Posts from — December 2013

Washington Shakes Hands With Al-Qaeda Ally in Syria
By: Elie Hanna – 19 December, 2013

The US administration wants to meet with Syria’s Islamic Front. Washington is flirting with this al-Qaeda affiliate as it hurries to score extra points before Geneva II. The Islamic Front remains a winning card against Moscow, which is skeptical about the Syrian opposition’s representation.

US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford could be shaking the same hands of those who held the hands of al-Nusra Front’s emirs a few days ago.

Sources from the Syrian opposition and Western diplomatic circles informed Al-Akhbar that a meeting was held in Istanbul December 18 between representatives of the US administration and “intermediaries linked to the Islamic Front, not representatives.”

Remarkably, Kerry used the term “moderate” to describe the Islamic Front.
The United States wants to keep pace with the changes in the Syrian arena so it became necessary to create links with the Islamic Front, which rose to notoriety after announcing its creation a few weeks ago.

“There is an effort afoot among all of the supporting nations of the Syrian opposition to want to broaden the base of the moderate opposition and broaden the base of representation of the Syrian people in the Geneva II negotiation,” US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on December 17.

Washington is close to announcing the death of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The US administration will not protect its pawns who fail to achieve their set objectives, and will simply change the players or move them to another team.

In October 2012, then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was time to move beyond the Syrian National Council (SNC). “There has to be a representation of those who are on the front lines fighting and dying today to obtain their freedom,” she announced from Zagreb without blinking an eye.

The SNC had been given a grace period of several weeks to expand its ranks, without success. It was placed back on the shelf and the Syrian National Coalition became the sole representative of the Syrian opposition.

Today, the FSA, the coalition’s own military wing, is facing a similar situation. The “Friends of Syria” group demanded that the military formations be unified under the command of deserting General Salim Idriss, then the West saw countless armed groups breaking from the FSA command and joining other entities.

The fighters are on two sides. The first is Bashar, his soldiers, and those who support them, and the second side is all who fight this regime.
What the West wanted to see in the FSA, it saw in the Army of Islam, which began as the Battalions of Islam, then became the Brigade of Islam, and finally decided on Army of Islam last September, which included 43 different military formations.

The Army of Islam became an important component in the Islamic Front. Based on the numbers in the ranks of its “brigades” alone, it could be considered the most influential force in the Syrian opposition’s arena. …more

Syrian rebel leader was bin Laden’s courier, now Zawahiri’s representative
By Thomas Joscelyn – 17 December, 2013 – Long War Journal

A senior al Qaeda operative known as Abu Khalid al Suri is a leading figure in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian extremist group that is part of the recently formed Islamic Front. Al Suri’s real name is Mohamed Bahaiah.

Bahaiah is a longtime al Qaeda operative who worked as a courier for the terror network. Spanish authorities think he may have delivered surveillance tapes of the World Trade Center and other American landmarks to al Qaeda’s senior leadership in Afghanistan in early 1998.

In addition to being a senior member of Ahrar al Sham, Bahaiah today serves as Ayman al Zawahiri’s representative in the Levant.

Ahrar al Sham is not one of al Qaeda’s two official branches inside Syria, which are the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, or Levant (ISIS) . But Ahrar al Sham has closely cooperated with the al Qaeda affiliates on the battlefield even while engaging in a very public dispute with ISIS.

Bahaiah’s role in Ahrar al Sham has been confirmed by two US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal. One official noted that while Bahaiah is not the emir or overall head of Ahrar al Sham, he is considered a central figure within in its ranks and plays a significant role in guiding the group.

Other al Qaeda operatives hold key positions within the extremist organization as well, according to the US officials.

In an article earlier this month, As-Safir, a Beirut-based publication, reported that Bahaiah “has played a prominent role” in Ahrar al Sham since its founding and “has sought to to cooperate and consult with prominent al Qaeda figures regarding the best methods of jihadist work in Syria.” The publication cited a “source in the Ahrar al Sham movement.”

The Daily Beast reports that Bahaiah is “overseeing the relationship between the al Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic Front.”

Bahaiah has kept his role within Ahrar al Sham out of the spotlight. US officials say that he is part of a secretive al Qaeda cadre that has sought to influence or co-opt parts of the Syrian insurgency that are not official al Qaeda branches.

A courier for Osama bin Laden

European officials first gathered evidence connecting Bahaiah to the al Qaeda network as early as the 1990s. Spanish investigators identified Bahaiah as one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted couriers.

Bahaiah “is the person who was totally trusted by many different people in the various countries and was able to coordinate and transmit orders from bin Laden,” a Spanish judicial official told The New York Times in December 2003. This same official said that Bahaiah “was also being investigated for helping to finance an unsuccessful plot in 1997 to kill the prime minister of Yemen.”

Spanish court records reviewed by The Long War Journal cite Bahaiah’s longstanding relationship with Imad Yarkas, a fellow Syrian who headed al Qaeda’s presence inside Spain prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Spanish officials found, for example, that Bahaiah delivered money from Yarkas to Abu Qatada, an al Qaeda-affiliated ideologue, in London.

Bahaiah’s brother-in-law is Mohammed Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi, a Syrian businessman who was arrested on terrorism charges in 2002. The United Nations has described Zouaydi as “a suspected financier of al Qaeda’s worldwide terrorist efforts.” Zouaydi would say, according to Spanish court documents, that Bahaiah’s “mission had been to establish contacts at the international level.”

One of Zouaydi’s employees, a fellow Syrian named Ghasoub Al Abrash Ghalyoun, traveled to the US in 1997. During his trip, Ghalyoun made suspicious videos of the World Trade Center and other American landmarks. Ghalyoun would later claim that the videos were simply the work of an eager tourist. Spanish authorities, who tied Ghalyoun to Yarkas’ operations, had a different view.

In July 2002, after arresting Ghalyoun for a second time, Spanish police released a statement regarding the videos. “The style and duration of the recordings far exceed touristic curiosity,” the statement reads, according to an account by the Associated Press. “For example, two of the tapes are like a documentary study, with innumerable takes from all distances and angles of the Twin Towers in New York.”

In addition to the World Trade Center, Ghalyoun made recordings of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sears Tower, and the Statue of Liberty, as well as theme parks. The Golden Gate Bridge’s “suspension pillar” was “given substantial attention,” according to the police statement.

