable those who gave orders, overlooked and/or carried out attacks on religious liberties.

4. Guarantee freedom of religion to all religions and sects in Bahrain.

…source

Regarding the Geneva Civilian Convention: …As explained below, there are several allegations and recognitions with respect to the denial of food, the denial of medicine and medical supplies, and the denial of freedom from arbitrary and inhumane detention and controls… Moreover, if specific intent to commit these types of denials is shown, the denials can even constitute international crimes of genocide….

Amnesty urges treatment of jailed Bahraini activist
10 Novmebr, 2013 – PressTV

A human rights group has called for “specialized medical treatment” for one of Bahrain’s leading jailed activists as the Al Khalifa regime continues its crackdown on protesters.

Amnesty International said in a statement that Abdelwahab Hussain has been denied much-needed medical treatment for his chronic diseases.

The 59-year-oil prisoner “needs urgent access to specialized medical treatment. His health condition has deteriorated and his family’s last scheduled visit to the prison was cancelled without explanation,” the London-based rights group said.

In June 2011, a military court sentenced Hussain and 12 other opposition figures to life imprisonment on the charge of plotting to topple Al Khalifa regime and change the constitution.

Amnesty also urged Bahraini authorities to “release all 13 opposition activists immediately and unconditionally, since they are prisoners of conscience, convicted solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”

Meanwhile, another rights group, Front Line Defenders, has requested that King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa pardon the head of Bahrain’s Center for Human rights, Nebeel Rajab.

Known for being a vocal critic of the regime, Rajab began serving a three-year sentence May last year.

He was convicted of inciting anti-government demonstrations and sharing online posts against the country’s long-time prime minister.

The Manama regime is under fire for its heavy-handed crackdown on protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since a popular uprising began in Bahrain in early 2011. …source

Bahrain: Special Investigations Unit Makes Claims to False Achievements and Colludes to Extract Revenge On Political Prisoners, Prisoners of Conscience
16 September, 2013 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses dissatisfaction over the Bahraini authorities continued avoidance to comply with the recommendations which aim to limit human rights violations. Many official institutions were established which propose to value the protection of human rights, while in reality they follow the government’s official policy of impunity and discrimination. The BCHR has monitored the performance of the Special Investigations Unit at the Public Prosecution over the course of a year and a half, and concluded that this unit is only one of the many attempts of the Bahraini regime to present the image of reforms, while acting as a tool to punish political prisoners and prisoners of conscience for their peaceful activism.

The Special Investigations Unit was established on February 28, 2012 after an order from Attorney-General Ali AlBuainain to establish a specialized unit at the Public Prosecution for the investigation of torture crimes, abuse and ill-treatment that may have been committed by government officials. Specifically, this unit is designed to investigate into the facts arising from the events in 2011 during the three month state of emergency declared by the government, and which are included in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), as well as any facts or other issues decided by the Attorney-General to be referred to the Special Investigations Unit.

The establishment of this Unit came as an implementation to recommendation No. 1716 of the BICI report, which stated “To establish a national independent and impartial mechanism to determine the accountability of those in government who have committed unlawful or negligent acts resulting in the deaths, torture and mistreatment of civilians with a view to bringing legal and disciplinary action against such individuals, including those in the chain of command, military and civilian, who are found to be responsible under international standards of “superior responsibility”.

However, what is witnessed on the ground in Bahrain is quite different from the recommendation. The unit is headed by the Chief Prosecutor, and there is no mechanism in which the use of the independent experts to conduct investigations is compulsory, which stands in violation to the very essence of the recommendation, particularly as the involvement of the Public Prosecution itself in the abuse of detainees during the investigation period has been documented. In the investigation cases referred to the unit, some of the cases were documented while others were suspended, and many resulted in the acquittal of those involved in torture as occured in the case of doctors lawsuit against Mubarak bin Huwail and Noora AlKhalifa. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) believes that the formation of this Unit was primarily intended to stop international human rights pressure on the government, while the reality shows a deliberate avoidance of real reforms that are at the heart of the recommendation.

