Posts from — February 2014

Statement by Bahrain Human Rights Observatory (BHRO)

Bahrain Human Rights Observatory (BHRO) regrets the insults and the inappropriate treatment to which the lawyers are being exposed before the criminal courts by some members of court panels, which has reached levels that necessitate a strong stance by the Supreme Judiciary Council to restore the lawyers confidence in the judiciary System.

Many lawyers were thrown out of court halls. Among whom were lawyer Abdulla Zain ulddin, lawyer Mohsin Al-Alawi. Many were also insulted and stopped by policemen who outnumber judges and litigants in criminal courts.

Lawyers who are attempting to perform their duties and enter some courts are impeded by police through placing blocks that prevent movement from one court to another, or by locking the court doors after the judge enters, regardless of the fact that lawyers may go back and forth to the same court for more than an hour waiting for sessions to be held. What is worst is that lawyers are being constantly stopped and impeded by policemen when they move between various court halls. Police men go as far as using force to deny lawyers access to courts and even interfere to evict them from courts.

Most of lawyers in criminal courts has reached a high degree of desperation because they are unable to provide the minimum levels of defense guarantees and fair trials, especially as police and public prosecution are not allowing them to attend interrogations of political prisoners, and judges are refusing any serious defense or even listening to the prisoners, checking torture marks or even talking about torture or investigating it. Lawyers do not see any real desire on the part of judges to listen to their request, thereby rendering their job in defending prisoners in political cases to become a mere make – believe defense and a psychological support for the prisoners. Cases in which the accused are opposition supporters take several days or months before a verdict is issued.

It has also been noticed recently that various courts have reached a level that they openly protect prosecution witnesses (mainly policemen) against questioning by lawyers, and exceeding that, to answering for them or refraining from putting any questions to them. Lawyers have even learnt that prosecution witnesses are being allowed access to case files before being questioned thereby rendering the questioning of any security officer futile. This has created a conviction among lawyers that some judges have developed a negative attitude towards all political prisoners, and trials are being held hastily without complying with the simplest rules and articles of the Criminal Procedures Law, such as formally charging the accused, interrogating, allowing for their examination by a forensic doctor, interrogation of prosecution witnesses or displaying or examining the evidence or even listening to denial witnesses. Even written defense may not be submitted. It has been noticed that many political cases have been held for verdict without presentation of witnesses or written defense.
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URGENT
– Hussain Hubail’s medical reports show he needs a chance to go abroad for heart treatment. His mum is concerned about him being operated on in the military hospital. Hussain is in court on 16th March with Jassim al Nouaim.

– Jaffar Marhoon, cameraman, was moved to Jaw Prison as he has sentences in absentia – 3 months for illegal gathering, 6 months for illegal gathering, one year for illegal gathering & vandalism.)

Zapatistas: the wealth of dignity
December 2013

On the 20th anniversary of the Zapatista uprising of 1st January 1994 we publish this article by Luis Hernández Navarro which illustrates the achievements of Zapatista autonomy. Thanks to Dorset Chiapas Solidarity.

In the community of Emiliano Zapata in the caracol Whirlwind of Our Words, 30 Zapatista families work collectively. They have in common a coffee plantation, vegetable gardens and about 350 head of cattle. Its inhabitants do not receive government support of any kind, but their standard of living is much better than that of the surrounding PRI-governed settlements.

In the community there is a small cooperative shop whose proceeds go to works that people need. There, as in all the other rebel regions, the cooperative’s resources are used to finance public works such as schools, hospitals, clinics, libraries or water pipes.

Throughout all the rebel territory, an autonomous system of well-being flourishes, based on a de facto land reform which prioritises the communal use of the lands and natural resources in collective work, as well as in the production of items for use, and fair trade practices in the international market.