Spanish investigators believed that Ghalyoun’s videos were delivered to senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan. The allegation was contained in a Sept. 17, 2003 indictment detailing the layers of evidence amassed against Yarkas’ al Qaeda network.

“The Spanish indictment alleges that an al Qaeda courier was in Ghalyoun’s town in Spain shortly after the trip and that the courier probably delivered the tape to al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan,” the 9/11 Commission reported.

…more

Saudi Shiite Activist Gets 13-Year Prison Sentence
189 December, 2013 – Associated Press

A Human Rights Watch researcher says a judge in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a prominent Shiite political activist to 13 years in prison and a 15-year travel ban.

Adam Coogle told The Associated Press that Adel al-Labbad was convicted Thursday. Coogle says activists in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, including relatives and people close to the case, confirmed the sentence.

State media did not report the sentence, nor has the judgment been published.

Al-Labbad faced five charges, including disobedience to the ruler, disturbing public order and joining a terrorist group.

Coogle says the charge that al-Labbad is a member of the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain dates back to the 1980s before he and others struck an amnesty deal with the late Saudi King Fahd in 1993. …source

A Couple of Days in the Life of a Bahraini Political Prisoner
by: Zainab Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja – 3 July, 2013 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

June 22, 2013. It is around 8:30 p.m. and I sit reading in my cell when I suddenly hear prison guard Aysha shouting at the top of her lungs. Her shouting so loud that the whole prison goes silent.

This prison guard is known for being one of the worst, almost always barking orders and insults at the prisoners. But this time it is worse and she won’t stop shouting for no apparent reason other than asking a prisoner, “Why the hell she was on this side of the prison.”(Note: while the prison cells are open; prisoners move freely from one side of the prison to the other). My cellmates go check, and they come back and tell me it is Rabab Mohammed who is being shouted at while she stands completely silent.

Rabab is a sweet and very quiet 31-year-old first grade teacher who knows very well the price of speaking up for oneself in this country. She was first arrested in Ramadan when riot police stopped her on the street and started swearing at her using vulgar language; after calling her a “dirty Shia whore.” Rabab looked them in the eye and told them they had no right to speak to her that way. This landed her in prison. While in detention a prison guard started taunting her, hurling insults at her and her “disgusting terrorist Iranian people.” To which Rabab finally answered that she was an Arab, a proud Bahraini and no terrorist. She then asked the prison guard where she was from. The prison guard, who is one of the newly naturalized, judging by the way she looked and the difficulty she was having to speak a Bahraini accent, replied “Yes I’m “mujanasa” (note: term used for those politically naturalized by Bahrain regime specifically to work for the police & security forces who are responsible for most of the crimes committed against the people of Bahrain) and continued: “And you close your mouth and bow your head because we are the crown on your heads.” Responding with “no, you are not” is what became the second case against Rabab and the reason why she is currently in prison.

After the second case, Rabab’s lawyer gave her very strict orders: “No matter what they say to you, or how they insult you, swallow your pride and stay quiet. “And that’s exactly what she’s been doing since she got here a month ago. She has been shouted at, she has been insulted, but she remains quiet and walks away. In fact the guards seem to take extra pleasure in insulting her just waiting for her to respond.

22nd of June. As prison guard Aysha is in a fit of rage, Rabab tries to walk away but the prison guard won’t let her. Another prisoner (an older woman) is so scared the prison guard will hit Rabab that she keep asking Rabab to please just apologize. I look out of my cell and see the look on Rabab’s face as she raises her head and quietly says “I am sorry” to which the prison guard smirks, waving her away saying “Go! Get lost.”

On the 22nd of June at around 9 p.m. I walk out of my cell and go to the sitting area where 3 prison guards, including Aysha sit overseeing more than 60 prisoners. I walk up to Aysha and the following exchange ensues:

“You had no right to shout at Rabab in that way.”

I had barely spoken when she starts shouting “and who the hell do you think you are, you think you’re everyone’s lawyer!? Shut your mouth and go to your cell.”

I respond “I’m nobody’s lawyer, but when I see something wrong I will not shut my mouth at all and I will tell you exactly what I think. Your prison guard uniform gives you no right to insult and humiliate people.”

She shouts “you want to teach me my manners you piece of trash. You’re the one who wasn’t raised properly, I will make you eat shit if you dare to speak to me.”

To which I reply “if your point is to prove you’re not ill-mannered then using that language is not the best way, and if you choose to speak like this I will not stoop to that level.”

Prison guard Aysha goes into a screaming fit, stands up and as other guards hold her back she starts shivering and hysterically shouting “Go back to your country, you are not Bahraini, you traitors, etc.” to which I smile & say nothing.

An hour later the same police start calling prisoners as witnesses, calling only a few prisoners who are the closet to them. They are the prisoners who get the “special treatment” like getting more food, longer phone calls and are dubbed “the human cameras” by the other prisoners because they report everything that happens beyond the hearing and monitoring of the prison administration.

Upon seeing this, a couple of prisoners who are not Bahraini go to the police and say they want to testify. The police asks them, “who insulted who?” A Moroccan woman replies “prison guard Aysha insulted Zainab,” to which the police responds “then we don’t want your testimony… go.” When another prisoner also tries to be a witness, she is told they are out of papers. Political prisoner Siddiqa refuses to leave and insists she wants to write what she saw. They finally let her write; after which they read her testimony out loud in front of her. Prison guard Aysha keeps repeating the insults Siddiqa had written on the paper, laughing. “Yeah so I said those things, what’s wrong with that.”

June 24. I am called to the prison administration office. First I see the “specialist” Rana who had threatened to slap me at an earlier time when I told another prisoner she shouldn’t allow them to interrogate her without her lawyer present. “Al-Westa police are here to speak to you about the new case against you.” I half expect it to be the same Al-Westa police who had beaten me six months ago but it’s not. A police woman walks in “Zainab you are accused of verbally attacking & assaulting a prison guard. Telling her that she,” the police woman looks at her paper and reads, “that she has no manners, that she is trash, and ill-bred, and that she is not a Bahraini. What do you say to these accusations?” I look at the police woman. “Zainab you should talk, this case is probably going to trial and whomever was wronged will get justice,” I smile. “I will talk, but I will not sign anything without my lawyer, and I will not go to the public prosecution or attend any trial. Because I know, from experience, that is not a place where those who are wronged get justice.”

June 25. I have woken up early, and I’m sitting in my cell. Today I will be sentenced. I’m not sure in which case, and because I’m boycotting the court so I sit here waiting for my sentence. I have a phone call today, my only mode of communication since I have not been allowed family visits for almost four months now. Four months since I saw my 3-year-old, Jude.