The torture allegations has always been one of the most important and concerning issues regarding human rights in Bahrain. These allegations have been documented by well-respected human rights organizations in their statements and reports, including Human Rights Watch, which issued in February 2010, a detailed report entitled “Torture Redux: the Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain,” The report was based on interviews with former detainees in addition to forensic reports and the courts which proved that the officials has practiced torture in an attempt to extract confessions from suspects in security cases. This report, considered along with the recommendations made in the report of the BICI constitutes clear evidence on the existence of practices of ill-treatment and torture. There is also evidence that responsibility lies throughout the chain of command, those individuals must be held accountable while victims are provided with compensation; these points are a test of the will of the authorities in working towards true reconciliation, but the government of Bahrain continues to ignore the claims of torture while torturers are set free to continue practicing violations against citizens voicing their opposition to the government. The King of Bahrain is therefore responsible for the outbreak of the policy of impunity and the protection of violators.

The BCHR believes the lack of accountability of the torturers whom were mentioned by name in the report from Human Rights Watch, is what prompted the continuation of the practice of torture as a means to extract confessions in the absence of an accounting policy and legal accountability. The number of victims that have suffered from this policy has doubled since February 2011. The former head of the National Security Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and the current Minister of the Interior Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, amongst others, are senior officials who have not been held accountable for the serious allegations against them, and in some cases senior officials have been promoted within the government instead of facing trial.

Mubarak bin Huwail was facing a lawsuit regarding the torture of medical staff and others. He was visited in his home by Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and was informed that the law cannot be applied to him similarly to how it can not be applied to the royal family. Such statements make the presence of institutions such as the Special Investigations Unit at the Public Prosecution a clearly powerless institution, which functions to serve the system by which it was established.

The Complicity of the Public Prosecutors in Covering up the Torture Crimes

Detainees and activists have filed complaints over the years against the collusion between the Prosecutors and the Criminal Investigations Unit in concealing crimes committed by the authorities, and in particular of the torture practices. The interrogation of the detainees in the majority of cases are conducted at dawn and without the presence of their lawyers, leaving the detainees under great pressure to confess to charges they did not commit. In some cases, the Public Prosecutor has ignored allegations documented the testimonies of the detainees about torture or documentation that shows clear marks of torture on the bodies of the detainees. Many of those whom were detained and tortured refrained from filing a complaint against their torturers either in fear of being subjected to torture again or due to the lack of confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the judiciary in Bahrain, particularly in light of widespread policy of impunity and the acquittal of the torturers. …source

France wrecks P5+1 deal for Arab money
10 November, 2013 – By Finian Cunningham – PressTV

The French deal-breaking intervention at the P5+1 negotiation with Iran may have been motivated by France wanting to ingratiate itself with the Persian Gulf monarchies for strategic economic reasons.

Negotiations to resolve the nuclear deadlock and lift economic sanctions on Iran appeared to be near a breakthrough agreement after three days of talks in the Swiss capital, Geneva, over the weekend.

The hasty arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry as well as the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany raised expectations that a potential deal was in the offing. But it was the French diplomat, Laurent Fabius, who threw a spanner in the works at the last-minute.

Fabius invoked “security concerns of Israel” and announced that his country was not going to sign a draft agreement. The French intervention appeared to catch participants by surprise.

An unnamed Western diplomat told Reuters, “The Americans, the EU and the Iranians have been working intensively for months on this proposal and this is nothing more than an attempt by Fabius to insert himself into relevance late in the negotiations.”

However, contrary to Fabius’ words and speculation by some analysts, the French motive seem less about appeasing Israel and France’s formidable Jewish lobby, and more to do with pandering to the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli opposition to any deal with Iran over the 10-year nuclear dispute is, of course, obvious. On the eve of the latest talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was almost apoplectic in urging Western states to reject “a deal of the century for Iran.”

Equally as disconcerted about a possible accord were the Wahhabi monarchies led by Saudi Arabia, which view Shia Iran as an archenemy for influence in the Middle East. Only days before the latest round of P5+1 talks in Geneva, former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al Faisal told the Washington Post in an interview that his country was opposed to lifting sanctions on Iran.

One of the most striking political developments in recent months is the alignment of Israel with the House of Saud and the other Persian Gulf Arab regimes in terms of foreign policy objectives and adversity towards Iran.

Another salient development has been the strategic economic cooperation between France and the Persian Gulf oil kingdoms. Major sectors of interest include energy, water and electrical infrastructure, construction and weapons sales.

