Bahrain: Summoning 10-Year-Old Child for Investigation
27 November, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Bahraini regime authorities summoned a 10-year-old child for investigation and a martyr’s father was also suspended by the general prosecution for 15 days pending investigation.

Ali Issa, who hails from the town of Bani Jamra, was summoned for unclear reasons amid public astonishment for summoning a child in this age, Al-Manar reported Tuesday.

The martyr’s father was suspended for participating in the opposition demonstrations.

His son, 15, was killed by the regime troops who were not tried for shooting the youth.

It is worth mentioning that the Bahraini authorities summon, interrogate and arrest the martyrs’ fathers.

These measures were termed as insolent by the opposing Wefaq association.

…source

Bahrain arrests human rights activist for “inciting hatred” against the Monarchy
27 November, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Bahraini human rights defender Hussain Jawad was arrested on Saturday over allegations of inciting hatred against the government, his organization confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

Hussein Jawad is a human rights activist, and Chairman of European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR), an international organization that works to defend human rights across the Middle East.

In addition to Jawad, EBOHR declared that “a number of prominent Bahraini activists were accused in the press of, inter alia, arming opposition militant factions, inciting xenophobic violence, and propagating sectarian discrimination during peaceful protests.”

According to EBOHR, Jawad has repeatedly and publicly called for a peaceful struggle towards democracy in Bahrain.

State-affiliated Bahraini media have engaged in negative coverage of pro-democracy activists, human rights NGO Front Line Defenders claimed.

According to EBOHR’s statement, Jawad went to the Central Province Center on November 23 to file a complaint against Bahraini media organizations and the chief editor of Emirati publication Gulf News, Anwar Abdul Rahman. Meanwhile, Jawad was notified that a police patrol was on its way to arrest him.

Jawad initially refused to be handcuffed by two officers dressed in civilian clothing, before relenting and being escorted to a police station for further questioning in the presence of his lawyer, Saeed Sarhan.

The interrogation focused on a speech Jawad delivered in the Bahraini capital Manama at an event commemorating the religious holiday of Ashura, declaring that it “incited hatred against the regime.”

EBOHR said that Jawad has been shuttled between at least three security facilities since his arrest. He is currently being held in a short-term detention unit.

On November 24, EBOHR confirmed and condemned the public prosecutor’s demand that Jawad remain in custody for fifteen days pending further investigation.

Front Line Defenders expressed their “grave concern that the Bahrain authorities persist in their habit of systematically targeting human rights defenders one after another through arrests, defamation, threats and prosecutions.”

In 2011 the Gulf state – ruled by the al-Khalifa monarchy – was shaken by an uprising calling for democratic reform.

Protesters were met with overwhelming military force leading to at least 89 deaths, according to the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). The Bahraini government has since continued its crackdown on protests. …source

Bahrain Invites Iran to Attend Manama Security Meeting
27 November, 2013 – FARS News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Khalifa has invited his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to take part in a security summit in Manama next month, media reports said.

Bahrain has invited the Iranian foreign minister to attend the Manama Security Meeting slated for December 6-8, the Manama-based newspaper Al-Wasat reported on Wednesday.

“Tehran has received the invitation and the issue is under study by Iran now…,” Al-Wasat quoted informed sources in Manama as saying.

Bahrain Security Meeting is held every year under the auspices of Bahrain foreign ministry to discuss the security conditions of the Middle-East. Senior officials and experts of different countries partake the meeting.

Earlier this year, the Bahraini foreign minister underlined the need for mending his country’s relations with Iran.

He expressed the hope that Iran and Bahrain would be able to open a new chapter in their relations in the near future.

“Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in a message to Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani has called for improvement of relations between Iran and Bahrain,” Sheikh Khaled said.

The Bahraini foreign minister noted that his country is waiting for Iran’s positive response. …source

Waleed Abulkhair is a human rights activist in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Jailed in Saudi Arabia for peaceful activism
By Waleed Abulkhair – 26 November, 2013 – Washington Post

Late last month, a judge in Saudi Arabia sentenced me to three months in prison simply because I stood with victims of Saudi Arabia’s flawed and discriminatory criminal justice system.

My country’s legal system is based on uncodified principles of Islamic law, which leaves judges largely free to decide what actions, in their view, are crimes, as well as the appropriate punishments. I believe that the Interior Ministry actively encourages religious extremism and intolerance among the judiciary, recognizing that judges with these views are far more willing to convict human rights and civil society advocates of vague religious and social offenses.

One of the principal causes of my conviction was my reaction to the unfair trial of 16 men known as the “Jiddah reformers,” nine of whom were trying to set up a human rights organization. Prosecutors castigated them as extremists and terrorists, and a judge sentenced all of them to lengthy jail terms. I signed a statement in 2012 criticizing the convictions and calling for the men’s release. That signature was the basis of my conviction last month.

The Saudi government allows no public dissent. We who have challenged government policies or social taboos know that we will face Saudi “justice” sooner or later.

I am also on trial before Saudi Arabia’s terrorism tribunal, the Specialized Criminal Court, on charges that include “breaking allegiance with the ruler” and “inflaming public opinion against the ruler.” All of the evidence against me stems from my peaceful activism. If convicted, I could be sentenced to years in prison.

As a human rights activist, I have helped many victims of injustice battle for their rights in Saudi courts, including Samar Badawi, whom I worked to help escape years of physical and emotional abuse by her father. Her father had her jailed for “parental disobedience” after she fled to a women’s shelter. I eventually succeeded in getting Samar out of the shelter and to safety, and we later married.

My public stances for justice have also resulted in endless rounds of slander and character assassination in the local media. In early 2012, as I was leaving for a fellowship in the United States, authorities at the Jiddah airport wouldn’t let me board the plane, saying that I had been barred from foreign travel. Prosecutors later told me that I would be facing charges for a variety of vague and spurious offenses, including “insulting the judiciary” and “distorting the reputation of the kingdom.” At no point have prosecutors alleged that I have committed any act an ordinary person would understand to be criminal behavior.

The outcome of my trial before the terrorism tribunal is most likely pre-determined, as outcomes often are in Saudi Arabia. As my trials have progressed, I have watched as dozens of other political and human rights activists, many of them friends, faced an all-out assault by Saudi Arabia’s flawed and arbitrary criminal justice system. Among them are Abdullah al-Hamid and Mohammed al-Qahtani, who are serving 11- and 10-year jail sentences, respectively, merely for peacefully calling for political and human rights reforms.

I will appeal my verdict, and if the appeals court upholds the ruling I intend to serve the sentence. Maybe I’ll get a pardon, maybe not. …more