I worry my mother or husband might get upset to know there’s yet another case against me. But I know what ill tell them: “Don’t worry about me if I get new cases. When you really need to worry is if one day I see something wrong, an injustice in front of me, and I sit quiet because I’m worried about myself.”

Note: this description of events might be too long only to give a better picture of the situation, although this incident is hardly representative of the much worse human right abuses and violations that are taking place in my country. To add to that, my sentence is almost not worth mentioning compared to my fellow countrymen who suffer under torture, in solitary confinement, and are sentenced to spending decades in prison, many of them just children. …source

Bahrain- Imprisoned human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja harassed while receiving medical care
2013-12-14

The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) express their grave concern over the health status of imprisoned Bahraini human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja and the harassment and ill-treatment to which she has been subjected in detention.

The GCHR and BCHR have received information about the deteriorating health conditions of Al-Khawaja, who is serving a year in Isa Town women’s prison since her detention in February this year. During a family visit on 9 December 2013, her family reports that she looked pale and tired. During the first week of December she said she was feeling dizzy and weak. She had difficulty standing and was unable to read. She asked the prison administration to see a doctor but her request was not granted until after two days.

While she was ill, she was treated poorly. She was handcuffed and taken by car to the prison clinic at the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior, where she was videotaped by a cameraman throughout the whole period until she was returned to prison, including during her examination and treatment. In addition to two policewomen accompanying her, there were two policemen sitting beside the bed in the treatment room and a camera on a stand was focused on the bed. The doctor prescribed IV with an injection and some pills but did not tell Al-Khawaja what they were. Given the presence of men in the treatment room, Al-Khawaja wouldn’t agree to lie on the bed and instead she received the IV while sitting on a chair. The five people and the two cameras were focused on her throughout this time. She was later taken back to prison in handcuffs again.

Compared to the procedure used when transferring inmates to receive medical care, Al-Khawaja has been exceptionally ill-treated with provocative, disrespectful and unnecessary measures, particularly the videotaping and the presence of men and cameras in the treatment room, violating her right to privacy at the time of treatment, and in violation of the article 53.3 of Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in Bahrain which states: “Women prisoners shall be attended and supervised only by women officers.”

What adds to the concern of the GCHR and BCHR are the earlier reports that Al-Khawaja has been incarcerated with prisoners who have Hepatitis A and B despite informing the prison administration that she has not been vaccinated. The prison administration continues to ignore her complaints, which puts her at great risk of infection.

Background:

Human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja has been detained since 27 February 2013. She is currently serving a total of 12 months on multiple charges and due to remain in prison until February 2014. On 25 November 2013, her lawyer said that a new case had been brought against her and a new trial will commence on 22 December 2013 on charges of “insulting a police officer” in relation to Al-Khawaja’s defense of another prisoner against a prison’s guard insults and humiliation. (More details at http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/6625.)

The GCHR and BCHR believe that the harassment of human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja and the new threats of extended imprisonment is a result of the absence of strong international pressure to stop the ongoing attacks and targeting of human rights defenders in Bahrain which have left them shattered between prisons and exile.

The GCHR and BCHR urge the international community and in particular the States that are close allies of the Government of Bahrain, to call upon the Bahraini authorities to:

– Immediately and unconditionally release Zainab Al-Khawaja and all human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience unjustly detained in Bahrain;
– Immediately provide Zainab Al-Khawaja with proper medical care;
– Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Zainab Al-Khawaja and all political prisoners in Bahrain;
– Put an end to acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in Bahrain;
– Ensure that international health standards are upheld for all prisoners in Bahrain to prevent the spreading of illness and disease;
– Ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Bahrain.
…source

Saudi Arabia frets, threatens to torch region
19 December, 2013 – Finian Cunningham

Within hours of Saudi Arabia warning its Western patrons that it would “act alone” in pursuing its regional interests, three Iranian Revolutionary Guards were killed in a roadside bomb blast in the country’s southeast province.

Is this Saudi Arabia delivering on its veiled threat to sabotage recent Western diplomacy and to torch the Middle East?

The three Iranian soldiers killed on Wednesday are the latest victims in a spate of covert military attacks to have hit the Sistan-Baluchistan Province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At the end of October, 14 Iranian border guards were killed in an attack near the city of Saravan. Two weeks later, the provincial prosecutor, Ebrahim Hamidi, and his driver, were shot dead in a hit-style assassination in the regional capital of Zabol.

The groups behind the upsurge in violence in Iran’s remote border area – so-called Jaish al Adl and Jundallah – share the same extremist religious beliefs as the Takfiri militants that Saudi Arabia is bankrolling and arming in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. All these Takfiris have an overlapping relationship with the Al Qaeda network – which was created originally by Saudi, American and British military intelligence during the 1980s.

It is therefore reasonable to conjecture that the latest terror attacks to have hit Iran are being sponsored by Saudi Arabia. The intelligence, logistics and extremist ideology – in particular the venomous hatred towards Shia Islam – are consistent with Saudi control. An added factor is motivation.

This week the House of Saud reiterated its bitter sense of betrayal by Washington and London with regard to recent geopolitical developments.

In an opinion article published in the New York Times on Tuesday, the Saudi ambassador to Britain was scathing in remarks about mercurial American and British foreign policy in the Middle East.

Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz al Saud complained about how a century-old alliance with Washington and London was being strained to breaking point, and that Saudi Arabia would be forced to “go it alone” to safeguard its regional interests.

Al Saud wrote: “We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East. This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by.”

This outburst, laced with veiled threats of sinister dissenting action, is but the latest wave of fury emanating from the House of Saud. In recent weeks, similar acrimonious comments have been issued by Saudi spymaster, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the foreign minister Prince Faisal and former interior chief, Prince Turki.

The Saudi bone of contention is their perception that the Western powers are dropping the regime-change agenda towards Shia allies Syria and Iran, both of which are seen as a nemesis by the Wahhabi House of Saud.

The P5+1 interim agreement over Iran’s nuclear energy program and the possible normalization of relations between Washington and Tehran is causing the Saudi rulers to lose sleep. They fear that in time the diplomatic process will serve to bolster Iran’s influence in the Middle East at the expense of Saudi demise.

As for Syria, the Saudis have been livid ever since US President Barack Obama backed away last September from his initial plan to launch air strikes against the government of Bashar Assad in Damascus.