The French government has been embarking on an aggressive bilateral investment drive with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In April this year, Paris hosted a Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum attended by 500 businessmen from both countries.

French ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bertrand Besancenot, said, “Saudi Arabia is a strategic partner of France in the region and the bilateral relationship is of paramount importance in the economic field,” pointing out that bilateral trade has doubled over the last five years.

In July, French company Veolia won a $500 million contract to build and operate water desalination plants in Saudi Arabia. That contract is reckoned to be the biggest of its kind in the Middle East, and from the French point of view, it is a model for the future, given that water and electricity infrastructure right across the Persian Gulf oil kingdoms is a vital development need for decades to come. …more

Abbas Abdulnabi Marhoon, 19 years-old, is suffering from severe injuries after he was shot with a tear gas canister in the head on the 16th of October 2013. Witnesses reported that Marhoon was shot directly at the head and was taken, unconscious, to a nearby medical center: the Hamad Kanoo health center. Due to the seriousness of his injuries, Marhoon was transferred to the operation room in the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital. He was shot near the brain and eye, which caused him to suffer from fracture in his skull, serious bleeding, and he is currently being closely monitored.

As Marhoon struggling for his life, recently leaked documents from Bahrain Watch show that the authorities in Bahrain have made plans to import a massive shipment of tear gas canisters from Korea. It was one such canister that Marhoon was injured with, and the police have been documented in many videos using these weapons illegally. …more

When a Defiant President Refuses to Go Away

Putting Egypt’s Coup on Trial
by ESAM AL-AMIN – 8 November, 2013 – Counter Punch

When Egypt’s Defense Minister, General Abdelfattah El-Sisi, deposed President Muhammad Morsi in a military coup depicted as a popular revolt, on July 3, coup leaders were confident that Morsi and his supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), would quickly capitulate and recognize the new reality.

Within hours of the coup, hundreds of MB and other anti-coup leaders and popular public figures were rounded up, as most TV and satellite channels deemed to be anti-coup or simply critical of the army’s brazen intervention, were swiftly banned and closed down. At the time, Sisi claimed that he had intervened in order to prevent an impending civil war, and he promised security, stability, and prosperity. But it seems that the generals and their enablers have badly miscalculated. Four months into the bloody coup, Egypt’s deep and unprecedented crisis keeps growing.

It’s a fact that millions of Egyptians initially supported the military intervention in order to overthrow Morsi and the MB and genuinely detested the group or were exasperated with the deteriorating security and economic conditions in the country. However, as I explained in a previous article much of the opposition against Morsi was co-opted by the remnants of the old Mubarak regime and the deep state (the complex web that ruled Egypt for six decades, which comprised of various corrupt but powerful elements within the military, intelligence services, security apparatus, oligarchs, media, judiciary, and state bureaucracy).

Yet, contrary to the image Morsi tried to cultivate during his one-year rule, he was really never able to scratch the surface of, let alone dismantle or control, these powerful and entrenched state institutions, which in reality never recognized his authority. Since then, more evidence has emerged to buttress this fact including footage of a high-ranking police officer admitting before his comrades that the police and army had been planning to overthrow Morsi weeks before the coup. In another audio post a former leader of Tamarrud – the youth movement that suddenly burst into the political scene calling for popular demonstrations and overthrow of Morsi on June 30- regretted his involvement and exposed the surreptitious relationship between his group and pro-Mubarak state security officers.

Since then, millions of other Egyptians have taken to the streets in major demonstrations throughout Egypt on a daily basis, in defiance of the state of emergency imposed by the coup government. The demonstrations call for the restoration of the country’s nascent democracy while demanding the return of the first democratically-elected civilian president, the reinstatement of the parliament banned by the coup, and the restoration of the suspended constitution that was ratified two to one just six months earlier.

The Coup Fails to Subdue its Opponents

But the scheme enacted by Gen. Sisi and his cohorts in order to legitimize their coup and take control of the country hinged on their ability to subdue the opposition and the population, and it rested on three main assumptions. First, Sisi believed that Morsi would quickly follow in the footsteps of Mubarak and resign voluntarily or under pressure. Morsi was essentially kidnapped by the army, kept in isolation, and detained in a hidden location for weeks in an attempt to pressure him to accept the new reality and give up his claim to the presidency.