In areas of Zapatista influence, they have been overthrowing the law of San Garabato [greed], which dictates that farmers must buy the goods they need at high prices and sell their products cheaply. It happens frequently that coyotes (abusive commercial intermediaries) find themselves forced to pay the rebel support bases higher prices for their crops, livestock and crafts than those offered to the residents who are not organised. The Zapatista cooperatives have acquired a veritable swarm of motor vehicles for moving and transporting their products.

In the rebel communities, an environmental awareness has also been developed. There agroecology is practiced and the use of chemical fertilizers has been banished. Work is done to protect the soil. There is a genuine and widespread concern for conserving forests and jungles.

As the authors of the book “Very Other Struggles (Luchas muy Otras): Zapatismo and Autonomy in the Indigenous Communities of Chiapas”, say: “the challenges of sustainability in community production highlight the tension between the need to survive within the existing socioeconomic scheme and the project to transform that scheme.” What emerges here is, rather than a Zapatista economic model, “an endogenous and diverse process of prioritising the communities as an alternative to submitting to the steamroller logic of transnational capital.”

In the 27 Zapatista municipalities, alcohol is not drunk and drugs are not grown. Justice is exercised without government intervention. Rather than punishment, the focus is put on the rehabilitation of the offender. Women have taken positions and responsibilities which they undertake infrequently in rural communities.

The network of common infrastructure in education, health, agro-ecology, justice and self-government, which the insurgents have built outside State institutions, functions according to its own logic, which is plural and diverse. The Zapatista communities have trained hundreds of education and health promoters and agricultural technicians, in accordance with their own culture and identity.

All this has been achieved because the Zapatistas govern themselves and defend themselves. They have constructed their autonomy without asking permission, in the midst of an ongoing counterinsurgency campaign. They resist continual harassment from 51 military bases and from welfare programmes which seek to divide the communities in resistance by offering them crumbs.

However, towards the end of this year a smear campaign was unleashed which asserts that none of this is true. Falsely, it claims that the Zapatistas are worse off today than they were 20 years ago, that they are destroying the environment and dividing communities. This is the latest episode in a dirty war as old as the uprising itself.

The slanders do not hold up. Hundreds of public testimonies demonstrate that the accusations against the rebels have nothing to do with the reality that the slanderers spread. For example, the painter Antonio Ortiz, Gritón, was in the community of Emiliano Zapata between 11th and 16th August this year, as part of the Zapatista escuelita, and documented his experience in a moving account that he put on Facebook. He was surprised to find that 30 indigenous families owned 350 head of cattle. He was part of a group of 1,700 people who attended the first Zapatista escuelita that month. …more

Solidarity with Zapatistas under attack
February 2014

Pronouncement from the UK Zapatista Solidarity Network concerning the recent attacks on Zapatista support bases and hospital staff

To the Zapatista Support bases
To the Good Government Juntas
To the EZLN
To the adherents to the Sexta
To national and international human rights organisations
To the alternative media
To people of good heart in Mexico and the world

In our corner of the world in the United Kingdom we learned with outrage of the recent attacks on the Zapatista support bases (BAZ) of the community of 10 de Abril, autonomous municipality 17 de Noviembre, in the Caracol of Morelia, and on staff from the hospital of San Carlos in Altamirano who came to the assistance of those who had been injured during this attack.

We raise our voices to strongly condemn these repressive actions which are without doubt part of the ongoing counterinsurgency war being waged by the three levels of the bad government in Mexico against the dignified autonomy of the BAZ, who struggle every day for another world, one with democracy, freedom and justice.

The JBG Heart of the Rainbow of Hope has denounced that on the 30th January, 300 members of CIOAC democratic, from the nearby community of 20 de Noviembre, arrived in 18 pickup trucks and attacked the BAZ of 10 de Abril with sticks and stones. During this attack, three Zapatistas were seriously wounded, while two others on each side received minor injuries. A call for assistance was made to the hospital of San Carlos in Altimirano, but when an ambulance and a pickup truck arrived, the hospital staff, including two nuns, were cruelly assaulted by supporters of CIOAC, and prevented from attending to the injured, contrary to the Geneva Convention.