As the Saudi diplomat commented in the New York Times: “The West has allowed one regime to survive and the other to continue its program for uranium enrichment, with all the consequent dangers of weaponization. What price is ‘peace’ though, when it is made with such regimes?”

It’s cloyingly rich for the absolute, feudal monarchy of Saudi Arabia to refer to elected governments in Syria and Iran as “regimes”. It’s even richer coming from the Saudi regime that has fomented and fuelled much of the bloodshed in Syria with its support for myriad Takfiri terror gangs – the latest incarnation of which is the so-called Islamic Front.

Saudi angst at Western betrayal will have hit volcanic proportions after Washington and London are now reportedly relenting on the Assad government being part of the political transition in Syria. This, however, is not any benign conversion by the West. It is simply tacit acknowledgment by them that the covert terrorist regime-change agenda has been defeated – after nearly three years of mayhem and more than 100,000 dead.

What the Saudis (and Israelis) are mistaking is the perception of a fundamental change in Western policy. Earlier this month, speaking at the Brookings Institute, both President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of “tactical change” not “strategic change”.

That suggests that what the West is aiming at is to exercise its geopolitical objectives towards Syria and Iran through different means, that is, politically not militarily.

The trouble with the Saudis (and Israelis) is that they are stuck in a single-groove mentality of aggression, unable to “appreciate” the more sophisticated arts of political machination. …more

Saudi Arabia Pledges To Fund Jihad In Syria Alone If Necessary
19 December, 2013 – Firedoglake

Perhaps the biggest state sponsor of Islamic terrorism in the world, Saudi Arabai is very upset they can no longer pull the strings in Washington. They had a wonderful relationship with the Bush Administration whereby Prince Bandar said something in private and President George W. Bush repeated it in public. According to the New York Post the Bush Administration even covered up the Saudi government’s complicity in the attacks of 9/11.

But now the American public seem fed up with being the unwitting thug squad for the House of Saud or at least fed up with the consequences. The grand sectarian cold war in the Middle East between Sunni based Saudi Arabia and Shiite based Iran is not really our concern. America’s interest in the Middle East was energy which we now produce enough of domestically.

However, the Saudis aren’t going to take America’s new independence lying down and still plan to fund Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups in Syria. The Saudi government has even brazenly penned an op-ed in the New York Times pledging to do so.

We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East. This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by…

The foreign policy choices being made in some Western capitals risk the stability of the region and, potentially, the security of the whole Arab world. This means the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has no choice but to become more assertive in international affairs: more determined than ever to stand up for the genuine stability our region so desperately needs.

The op-ed was penned by a member of the Saudi royal family and is a rather open admission and further commitment to funding terrorism. Of course you can only drone strike poor Muslims so I guess when oil billionaires and their progeny flagrantly and materially support Al-Qaeda we all have to just shrug right?

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia has emptied its prisons, including death row inmates, to fund the jihad in Syria and now that the “Free Syrian Army” has collapsed more of their oil money will have to flow to more extreme groups to take down the Alawite Assad government and his Shitte allies. The Saudis have been funding Al-Qaeda since its inception, now they will have to double down.

Are they really our friends? Or is it time to consider sanctions against Saudi Arabia for funding groups at war with America? …source

Over Easy: Revisiting Bush’s Redaction of Saudi Terrorism Financing
17 December, 2013 – Firedoglake

Will 28 pages of 9/11 documents redacted by Bush finally see release?

Congressmembers Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass) recently got access to unredacted copies of the 2002 report of the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry (JICI) on 9/11. You may recall that 28 pages of that document had been redacted by George W. Bush for “national security purposes”. It has been widely reported that the 28 missing pages of the JICI report document a money trail from the Saudi Royal Family to the 9/11 hijackers.

‘I was absolutely shocked by what I read,’ Jones told International Business Times. ‘What was so surprising was that those whom we thought we could trust really disappointed me. I cannot go into it any more than that. I had to sign an oath that what I read had to remain confidential. But the information I read disappointed me greatly.’

This is no new revelation. At the time of the JICI report’s initial release, there was controversy about the extensive redactions and the information that was being withheld. Fourty-six Senators (all Democrats but one) signed a letter asking Bush to release the 28 pages. Bush refused.

Sen. Bob Graham, Chair of the Joint Inquiry, has been concerned about the Saudi connection for a while. In order to get around the sensors who redacted the 28 pages, Graham wrote a fictionalized account of Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the US and Al Qaeda. Here is a plot synopsis via Amazon:

Shortly after an explosive op-ed piece about the 9/11 investigation appears in the New York Times, its author, former Senator and Co-chair of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry Commission John Billington, is murdered near his Florida home.

Enter Tony Ramos, ex-Special Forces operative and former aide to Sen. Billington and currently a State Department intelligence analyst. Billington, having sensed the danger he faced, has left Ramos detailed instructions for an investigation into suspected Saudi complicity in 9/11. Ramos, in conjunction with Billington’s daughter Laura, uncovers a shocking international conspiracy linking the Saudi Kingdom to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

Despite efforts to derail their investigation, whose scope encompasses Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Ramos and Laura discover that the Kingdom has recently provided bin Laden and al-Qaeda with three nuclear devices, two of which are successfully detonated by the terrorists overseas. But they were just a warm up to the grand finale. The third device, Ramos learns, will be detonated off the California coast.

So, there is an international conspiracy linking Saudi Arabia to Al Qaeda and Bin Laden that has travels through Pakistan and Afghanistan and includes the transfer of nuclear weapons. The US investigation into the affair has been derailed.

If that all sounds too far fetched for your taste, you might want to think again. We know that Saudi Arabia has extensive connections of a system of terror sponsoring Islamic “charities” worldwide that funnel money into Al Qaeda and its affiliates. There is a special financial relationship between nuclear Pakistan and Saudi Arabia: The House of Saud pays for 60% of Pakistan’s nuclear program and in return expects access to nuclear weapons as needed. Bandar Bin Sultan has been connected to a number of illegal or shadowy arms deals over the years.

If US-Saudi relations have deteriorated to the point of no return and Saudi Arabia’s neocon allies in American government are out of power, maybe, just maybe, enough political will exists to release the dark secrets of Saudi Arabia’s incestuous relationship with Al Qaeda and its influence on terrorism in the US.

Rep. Lynch is optimistic. He says that other members of Congress have been receptive to the idea of revisiting the release of the 28 pages.