Nevertheless, Morsi stubbornly rejected all such attempts, insisting that he was the legitimately-elected president and demanding to be restored to his position. Even when the military-backed government resorted to outside mediators, such as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, to convince Morsi and his colleagues that it was over, he still insisted on his legitimacy and refused to step down.

The second tactic was to crack down on the senior leadership of the MB in order to force them to recognize the new regime and accept the new power structure and its political roadmap for the country. In this phase, the military used carrots and sticks, promising inclusion and an undetermined future political role for the group, while it arrested, banished and prosecuted them. But their overtures were once again rejected as the MB negotiators insisted on the restoration of the constitution, the president, and parliament and proclaimed that these democratic institutions were the main achievements of the 2011 popular uprising.

But before the negotiations for an acceptable resolution between the antagonistic parties were further explored, the hardliners within the coup government, led by anti-Islamist high ranking officers from the old state security apparatus and military intelligence, pushed for a military solution. Thus, the tactic of adopting an iron-fist policy by stamping out the MB from all aspects of society prevailed, prompting the resignation of or condemnation by several public figures that initially either encouraged the coup such as Mohammad ElBaradei or accepted it such as AbdelMoneim Abulfutooh. …more

Syria crisis: Saudi Arabia to spend millions to train new rebel force
By Ian Black – theguardian.com – 7 November, 2013

Saudi Arabia is preparing to spend millions of dollars to arm and train thousands of Syrian fighters in a new national rebel force to help defeat Bashar al-Assad and act as a counterweight to increasingly powerful jihadi organisations.

Syrian, Arab and western sources say the intensifying Saudi effort is focused on Jaysh al-Islam (the Army of Islam or JAI), created in late September by a union of 43 Syrian groups. It is being billed as a significant new player on the fragmented rebel scene.

The force excludes al-Qaida affiliates such as the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra, but embraces more non-jihadi Islamist and Salafi units.

According to one unconfirmed report the JAI will be trained with Pakistani help, and estimates of its likely strength range from 5,000 to more than 50,000. But diplomats and experts warned on Thursday that there are serious doubts about its prospects as well as fears of “blowback” by extremists returning from Syria.

The Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, is also pressing the US to drop its objections to supplying anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to the JAI. Jordan is being urged to allow its territory to be used as a supply route into neighbouring Syria.

In return, diplomats say, Riyadh is encouraging the JAI to accept the authority of the US and western-backed Supreme Military Council, led by Salim Idriss, and the Syrian Opposition Coalition.

“There are two wars in Syria,” said Mustafa Alani, an analyst for the Saudi-backed Gulf Research Centre. “One against the Syrian regime and one against al-Qaida. Saudi Arabia is fighting both.”

Saudi Arabia has long called publicly for arming the anti-Assad rebels and has bridled at US caution. It has been playing a more assertive role since September’s US-Russian agreement on chemical weapons – which it saw as sparing the Syrian leader from US-led air strikes and granting him a degree of international rehabilitation.

The JAI is led by Zahran Alloush, a Salafi and formerly head of Liwa al-Islam, one of the most effective rebel fighting forces in the Damascus area. Alloush recently held talks with Bandar along with Saudi businessmen who are financing individual rebel brigades under the JAI’s banner. Other discreet coordinating meetings in Turkey have involved the Qatari foreign minister, Khaled al-Attiyeh, and the US envoy to Syria, Robert Ford.

In one indication of its growing confidence – and resources – the JAI this week advertised online for experienced media professionals to promote its cause.

The appearance of an “Army of Muhammad” – with its equally obvious Islamic resonance – appears to be part of the same or related effort proposed by Syrian Sunni clerics to unite disparate rebel groups into a 100,000-strong force by March 2015. …more

Report: Saudi Arabia investing in nuclear deal with Pakistan
7 November, 2013 – UPI

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 7 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia has been investing in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, believing it could get such weapons at will, sources told the BBC.

While framed in the context of countering Iran’s nuclear program, the BBC reported Wednesday it now was possible that Saudi Arabia could have the capability to deploy a nuclear device more quickly than Iran.