With the support and encouragement of the bad government these people have been trying since 2007 to seize the lands of the community of 10 de Abril, which were recuperated by the Zapatistas in 1994, and which have been worked by them ever since. These attacks have been worsening since last November. The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Centre warns us that “in the region there is an imminent possibility of new attacks and an intensification of the violence, which would be a risk to life and personal integrity, in addition to the violations of the right to territory and autonomy of the Zapatista peoples.” We therefore link our voices to the demands that the authorities of the federal, state and municipal governments:

· act to reduce tension in the conflict and to guarantee the security and integrity of those involved, given their responsibility to guarantee, respect and protect the human rights of the population that is located within their jurisdiction

· investigate and punish those responsible for the attacks. …more

MORE AL KHALIFA DIALOGUE

Western Imperialism’s Creative Destruction in Syria
Finian CUNNINGHAM – 18 Februay, 2014 – Strategic Culture Foundation

US-led Western regime change in Syria might be described as a process of creative destruction. Like Schumpeter’s economic concept of cyclical creative destruction, so too Washington’s political machinations in Syria seem to be playing out likewise.

We begin with the premise that the humanitarian crisis in Syria over the past nearly three years is largely as a result of a Western covert proxy war inflicted on that country. The objective is to destabilize, terrorize and eventuate regime change in the Arab country…

The crisis afflicting Syria with over 130,000 dead and nearly nine million people displaced from their homes – nearly 40 per cent of the total population – would not be occurring if it were not for the infiltration of that country with massive flows of weapons, fighting funds and foreign mercenary brigades. US and NATO Special Forces, along with Western military intelligence, have worked with Saudi, Qatari, Jordanian, Israeli and Turk allies to foment this externally driven insurgency. All under the cover of an Arab Spring revolt.

The highly criminal process has attempted to destroy a sovereign country in order to create a new political order, one that is bereft of the existing political establishment under President Bashar Al Assad. This new order brought about by regime change would be amenable to Western interests in terms of Middle East politics and oil economics. In particular, the desired pro-Western regime would deny Russia, China and Iran of an important ally in the Mediterranean.

Western desire for regime change in Syria is well documented, according to American journalist Seymour Hersh, going back to at least 2007 when the George W Bush Presidency conceived of a plan to undermine the Syrian-Iranian resistance against Washington’s regional hegemony. Other historical studies argue that Western plans for regime change in Syria hark even further back to the 1950s when Dwight Eisenhower was US president.

Last year, former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas revealed that he was approached two years before the outbreak of latest conflict in Syria in March 2011 by British political figures, who told him of a plot to unseat the Syrian government.

So, our premise of Western regime change being the driver of conflict and humanitarian crisis in Syria is on solid ground.

By contrast, the alternative premise of the events in Syria being the result of a «popular pro-democracy uprising against Assad» is a nebulous narrative emanating from Western governments and the Western mainstream media. That narrative does not stand up to scrutiny. A modified version to accommodate the contradiction that the «uprising» has become driven largely by Al Qaeda-linked brigades goes along the lines that the initial pro-democracy movement has somehow been «hijacked by extremists». But an objective study of the conflict shows that the extremists were always dominant, and that these extremists have been bankrolled, directed and armed by the US-led axis of NATO and regional allies from the outset.

The divergence of these narratives – one based on reality, the other based on propaganda to serve political interests – is reaching a watershed over the humanitarian issue of besieged Syrian cities. The main location currently in focus is the city of Homs, Syria’s third urban centre after the capital, Damascus, and the second city of Aleppo.

In total across Syria, there is reckoned to be some 250,000 civilians trapped in siege situations, according to the United Nations. The conditions for these civilians have deteriorated alarmingly with reports of starvation and privation from lack of basic utilities and medicines.