Don’t hold your breath. The Pentagon just approved a $1.1 Billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia last week. Apparently, Saudi Arabia needs missiles “to support defense and counterterrorism missions.”

As always off topic is on topic at Over Easy. The other elements of 9/11 attack are for another day. See you in the thread around 7:30 PST. …more

Bahrain’s Activists Survive Off the Island
By: Marc Abizeid – Al Akhbar – 18 December, 2013

On-the-ground sources are running out fast in Bahrain. Those who have not been locked up or tortured for opposing the ruling monarchy are finding themselves with no option but exile.

Thirty-one-year-old Yousif al-Muhafda is the latest activist to join the growing list of asylum seekers to flee Bahrain – ruled by the Khalifa family since their 1783 invasion of the Gulf archipelago brought the tribesmen to power.

Two weeks ago Muhafda wrote a letter from Europe announcing he would not be returning home after receiving a barrage of death threats, following the launch of a campaign that publicly outed officials involved in the torture and killing of prisoners.

“The son of the king can go on TV and threaten protesters, and officials can send death threats under their real names and photos, and they feel confident that they won’t be held to account.”
The most alarming threat came from Adel Fleifel – a former security official notorious for corruption and torture – who, in thinly veiled terms, called for the father of two to be killed in a tweet earlier this month.

“This is what we mean when we talk about the culture of impunity in Bahrain,” Muhafda told Al-Akhbar.

“The son of the king can go on TV and threaten protesters, and officials can send death threats under their real names and photos, and they feel confident that they won’t be held to account.”

Documenting crimes

With short curly hair and long, neatly trimmed sideburns that curve down past his earlobes, Muhafda looks more like an aspiring pop star than a local champion for human rights, now widely recognizable across Bahrain.

Muhafda was the eyes and ears of the popular revolt which broke out on February 14, 2011 to demand political reforms and an end to the Khalifa dynasty’s concentration of wealth and power.

As head of the documentation unit at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), he closely monitored the ensuing (and ongoing) regime crackdown on dissidents which has left about 90 civilians dead in an island kingdom of 1.2 million, half of whom are migrant workers and other foreigners.

Unable to contain the movement, Bahrain’s regime ushered in a Saudi-led Gulf force a month after the uprising began in a bid to crush it. The move was quietly supported by the United States which continued to send arms to Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet.

For almost three years Muhafda traversed from village to village, interviewing people who had been harassed, beaten, shot, and had their homes raided and ransacked by regime forces. With mounting evidence in hand, he shared an endless stream of photographs, videos, and reports implicating the kingdom’s ruling family in violations of human rights to his nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter.

Since the 2011 revolt he has been arrested seven times, and collectively spent about eight weeks in prison for documenting violations. …more

American Television has a constant barrage of touching Media Spots Celebrating the Service and Dedication of those in the Armed Forces. We don’t see the spots of the Veteran sleeping in the alley ways or on the Street corner begging for coin so the eat or self medicate with alcohol and drugs because they can get adequate care when they return home damaged by the unspeakable horrors they became part of to protect the wealth of a Nation that forsakes them. We praise the service and sacrifice of our Troops while our Government tramples the rights and liberties of its citizens. It is tragic thing to watch our reckless and incompetent leaders plummet the Nation into economic ruin and despair when the potential for so much good could come from it. Bahrain is a great example of a Nation desperate for its freedom from Tyranny supported the the USG. The Tyrants in Bahrain provide a safe haven for US ships and it plays a key role in preserving US economic dominance in the Middle East, but but who does that economic dominance serve? Certainly not the Citizens of the United States who the Government considers so great a threat that it much spy on all of their communication and fill the prisons with our sons and daughters. Phlipn, Out.

President Obama: Privacy, free expression for all
By Index on Censorship – 19 December, 2013

Index on Censorship is deeply concerned that neither the report nor the recommendations on the NSA prepared by the White House review panel tackles the worldwide mass surveillance carried out by the United States. Index calls on President Obama to take urgent action to respect the right to freedom of expression and privacy of all the world’s citizens, not just those of the United States.

The report from President Barack Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology is a 300-page tome which includes 46 recommendations – from forcing telecommunications firms to store call data for on demand NSA access, to higher level signoff on surveillance of foreign leaders.

Kirsty Hughes, CEO of Index, said:

“These weak recommendations offer no privacy for non-Americans and only scant protection for foreign leaders. The NSA’s surveillance programmes continue to violate human rights on a massive scale. When Barack Obama decides what reforms to implement in January, he should remember that Americans are not the only people who deserve the right to privacy and free speech. ” …more

If our prisons were a country, what would Incarceration Nation look like? Foreign Policy opinion
19 December, 2013 – By Rosa Brooks

WASHINGTON — You already know that the United States locks up a higher percentage of its population than any other country in the world. If you look at local, state and federal prison and jail populations, the United States currently incarcerates more than 2.4 million people, a figure that constitutes roughly 25 percent of the total incarcerated population of the entire world.

A population of 2.4 million is a lot of people — enough, in fact, to fill up a good-sized country. In the past, the British Empire decided to convert a good chunk of its prison population into a country, sending some 165,000 convicts off to Australia. This isn’t an option for the United States, but it suggests an interesting thought experiment: If the incarcerated population of the United States constituted a nation-state, what kind of country would it be?

Here’s a profile of Incarceration Nation:

Population size: As a country — as opposed to a prison system — Incarceration Nation is on the small side. Nonetheless, a population of 2.4 million is perfectly respectable: Incarceration Nation has a larger population than about 50 other countries, including Namibia, Qatar, Gambia, Slovenia, Bahrain and Iceland. And though the population of Incarceration Nation has dipped a bit in the last couple of years, the overall trend is toward growth: over the last 30 years, the incarcerated population of the United States has gone up by a factor of four, making Incarceration Nation’s population growth rate more than double that of India.

Geographic area: This is a tough one, since I haven’t found any way to accurately measure the physical space occupied by Incarceration Nation. We have to do some educated guessing here. There are more than 4,500 prisons in the United States. Let’s assume that each of those prisons takes up about half a square mile of land — a reasonable (and probably quite low) estimate given that most prisons are, for security reasons, surrounded by some empty space. That gives Incarceration Nation an estimated land area of about 2,250 square miles: small, but still larger than Brunei, Trinidad and Tobago, Luxembourg, Bahrain and Singapore.