The BBC said a senior NATO official earlier this year saw intelligence reports that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan for Saudi Arabia were ready for delivery.

Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said during a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, “the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring.”

The BBC said the Saudi project is decades old. Western experts also said Saudi Arabia provided financial assistance to Pakistan’s defense sector, including its missile and nuclear labs.

In 2003, a paper leaked by senior Saudi officials outlined three possible scenarios about the kingdom’s changing security environment and the possibility of nuclear proliferation: acquiring their own nuclear weapons, entering into an arrangement with another nuclear power to protect the kingdom or relying on establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

In 2007, U.S. diplomats in Riyadh said they were being asked questions by Pakistani diplomats about U.S. knowledge of “Saudi-Pakistani nuclear cooperation,” the BBC reported.

By the end of that decade Saudi leaders were voicing unambiguous warnings of their intention to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran did.

Simon Henderson, director of the Global Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told BBC he believed the Saudis weren’t bluffing, noting when “the Saudis speak about Iran and nuclear matters very seriously.”

The BBC said it contacted the Pakistani and Saudi governments.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry called the reporting “baseless,” and said, “Pakistan is a responsible nuclear weapon state with robust command and control structures and comprehensive export controls.”

The Saudi Embassy in London issued a statement noting it is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and has worked for a nuclear free Middle East. It also said the United Nations’ failure “to make the Middle East a nuclear free zone is one of the reasons the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia rejected the offer of a seat on the U.N. Security Council.”

The Saudi statement said the lack of international action “put the region under the threat of a time bomb that cannot easily be defused by maneuvering around it.”

…source

Saudis Fight a Lost Battle against Change
7 November, 2013 – The Tripoli Post – Nicola Nasser

The ongoing aggressive Saudi policy for a militarised “regime change” in Syria is more an expression of internal vulnerability, trying hopelessly to avert change outside their borders lest change sweeps inside, than being a positive show of leadership and power, but Syrian developments are proving by the day that the Saudis are fighting a lost battle against change.

Riyadh is fighting several pre-emptive battles outside its borders in its immediate proximity in a disparate attempt to prevent an historic regional tide of change from changing the country’s pre-medieval system of governance and social life.

Surrounded by a turbulent changing regional and international environment, the Saudi Arabian rulers seem worried as hell that their system is facing an historical existential test for the survival of which they are unwisely blundering in foreign policy to alienate friends, win more enemies, exacerbate old animosities and trying counterproductively to promote their unmarketable way of life as the only way they know to survive, instead of reforming to adapt to modern irreversible changes that are sweeping throughout their surroundings and the world like a tsunami of an irresistible fate.

Change is inevitable and if they insist on resisting it they will be shooting themselves in the legs and fighting back a lost battle, which might delay change for a while, but cannot stop it from flooding their outdated feudal type of family governance, where more than seven thousand royal princes spread over the country like a spider’s net of rulers who dominate every aspect of the political, administrative, security, military, economic and social life.

True, there is the oil factor underlying the aggressive Saudi regional policies, especially vis-à-vis Iran and Iraq, which is covered up by trumpeting the not so unrealistic threat of sectarian Shiism, Iranian regional hegemony and Iran’s nuclear threat lest they endanger the Saudi similar sectarian Wahhabi theology and political prominence in the region where the United States has been the only real hegemony since the Saudi family came to power in the Arabian peninsula some one hundred years ago. …more

Kerry says no deal yet in Iran nuclear talks
8 November, 2013 – Al Akhbarhttp://www.crookedbough.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=wp-to-twitter/wp-to-twitter.php

World powers and Iran have yet to reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program but are working hard to do so, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday.

“There is not an agreement at this point,” Kerry said shortly after arriving in Geneva Friday to help seal what is hoped to be a landmark with Tehran, but stressed that the six world powers leading the talks were “working hard.”

“I don’t think anybody should mistake that there are some important gaps that have to be closed,” he added.

Meanwhile, the UN nuclear agency said that its chief Yukiya Amano will hold talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday with the aim of “strengthening dialogue and cooperation.”

His decision to accept an Iranian invitation to visit may be a sign of progress in long-stalled efforts by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate the Islamic state’s disputed atomic activities.

Kerry met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday before heading to Geneva for landmark three-way talks with Iran and the EU.