But which party is responsible for the sieges and the humanitarian suffering? Typically, the Western governments and the Western news media are blaming the Syrian authorities and army for imposing blockades. As with much of their narrative, there is scant factual evidence to support and it seems to rely on assertion and innuendo. …more

Geneva conference: Russia to put an end to American illusions
21 February, 2014 – Ghaleb Kandil – Volrairenet.com

U.S. bets to initiate Russian pressure on the Syrian delegation at the Geneva Conference, to bring it to change its principled positions have failed. The disappointment of Washington appeared in the results of the tripartite meeting in Geneva on Friday between Russia, the United States and Lakhdar Brahimi. At this meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Gennady Gatilov, showed great firmness in opposing the Americans and the bias international envoy.

The negotiations in Geneva proves the absence of any compromise already agreed, as some political and diplomatic circles believed at the beginning of the conference. It should be clear to all analysts that the relationship between Russia and the Syrian state is built on a strong partnership and alliance, and not on orders, as is the case in the relationship between the Syrian opposition and their American, Arab and Western masters.

The Syrian crisis is the space in which the partnership between Russians and Americans is being formed. In its efforts to regain its place in the international scene, Russia is based on a solid rock: the resistance provided by the Syrian state, the advance of his troops on the ground and broad popular support that even the worst enemies of Syria can no longer deny.

In its efforts to build this new international partnership, Russia is equal with the West, even if at the beginning of the conference, she closed her eyes to the withdrawal of the invitation to Iran and limiting the representation of the Syrian opposition to the only delegation of the National Coalition. The Russians put an end, Friday, to the U.S. illusions, by fully supporting the position of the Syrian government delegation is uncompromising in priorities: the fight against terrorism must come before any other political issue, because it is the pillar of any future inter-Syrian agreement.

Washington is trying to impose the concept developed by Richard Haass of an international partnership… led by the United States! This is what the Americans are trying in Syria. But this attempt goes against the current balance of power on the ground, which allow the Syrian government, which draws its strength from its army and the support of a large part of the population, to put the world before two alternatives: a compromise built on a partnership in the fight against terrorism, supported by strong international resolutions against all states involved in supporting terrorist movements; or a military solution with the own resources of the Syrian state, which would impose a fait accompli on the field.

Through its information and opinion polls, the West knows that the popularity of President Bashar al- Assad is unwavering. The fact that the Syrian president is the target of the United States has only reinforced his popularity and his image of a Syrian popular leader who resists terrorism and defends the independence and sovereignty of his nation.
Russia wanted to send a strong message of solidarity with Syria, its people and its leader, which has attracted the admiration of the free men of the world with his will to resist. …more

Valued ‘Ally’ Saudi Arabia Supports Terrorism, Urges US War in Syria
John Glaser 18 February, 2014

Saudi Arabia, the brutal authoritarian theocracy that the democracy-promoting Washington claims as one of its closest allies, has a bit of a history of pressuring the U.S. into Middle East wars. The 1991 First Gulf War to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait was fought largely in defense of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom also encouraged the Bush administration to invade Iraq in 2003. And the Saudi king has repeatedly urged Washington to attack Iran to secure Saudi interests in the Sunni-Shia regional divide.

Saudi Arabia also has a rather incriminating and duplicitous history of harboring Islamic extremists of the al-Qaeda, jihadist type. They helped the U.S. fund the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis (and they were directed by a Saudi, named Osama bin Laden). There is even a classified record that members of Congress have claimed indicates the Saudi government’s role in the 9/11 attacks.

Since the start of Syria’s civil war, foreign jihadists have been flooding the country – many of them coming from Saudi Arabia. Al Monitor reports:

Estimates of the number of Saudis fighting in Syria range as high as 2,500. Some are hardened veterans of earlier jihads in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq. A few are compatriots of Osama bin Laden. Others traveled to Syria from the kingdom, despite individual travel bans imposed for dissident activities at home. Some traveled directly through major Saudi airports, leading many observers to conclude they were encouraged by the authorities to leave the kingdom and go fight Assad. For over two years, the Saudi government seemed to turn a blind eye to travel by its citizens — even political dissidents — to Syria.