Population Density: No matter how you look at it, Incarceration Nation is a crowded place. If we assume a land area of 2,250 square miles, it has a population density of roughly 1,067 people per square mile, a little higher than that of India. Of course, the residents of Incarceration Nation don’t have access to the full land-area constituting their nation: most of them spend their days in small cells, often sharing cells built for one or two prisoners with two or three times that many inmates. In 2011, federal prisons were operating 39 percent above capacity; in many state systems, overcrowding was much worse. (In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court found that overcrowding in California prisons was so severe it constituted “cruel and unusual punishment”.) …more

Ten rights groups write to UN special rapporteurs about torture of three journalists
21 December, 2013 – Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

Ten human rights groups have written to Frank La Rue, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, and Juan Méndez, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, asking them to investigate the arrests, detention and torture of three Bahraini journalists: reporter Mohamed Hassan, photographer Hussain Hubail and cameraman Qassim Zain Aldeen.

All three journalists face trial on charges relating to their reporting on recent protests against the government of Bahrain. They were arrested within a few days of each other in August 2013. The journalists have all reported that they were subjected to torture. Mr Hubail and Mr Zain Aldeen remain in detention, while Mr Hassan has been released on bail.

Read the 15 December letter signed by Media Legal Defence Initiative, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada, PEN International and Reporters Without Borders. …source

Press release: Launching a Committee to Protect Children’s Rights in Bahrain
20 December, 2013 – Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights stated today that it had formed a local committee to work on documenting violations against children in Bahrain, and this committee will commence its work during the coming week.

The BYSHR clarified that the violations against children in Bahrain has been going on since 14 February – the kickoff of protests in Bahrain in the Pearl Roundabout – where children were subjected to killing, torture and imprisonment.

Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati – President of the BYSHR – confirmed, “This committee will use international mechanisms in its actions and will utilize regional and international organizations”.

Al-Maskati stated, “The committee’s work will be divided into three phases; the first phase will be initiated within the next few days, and the committee will begin to visit the Bahraini areas to document.”

The committee will focus on violations related to arresting, trialing and imprisoning children in relation to the political situation in Bahrain in light of the continued peaceful protests in the villages.

Mr. Nader Al-Salatna – Vice-president of the BYSHR – indicated, “The BYSHR decided to use modern techniques during the process of monitoring and documentation violations against children”.

Al-Salatna explained, “The BYSHR trained a team from different areas. The team will be carrying advanced devices for documentation. The safety of the information has been taken into consideration where it will be stored in a database outside Bahrain. The team has also been trained on providing protection for the information.” …source

Bahrain: Authorities Detain Two Children Under the Age of Fifteen in Violation of Child Rights Convention
20 December, 2013 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is appalled by the continuous arrests and detention of children under the age of 18 on arbitrary charges in blatant disregard to the international treaties that Bahrain has signed for the protection of children’s rights.

On 19 December 2013, two children were interrogated for several hours by the Public Prosecution: Jehad Nabeel AlSameea (ten years-old) and Abdulla Yusuf AlBahrani (thirteen years-old). They then each received a detention order by the juvenile judge for seven days pending investigation on the charge of “attacking a police patrol”. They will be held at held at a juvenile detention centre under the control of the Ministry of Interior.

Jihad Al-Sameea crying in police custodyJihad Al-Sameea crying in police custody

Minors below the age of 15 are not criminally responsible in the eyes of the law in Bahrain, however, they are often arrested from areas close to protests, and can be detained for several weeks.

The act of detaining a child is in disagreement with several articles of the Convention On The Rights Of The Child, including Article (3): “In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” , Article (37): “States Parties shall ensure that: (b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;”

In a recent report by Amnesty International, it was revealed that at least 100 children (between 15 to 18 years old) are currently detained without court verdicts at the Dry Docks prison. …more

Bahrain: Political Prisoners prevented from attending funeral of their close relatives
11 July, 2013 – Bahrain Center of Human Rights

The Ministry of Interior does not consider death a sufficient reason for the temporary release of detained activists

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the ongoing harassment by the authorities in Bahrain against imprisoned activists and political prisoners.This includes the recent cases of depriving several political prisoners from the right to temporary release to attend the funeral of their relatives. Some of the recent cases included human rights defender Naji Fateel, author and photographer Mahmood Albdulsahib, and the cousin of the victim of extrajudicial killing Ahmed Farhan, Hassan Abdulghani.

Athlete, Author and photographer Mahmood Abdulsahib Baqlawah- International Horse Riding Judge- is serving a 3.5 years prison sentences in Prison of Jaw for “illegal gathering” during Feb and Mar 2011. His father died on Friday, 3 July 2013. His brother, Fahmi Abdulsahib, stated that the administration of Jaw prison refused to implement the decision made by the judge regarding Baqlawah’s temporary release to participate in the funeral ceremony of his father. Fahmi stated the administration of Jaw prison has deprived his brother Mahmood from his legitimate right according to Jaw prison list of detainees’ rights. It is also considered further retribution after Mahmood’s arrest on Tuesday, 15 March 2011 – during the period ofemergency– and after his sentence in a military court to 5 years in prison for charges related to illegal gatherings which was later reduced to 3.5 years.

Human rights activist Naji Fateel –Board Member of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights –is in detention at dry dock prison since May 2013 while waiting for trial on charges of “forming the 14th of February youth coalition cell”. His aunt died in Tuesday, 2nd of July 2013, and as a tool of further punishment, the administration of the Dry Dock prison refused to allow him to attend her funeral without providing any clear justifications. Fateel’s picture has already been displayed on Bahrain state television along with his accusations as part of news show, which is considered a violation to his most basic rights as a detainee since his case is still under investigation. Fateel denied all charges brought against him, and told the judge in court that he was tortured to sign confessions; taking off his shirt to reveal torture marks. Fateel’s family is still not able to visit him since his arrest at dawn on Thursday, 2 May 2013, as the prison administration keeps telling his family that he is the one refusing any family visits or calls.

Hassan Abdulghani Farhan 20 years old, is in detention at Dry Dock prison since Dec 2012 pending trial on alleged charges related to participating in the burning of a police station with terrorist motives. His father died at dawn on Saturday, 29 June 2013. Hasan was not allowed by prison administration to attend the funeral of his father. Hassan Farhan, released a statement on Monday, 1 July 2013, in which he expressed his sadness and frustration towards the administration of theDry Docks prison that“has prevented him from his right to take a last glance at his dead father”, a flagrant violation of his rights.