The Israeli prime minister denounced the possible deal as a “historic mistake.”

In an effort to help narrow the differences in negotiations, “Secretary Kerry will travel to Geneva, Switzerland today at the invitation of EU High Representative [Catherine] Ashton to hold a trilateral meeting with High Representative Ashton and [Iranian] Foreign Minister [Mohammed] Zarif on the margins of the P5+1 negotiations,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement early on Friday.

A senior State Department official said that since the first round of talks with Iranian President Hassan Rohani’s administration last month, “Kerry has been open to the possibility of traveling to Geneva for this round of negotiations if it would help narrow differences.”

The official added that Ashton had asked Kerry to attend the Geneva talks help bridge the gaps,

“As we’ve said, this is a complex process. And as a member of the P5+1, he is committed to doing anything he can to help,” the official added.

The US clarified that Kerry’s arrival in Geneva is not indicative of a sealed deal with Iran after years of foot-dragging and suspicion.

Western governments and Israel suspect Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under cover of its civilian program. Tehran denies any such ambition and, since Rohani took office in August, has made overtures suggesting it is prepared to scale back its enrichment of uranium in return for the easing of crippling Western sanctions.

World powers and Iran are working intensively to advance talks in Geneva over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, a spokesman for Ashton said on Friday. …more

N-talks can reach end game in under 1 year: Iran
8 November, 2013 – Shia Post

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran and six major world powers can reach an end game agreement in their nuclear talks in less than a year.

In a Thursday interview with CNN, Zarif expressed optimism that Iran and the six powers can start serious work on Friday morning to prepare “some sort of a joint statement” that would address the “common objective for all seven of us.”

The Iranian foreign minister said that the two sides can reach “an end game – that we all tried to reach – within a limited period of time, hopefully in less than a year, and a series of actions that the two sides have to take reciprocally in order to build confidence and address their most immediate concerns.”

“I believe it is possible to reach an understanding or agreement before we close these negotiations tomorrow (Friday) evening,” Zarif pointed out.

“I believe the ingredients are there. It takes a quite a bit of effort and a quite a bit of good faith and political will. I know that we have it on our side and I hope that we can expect the same from the other side and in that fashion and in that spirit we can move forward,” he added.

The head of Iran’s diplomatic apparatus rejected remarks by Chairman of the US Congress Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Mendez, who had said if Iran wants favorable results from the nuclear negotiations, it should suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

He referred to Iran’s suspension of its enrichment program from 2003 to 2005 to build confidence, adding, “So we have tested that and it did not produce positive results. We are not going to test that again,” Zarif said.

“I believe that people should stop trying to impose a solution. They have got to be creative. They have got to be innovative and deal with situations on the basis of realities not on the basis of illusions and I believe at the end of the day everybody will be happy with a deal that can be achieved today. Otherwise one year down the road we will be wishing for the same deal that could be achieved today and the opportunity was missed.” he added.

“There is a window of opportunity now that has been created by the Iranian people through the election of President [Hassan] Rouhani and that opportunity needs to be seized and I believe the people should accept the realities; should learn a lesson from what has been achieved in the past,” he said. …more

Saudi ‘House of Pseud’ thrives on deception
6 November, 2013 – Finian Cunningham – PressTV

The House of Saud is such a decrepit domain of duplicity it is hard to know where to begin in listing its numerous deceptions, but suffice to say that any appraisal should start, in the first instance, with a name change. Henceforth, in the cause of truth and plain language, the Saudi rulers would be better referred to as the House of Pseud.

A “pseud” is a poser, a pretender, and this term is eminently applicable to a regime that rules by fear, terror and tyranny, yet which claims to represent the Muslim World – the Ummah – by pointing to itself as the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam”.

The truth is that this “custodian” has inflicted more suffering and violence among Muslims than perhaps any other agency in history, through its sponsorship of sectarianism, hatred and terrorism. The Saudi rulers with their obscurantist Wahhabi version of Islam are anathema to the worldwide diversity and collectivism that truly reflects the religion and spirit of “Islam” – meaning “peace”.

Syria’s information minister Omran al-Zoubi hit the nail on the head this week when he lambasted the Saudi regime for “betraying” the Arab world and Islam.