Kuwait, which has close ties to the Saudi government, “is a major source of private funding for Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s official arm in Syria,” Al Monitor reports.
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Bahrain opposition calls for action on notorious prison
23 February, 2014 – Theran Times

Bahrain’s main opposition party has called on human rights organizations to take immediate action on Bahraini political prisoners who are on hunger strike.

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the Red Cross to look into the situation in the Dry Dock prison, located on the island of Muharraq, Al-Alam reported.

Around 500 prisoners are on hunger strike in the notorious prison in protest against the mistreatment of inmates.

The prisoners say they are subjected to torture during interrogation.

At least 3,000 detainees including women and children are being reportedly held in the Dry Dock prison.

Meanwhile, Bahraini regime authorities arrested the representative of Wefaq association in meetings with an international delegation visiting the country, Al-Alam reported.

A delegation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations started a two-month visit to Bahrain in order to meet the different Bahraini factions and the civil society institutions as well as the government before it reports all its findings.

The Bahraini Observatory for Human Rights met the international delegation and called on a permanent existence for the Commissioner in Bahrain, what would help in protecting the human rights in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s human rights record has come under scrutiny over its handling of anti-regime protests that erupted across the country in early 2011.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahraini cities and villages, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the U.S.-backed Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters. …more

Thousands rally demanding stringent punishment to perpetrators
23 February, 2013 – DT News

Citizens in thousands gathered in Riffa yesterday to demand implementation of stringent punishments to terrorists and killers. Over 3,000 people took out a licensed rally along Al Muaskar Highway till Awali roundabout. Organised by civil women coalitions, the peaceful march was headed by families of martyred policemen, with participation of citizens from all walks of life.

Stating that they were not associated with any political party, representative of Hafeedaat Aisha Umm Al Mumineen and Hafeedaat Bilal bin Rabah Women coalitions said, “The rally consists of the people of Bahrain who are fed-up with the persistence of terrorism in the Kingdom.” “We are basically mothers, sisters, wives and daughters and we all see the martyrs as our own family members,” said an Organising Committee member, who preferred anonymity, stating that organising the rally was a collective effort. She continued, “Nothing can compensate a brother, a father, a son or a husband who sacrificed their lives for their country and our safety.”

“We are taking out the march to remember the blood that was shed to protect Bahrain and we hope to deliver several messages. We want security personnel to know that we appreciate and support all their efforts to maintain public security and we demand the punishment of terrorists and killers,” she said. The organiser added, “Today we have MPs, councilors, activists, journalists and more taking part.” Parliamentarian Mohammed Buqais explained, “We stand here today to insist on our demand to apply the laws to all.” Family members of the martyred policemen, in unison, opined that their lost ones gifted their lives to their country. …more

Bahrain: Dictator decides to execute Bahaini youth after 3rd anniversary protests
By davidswanson – 21 February, 2014 – warisacrime.org

In a dramatic escalation of Alkhalifa enmity towards Bahrain’s people, the dictator and his entourage decided to execute a young Bahraini man. Maher Abbas Al Khabbaz on trumpeted charges. He is linked to alleged bomb making and activities that led to the death of a policeman. Five others accused in the case have received five years prison sentence. One Bahraini has also been sentenced to six years imprisonment. This case resonates with that of Isa Qambar who was executed by the regime in 1996 on unproven charges. Despite the killing of more than 150 Bahrainis no person has been executed or properly jailed.