The accustomed procedure followed for the criminal prisoners is to release the prisoner on a daily basis from morning to evening for three days to attend funerals of their deceased close relative, during which they would usually be accompanied by security officers for the entire period. However, the above mentioned cases are not the only cases where the authorities have explicitly denied political detainees of their right to the temporary release to participate in the funeral of their relatives. The administration of Jaw prison denied the detained president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, in October 2012 request to attend the remaining days of his mother’s funeral after he talked to the crowds of mourners about the need to continue the peaceful struggle for rights. The public prosecutor said in a statement to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) that Rajab violated the rules prescribed by the law through a provocative speech he gave to the mourners. The speech included the incitement to participate in illegal demonstrations and violating the law. In addition, the administration of Jaw prison refused to temporarily release Shaikh Mohammed Ali Mahfouz, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Society “Amal” to participate in the funeral of his sister in Jan 2012 without providing anyreasons. …more

Official figures show that there are nearly 47 million Americans suffering from extreme poverty.

US global source of poverty and war
17 December, 2013 – By Finian Cunningham – PressTV

The latest bilateral deal between House Republicans and Democrats on the US federal budget is a shocking reminder of the monstrous priorities for the American ruling class.

Poverty, hunger, sickness and homelessness for millions more ordinary Americans; while unbridled US militarism stalks the globe like a demented Leviathan, casting a shadow of war and destruction into every corner.

American-dominated capitalism is a global scourge of poverty and war. It is much less American dream and much more humankind’s nightmare.

The disclosure this week that Russia is to deploy Iskander ballistic missiles in the Baltic region, and the double think, inverted accusations ensuing from Washington that Moscow is destabilizing global security, is part of this monstrous American-induced global dysfunction – more on that later.

US Republicans and Democrats – two sides of the same oligarchic coin – congratulated themselves on the recent federal budget package, which amounts to nearly $1 trillion in US government spending for each of the next two years.

But of that annual $1 trillion, the money allocated for military spending amounts to some $633 billion. That is, nearly two-thirds – more than 63 percent – of the total US government’s budget is consumed by the means of war and killing.

To give this some perspective, the US spends ten times more on weapons and the means of destroying and killing other human beings than it does on educating its entire nation.

What kind of economy, or more to the point, society, is that? A cynic might say that’s just what the American ruling class wants. Keep the majority uneducated and misinformed, while the military-industrial oligarchs and their political minions keep devouring the nation’s wealth.

This US war machine entails the maintenance of over 1,000 military bases around the world, patrolling of Chinese seas with nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, expansion of missile systems across the Eurasian steppes encircling Russia, and the never-ending assassination drones that end up killing more civilians than “terrorists” in remote, barren countries.

Meanwhile, the budget “deal” signed off by Republicans and Democrats is gunning for massive cuts in US social security and public services. Some $100 billion in public spending cuts are locked in each year for the next decade. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon hailed the Pentagon’s lion’s share of the budget as “good value to taxpayers”.

As a result of this warped “good value”, over the following year millions of unemployed Americans will see their income support terminated as the new federal budget mandates $25 billion in cuts. Millions more Americans will go hungry as $4 billion in food stamps is axed. Millions of Americans will succumb to disease and illness as $30 billion is slashed from federal health care.

Already, official figures show that there are nearly 47 million Americans suffering from extreme poverty in the US. Some estimates put total US poverty at 150 million – nearly half the population – amplified by six years of economic depression since the US-bank-induced global financial crash of 2008. These same Wall Street banks, which are an integral part of the military-industrial cancer, receive $85 billion a month in bailout cash footed by the US taxpayer.

Of course, this ludicrous imbalance of US military spending as a share of the nation’s wealth is nothing new. Former US President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the spawning military-industrial complex almost half a century ago.

But what is revealing about today’s situation is that US military spending just keeps on growing regardless of rational or moral norms. It is estimated that between 1962 and presently, the annual American so-called defense budget has more than doubled.

William D Hartung at the US-based Center for International Policy reckons that the American military now consumes $100 billion per year more than the average during the Cold War years, when the US and the Soviet Union were bound up in a gargantuan arms race.

Note that this extra $100 billion figure arrogated by the Pentagon and its corporate nexus is equivalent to all the US cuts being sought in unemployment security, health care and elsewhere in public services.

The Cold War ended – or was supposed to have ended – over two decades ago. The subsequent so-called War on Terror, even if naively taken at face value, is a flea-sized contingency by comparison to the Cold War.

Yet today the American economy is more subsumed in growing and perpetuating the means of war than ever before. And this is while the human and social needs of ordinary Americans are crying out for relief more than ever. That glaring contradiction is a symptom of the rotten heart of American capitalism.

What this hideous misallocation of national resources shows is that war and poverty are endemic to American capitalism. The system is sustained – but not sustainable – only by the massive and relentless subvention of tax dollars into obscene militarism.

That perverse priority is not only at the root of American’s social meltdown. It also drives the rest of the world into a similar destructive and dangerous dynamic towards nihilistic militarism. …more

Al Khalifa Unable to Quell Popular Uprising: Bahraini Activist
15 December, 2013 – Tasnim

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Bahraini opposition figure strongly condemned Al Khalifa regime for the atrocities it has committed against the Arab nation, and stressed that the ruling family has failed to silence the protests that are bent on seeing it out of power.

“It is a source of pride for the people of Bahrain that the Al Khalifa regime has been unable to stop and suppress the uprising despite receiving military support from 6 countries and possessing all equipment needed to crack down on dissent,” the deputy secretary general of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society (Al Amal), Sheikh Abdullah Saleh, told the Tasnim News Agency.

He named Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy as providing support for the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the opposition.

An uprising broke out in Bahrain in mid-February 2011. The protesters initially called for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, but the regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on them soon prompted an outright call for the ouster of Al Khalifa regime.

Pointing to the martial law that was in place in Bahrain for some three months (from mid-March 2011 to end of May), Saleh said a large number of people were arrested and tortured during that period.

Although the martial law was apparently lifted by the ruling regime, he said, the acts of oppression are still rampant in Bahrain. “I believe this is the last revolution taking place, and thereafter, the Al Khalifa will fall,” Saleh said.

He further stressed that nationwide demonstrations would continue although a vast majority of political activists and opposition leaders have been arrested by the ruling family.

The Persian Gulf state has seen frequent unrest since authorities cracked down on the popular uprising against the ruling monarchy in early 2011.