Indeed, one could say that since its inception as a state in 1932 at the hands of the British Empire, Saudi Arabia has continually betrayed the Arab people, including its own population, in the service of imperialist interests. The Saudi rulers, from the first so-called King Ibn Saud to the present King Abdullah, have siphoned off the oil riches of the Arabian Peninsula while the ordinary people struggle with unemployment, homelessness and poverty. The lion’s share of wealth of the world’s biggest oil exporter feeds the Saudi elite and their foreign patrons, and what’s more this wealth is used to suppress and oppress.

Roughly, the lifetime of the Saudi state parallels the genocide of the Palestinians since at least the 1930s. Yet in all that time, the Saudi rulers have done nothing to alleviate or defend the rights of their Arab brothers and sisters in Palestine. Indeed, as the Zionist regime now turns to dispossessing the Ummah of its third holiest site – al Aqsa Mosque in East Al Quds (Jerusalem), the Saudi royals have not bothered to raise even a whimper of objection.
[Read more →]

My encounter with a human rights defender
By Caroline Sanden – 6 November, 2013

The Rafto price 2013 is awarded to Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). Sunday 3. November Maryam al-Khawaja, acting President for BCHR, accepted the prize on behalf of BCHR at the National Stage in Bergen. On the occasion of the Rafto Prize award ceremony I got the opportunity to interview the young human rights activist.

It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m waiting outside an assembly room inside the Radisson Blue Hotel Norway. The tension in the air suggests that it is an important person waiting behind the closed door. I’m a bit nervous, something my fingernails will know.

The door opens, and I get the green light to enter. I am greeted by a warm smile, and we shake hands. Maryam has a clear voice, which fills the room. She has a way of talking that captures the listeners attention immediately.

Bahrain in the future

The mission of BCHR is to encourage and support individuals and groups to be proactive in the protection of their own and others’ rights, and to struggle to promote democracy and human rights in accordance with international norms. They will document and report on human rights violations in Bahrain, and use this documentation for advocacy to influence international policies according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

How will this award affect your organization (BCHR)? This is doubtfully the first time she has heard this question, and the answer comes quickly and concisely without hesitation.

– First of all it brings much-needed media attention to the situation in Bahrain, which doesn’t even exist, or exist in a very low level. It also gives us a platform to speak from.

Do you think Bahrain will make any progress with fundamental human rights in the close future?

– I think that as long as the local culture of impunity in Bahrain continues, and the international situation of impunity of the Bahraini government continues, then no. If we were able to get international accountability for the Bahraini government, and consequences and reactions, then yes.

Banned from her country

Maryam has been active in participating in protests and volunteering for human rights organizations since she was a young teenager. Her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is former president and co-founder for BCHR. He was banned from Bahrain in the mid-1980s, and they got political asylum in Denmark, where they lived until 2001 when they were allowed re-entry into Bahrain. She is currently in exile in Denmark, where she has been since the Bahraini uprising in 2011. …more

Women in Bahrain
Anonymous Contribution – 6 November, 2013

– Women in Bahrain can’t vote, assemble in public, hold up a banner, speak about the political situation or demand change, freedom and democracy.

– Women like the men can be picked up in the middle of the night from their homes by violent police, detained without their family knowing their whereabouts, abused, sexually assaulted and tortured.

– Women have gone through show trials, with no prosecution apart from confessions under torture, no defence, (Judge Dhahrini walks out whilst the defence lawyers speak) and unfair long sentences.

– At least thirteen women have died since 14th February 2011 and no-one has been held accountable.

– Women have been tortured, and no-one has been held accountable. (Noura Al Khalifa was brought to trial for torturing Dr Fatima Haji, but she was cleared.)

– Hundreds of women were sacked for participating in the pro- democracy demonstrations and those who were re-instated had to give up their trade union membership and employment rights.

A few cases.

Rula Al Safir, President of the Nurses Union, 6 months jail, tortured, 35 day hunger strike, retrial after foreign pressure, found innocent. Sacked and unable to return to work. Offence – treating the injured at demonstrations.

Jalila al Salman, Vice President of Teachers Union, detained for 6 months, tortured, smeared by pro- government media. 3 years sentence, reduced to 6 months. Fired, not allowed to work. International pressure helped.Offence- leading a teachers’ march.