Bahrainis and their supporters are planning big campaign next month to call for an immediate end to the Saudi military occupation of Bahrain. This will include protests inside and outside Bahrain, seminars and press conferences, public meetings with participation from anti-war campaigners and lobbying of Western governments to stand up against this evil occupation and demand the immediate withdrawal of Saudi troops from Bahrain. They will also call for removal of Alkhalifa regime which had sold the country and compromised its sovereignty. The Saudis had invaded Bahrain in mid-March 2011 and participated in atrocities against Bahrainis, their mosques, doctors, athletes, teachers, men, women and children.

Following the successful campaign to reinvigorate the third anniversary of the 14th February Revolution the Alkhalifa regime has intensified its repression and crackdown against Bahrainis. On 13th, 14th and 15th the people showed the world that their Revolution was here to stay and that the ruling clan was completely isolated. On 13th February, the people observed a general strike, with most shops closed and attendance at government’s offices at its lowest. Most parts of the country came to a standstill while protests spread to more than fifty areas. On Friday 14thFebruary there were many demonstrations as many people marched to the iconic site of the Pearl Roundabout. There were skirmishes with the foreign-staffed riot police. The regime’s Death Squads fired shotguns at the peaceful protesters, causing many injuries. On Saturday 15th February, one of the largest demonstrations ever seen in the country was staged. The political societies that had organized it esti mated the participants at more than quarter of a million people. The regime’s forces attacked the peaceful protesters and battles were fought between the Bahrainis and the foreign forces until late at night. …more

Saudi ‘seeking Pakistan arms for Syrian rebels’
23 February, 2014 – Agence France Presse

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a Saudi source said Sunday.

The United States has long opposed arming the rebels with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.

Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets — both of which Riyadh is trying to get for the rebels, said the source, who is close to Saudi decision-makers, requesting anonymity.

The source pointed to a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, who met Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

Prince Salman himself last week led a large delegation to Pakistan, shortly after Saudi’s chief diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the kingdom’s key ally. …more

Policeman’s death calls for international co-operation
22 February, 2014 – Gulf Daily News

Apart from the street thugs, opposition figures living outside the kingdom are seriously compromising the security and integrity of Bahrain. Those countries harbouring extremists and radicals should do their international obligation of stopping or extraditing them.

Last week’s violence claimed the life of a policeman and severely wounded another officer in a bomb explosion in Dair. This heinous crime, perprtrated by the opposition is yet another sign of the policy of violence and vandalism they have been following for ages as a pretext for ‘democratic reform’.

Those opposition figures who called for the illegal rallies and the concomitant violence and vandalism are responsible for the death of the policeman. Thus they have blood on their hands.

The incident was condemned by both the government and by Western governments. The social media show that most of the condoning and agitating of violence was promoted by opposition personalities living abroad including the UK, Lebanon and Iran.

Save Lebanon and Iran. Given the Bahrain-UK long-standing relations and cooperation in almost all sectors from trade to security, the UK should help track down the perpetrators of violence in Bahrain while living abroad. They are exporting and campaigning terrorism against a sovereign nation. As it is not expected to harbour terrorists, the UK should play an active role by stopping the heinous crimes manufactured in its soil by bringing the suspects to justice.

The death of the policeman is one of courage, patriotism and heroic duty. As Ash Sweeney quotes “I have learnt that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done regardless of the consequences”.

The incident is a reflection of the degree of restraint the police forces are showing during their operations, the police being the prey rather than the predators.

On the other hand, the street thugs who have grown violent of late and use whatever means at their disposal to target security forces, including live ammunition in some instances, are becoming more sophisticated both in tactics and the forms of weapons used.

This calls for an urgent shift in the tactics and techniques used in crowd-control mechanisms and during confrontation with thugs. The use of tear gas or bird shots may not work in the future. The police need to be equipped properly, at least to protect themselves. …more

Saudi forces Attack & Beat 2 Protesters to Death in Qatif
23 February, 2014 – Jafria New

Saudi forces arrest some 150 protestersJNN 22 Feb 2014 Riyadh : Saudi regime forces have attacked and killed two anti-government activists at their home in the Qatif governorate of Eastern Province.