Protesters were met with overwhelming military force leading to at least 89 deaths, according to the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). But Saleh put the number of the dead at 200, saying that 3,000 more anti-regime activists are still languishing in prison.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Bahraini government of violence and torture, with frequent reports of child protesters facing conditions which border on torture while in custody.

In a recent mass show trial in six separate cases, 95 Bahraini protesters were sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison for allegedly trying to topple the country’s constitutional monarchy, organizing bombings and inciting anti-government rallies. …more

Bahrain: Halt detention, abuse and torture of children
16 December, 2013 – Amnesty International

Children are being routinely detained, ill-treated and tortured in Bahrain, said Amnesty International in a new briefing published today.

Scores of children arrested on suspicion of participating in anti-government protests – including some as young as 13 – were blindfolded, beaten and tortured in detention over the past two years the organization said. Others were threatened with rape in order to extract forced confessions.

“By rounding up suspected under-age offenders and locking them up, Bahrain’s authorities are displaying an appalling disregard for its international human rights obligations,” said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Nearly three years after Bahrain’s security forces used excessive force to crush anti-government protests, they now appear to be targeting children in an intensified crackdown. All children under the age of 18 who have not committed any recognizable offence must be released immediately. Any allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be thoroughly investigated.”

According to reports received by Amnesty International there are at least 110 children aged between 16 and 18 held at the Dry Dock Prison, an adult facility in al Muharraq Island, pending investigation or trial.

Most children have been arrested on suspicion of participating in “illegal gatherings”, rioting, burning tyres or throwing Molotov cocktails at police. Many were seized during raids while they were playing at home and even at a local swimming pool. Several were denied access to their families for extended periods and interrogated without their lawyers.

Children under the age of 15 who have been sentenced are held at a Juvenile Centre in Manama under Ministry of Interior control. During the day they are attended by social workers but at night, when most abuses tend to take place, Bahraini police take over. At the age of 15 those held in the Juvenile Centre are transferred to adult prisons such as Jaw Prison in southeast Bahrain to serve the remaining prison sentences. …more

I have been forced into exile for defending human rights in my home country Bahrain
by Said Yousif Al-Muhafdha – 16 DEcemebr, 2013 – Altahrir

It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. But I made it to continue doing the work that matters most to me: documenting the human rights violations in Bahrain that have been ongoing since protests for change began in February 2011. I will stay abroad and work from exile for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) after receiving numerous death threats for launching a campaign to hold officials accountable for torture.

The BCHR launched a campaign called “Wanted for Justice” from Nov. 1 to Nov. 23, which has involved publishing the names and photos of people responsible for human rights violations in Bahrain. Many of these offenses have gone unpunished. What we want is simple: We want their crimes to be known internationally, and the perpetrators must be held accountable and given fair trials.

We’ve listed 59 people in our report. The allegations range from torturing protesters to arbitrary arrests. The list covers lower level police officers, to Bahrain’s King Hamad himself.

Despite promises of reform and the government-commissioned Bahrain Independent Commission for Inquiry (BICI) report, the situation on the ground is still grim. Human rights violations will only continue as long as those responsible for carrying out torture go unpunished.

Bahrain’s Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa (who took office in 1971) is shown here with Lt. Colonel Mubarak Huwail after he was acquitted of charges related to torturing doctors who treated injured protesters in 2011.

His words to Huwail? “These laws are not to be applied to you.”

This is what so-called reform has looked in Bahrain. All about show, without any real change.

And for documenting and speaking out against these abuses, many members of BCHR have had to pay a price, and we continue to be targeted by the government’s malicious campaigns.

One of the BCHR’s founders, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, was given a life sentence for his role in the 2011 protests. The organization’s current president, Nabeel Rajab, has been serving a two-year jail sentence since July 9, 2012 for his role in protests earlier that year. Acting President Maryam Al-Khawaja cannot go back to Bahrain. In August, she attempted to visit, but was blocked from boarding her British Airways flight on the request of the government.

In fact, a large number of BCHR members have been forced to settle in the United Kingdom and across the globe because of their human rights work. Each of them has a different, heartbreaking story, but there’s a common refrain: They are paying a price for speaking out against human rights violations. …more

Soon after the popular uprising began in Bahrain in 2011, 13 opposition leaders were arrested.

Bahrain: The high price of telling hard truths
16 December, 2013 – Amnesty International

Soon after the popular uprising began in Bahrain in 2011, 13 opposition leaders were arrested. Their ‘crime’ was expressing their opinions peacefully: calling for democracy, an end to corruption, opposing the monarchy.

After an unfair trial the men were sentenced to between five years and life in prison. Some say they were tortured, and all are prisoners of conscience. Farida Ghulam, wife of imprisoned opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif, told Amnesty International their story.

Please tell us a little about yourself, Ebrahim and his connection with the other prisoners

Ebrahim is a prominent political figure – he’s been the Secretary General of Bahrain’s secular National Democratic Action Society (NDAS) – the Wa’ad party – since 2007. I’ve been married to him for 28 years. I’ve been a women’s rights activist since I was 17 and have been president of Bahrain’s first women’s rights organization. I’m currently the head of the NDAS’ Women’s Bureau and work as an evaluation specialist in Bahrain’s Ministry of Education.

Ebrahim is an outspoken person who became a threat to the government. If you are in the opposition and telling hard truths that people are afraid to speak about – like stolen lands and secret budgets – you become a target.

He and the others come from different schools of thought, but are all part of the opposition. After 14 February 2011 [when Bahrain’s popular uprising began], people gathered at the Pearl Roundabout [in the capital, Manama], where Ebrahim and the others were giving speeches every night. The government wanted to put them all in one basket and accused them of trying to topple the regime.

What happened when they were detained?

Ebrahim was arrested on 17 March 2011 [all 13 men were arrested between that day and 9 April 2011]. Around 30-40 guards came at 2am and kept ringing the bell. One pointed his gun at Ebrahim’s head. Ebrahim was very calm – saying he didn’t have to use the gun, and that he would go with them voluntarily. They took him, and when I asked where I could contact him they laughed at me. It was a very tough moment.

That night, Ebrahim and others were stripped naked and put in solitary confinement. A teamof torturers beat them for around an hour, three times a day. They threw cold water on Ebrahim’s mattress and turned the air conditioning up high so he couldn’t sleep. After two months the torture stopped because of international attention. The men now suffer from pain, illnesses and the aftermath of torture, and most have not been given any medical treatment. …more