Rayhanna Al Mousawi. Young mother and activist. Wore a political Tshirt at 2013 F.I. Tortured, made to stand stripped in a doorway, sexually abused, ill with cancer, treatment refused. Picked up for “planning to bomb” FI and membership of 14th February Coalition. 5 years sentence, plus a further trial. Her appeal, (although not allowed to consult her lawyer in person is on 18th November 2013.

And finally Nadia Saleh, heavily pregnant, jailed with no charge, because she objected to her husband Abd Yousef Saleh being picked up at a checkpoint when they were leaving their village. She was released on October 2nd, has given birth, but was still due in court on 31st October.

Attacks on women in Bahrain must be viewed in the context of the even worse treatment of the men who have died under torture and been sentenced to 15 years and life for demanding freedom and democracy. The main opposition party Al Wafaq, support a constitutional monarchy but as their Speaker, Mr Marfooq was detained and was back in court on 24th October, their position will harden.

The British Government should rise above its obsession for “oil security” and supporting the Khalifas and support the democratic forces in the Gulf. That is the future for stability in the Gulf.

The egregious sentence of 10 years for Sheikh Mohammed Ali al-Mahfoodh was reduced through appeals in Bharain’s Court of Injustice, to an egregious sentence of five years in November, 2012. Sheik al-Mahfoodh remains unjustly detained by the Al Khalifa Regime in Bahrain to this day. Phlipn

Interview with Hajar al-Mahfoodh – daughter of jailed opposition leader
4 October, 2011 – Bahrain Justice and Development Movement

A Bahrain military court today jailed Sheikh Mohammed Ali al-Mahfoodh, Chairman of the opposition Amal Party, for 10 years.

His daughter Hajar says whilst in detention he was tortured so badly she could barely recognize her own Father. She affirms there is no tangible evidence against him and his case is clear political persecution.

Another 13 members of the party received sentences of between 5 and 10 years at the same hearing.

Sheikh Mohammed Ali was first arrested on 2nd May 2011 but according to Hajar the Security Services had been trying to arrest him since one month before.

“They broke into my home four times and told me it’s either your husband or your daddy”. On April 2nd police arrested her husband in what she says was a ‘hostage situation’ to secure the arrest of Sheikh Mohammed Ali. In the same incident items were stolen from her home and she says she feared leaving the house in case they returned.

One month later when police finally caught up with Sheikh Mohammed Ali, they also arrested two of Hajar’s brothers at the same time.

By the end of May both brothers and the husband had been released but there was no word about Sheikh Mohammed Ali until the family received a call to say they could visit.

“I felt the man I met wasn’t my daddy. He couldn’t focus, his voice was different and he looked like a different man”. Hajar describes her visit to see her father in prison. “It was only later when I found out he had been tortured using electricity that I understood why he was in this state”.

A few days after the visit Sheikh Mohammed Ali’s first hearing began. The family was allowed to meet him for a few brief minutes after the hearing began and in this time he detailed his ordeal.

“He did not want to give full details, because he was worried about upsetting me, but he told me they wanted to kill him”. He told his daughter that he had been in solitary confinement for 45 days and given no food or water for the first 15 days, twice being admitted to hospital.

“They used mostly electricity and whipping to torture him and he is sure all those investigating were of Jordanian nationality”.

Since that first hearing Sheikh Mohammed Ali has faced a new hearing every 2 weeks until his sentencing today.

Hajar says from a legal point of view, as the defense lawyers pointed out, the trial is biased to say the least. “The defendants do not meet the lawyers regularly and the accused are not allowed to speak for themselves. She also says no tangible evidence of guilt has been offered according to the defense lawyers.

Sheikh Mohammed has been accused of trying to damage the image of Bahrain at an international level. There are 3 main prosecution witnesses, all claiming that he confessed his crime during detention. Something she categorically denies.

On the other hand there are “26 defense witnesses who all prove that there was no wrong doing on the part of the accused”. But in Bahrain the truth counts for nothing.”

Hajar says she fears for the future of Bahrain and thinks that unless real reform happens soon, violence will soon erupt.

“I am a peaceful person and my father is too. All we want is peace and unity in Bahrain. But the situation is getting worse and these military trials are pushing the country to the edge of breaking.”
…source