The two were killed when regime forces supported by armed vehicles stormed their house the town of Awamiyah. The town has been the scene of violent clashes between anti-regime protesters and Saudi forces for three years.

Witnesses said the two were harshly beaten by the regime forces and taken to hospital, where they died.

The move is considered as part of a fresh crackdown on anti-regime protests in Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, a Saudi court in Qatif sentenced seven people to jail terms of up to 20 years for taking part in protests in Qatif.

The men were also convicted of chanting slogans against the government as well as possession and making of petrol bombs and throwing them at the security forces.

Saudi security forces have attacked anti-regime protesters in the Qatif region of Eastern Province.

Security forces used live fire to break up anti-government protests in the town of Awamiyah on Friday.

In reaction to the attack, protesters set fire to an armored police vehicle during the clashes.

The move is considered as part of a fresh crackdown on anti-regime protests in Saudi Arabia.

On February 20, two anti-government activists were killed when regime forces supported by armed vehicles stormed a neighborhood in Awamiyah.

One day earlier, a Saudi court sentenced seven people to jail terms of up to 20 years for taking part in protests in Qatif. …more

– Attached some pictures from Friday(21 Feb 14) Solidarity event with
their detained journalist colleagues.

– Today Sayed Ahmed Al Mousawi family visited him, and his father told
me that: He is not in a good shape, he is pale and broken.

He said that during the torture they asked him: who do you work for?
who do you shoot for? is it AlWefaq? Where do you publish your
pictures? who pays you for them?

The other thing that he was accused of is: that he is providing
phone Sim cards to the protesters/ terrorists as he works in a telecom
company (VIVA).

His family is concerned about his health situation, and about him in
general specially that he was denied access to his lawyer.

Tell you M.P.s and Congressmen to act and give coverage.

URGENT ACTION
AHMED AL-ARAB NOW NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION
20 February, 2014

Ahmed Mohammad Saleh al-Arab now requires urgent medical attention for injuries he says he sustained during torture at the National Security Agency.

Ahmed Mohammad Saleh al-Arab saw his family for the first time on 10 February, a month after he was arrested, and again on 18 February. During the visits Ahmed al-Arab told his family that he was still suffering the effects of shoulder injuries, especially on his right side, which he said he had sustained as a result of severe beatings at the National Security Agency headquarters in the capital, Manama, and being hung from his wrists while they were twisted behind his back and handcuffed. He also told his family he had numbness in his hands and a tooth which was broken during the beating was bleeding every day. He said he had not received any medical attention for any of his injuries. He told his family that he had been severely beaten, on his genitals and elsewhere, at the National Security Agency and a detention facility in Riffa. He also said he had had his face covered with a cloth and water poured over it to make him feel as if he was drowning; he was threatened with having his nails pulled out and being raped. He was also made to sign papers while blindfolded but did not know what they were. During their first visit, the family saw that Ahmed al-Arab had scars on his face, black marks around his wrists and a broken tooth.

Ahmed al-Arab told his family that he was sleeping outside in the courtyard of the prison because of overcrowding in the prison cells, and inside in the prison corridors when it rained. He said that he had a constant headache and sore throat from staying out in the cold. He has not been brought to any of his court hearings and has not been able to meet his lawyer despite repeated requests at each court hearing that he be brought to the hearing. During one session, the court also denied his lawyer’s requests for information regarding the cases against Ahmed al-Arab on the grounds that the suspect was absent from court. …more

Open Letter to President of Venezuela

Soon, the Battle for Venezuela
by ANDRE VLTCHEK – 21 February, 2014

They are already sewing your funeral gown, Venezuela. They are now ready to welcome you back to that world of the lobotomized, destroyed nations that are fully submissive to Western political and economic interests – Indonesia, Philippines, Paraguay, Uganda, Kenya, Qatar, Bahrain, and almost the entire Eastern Europe. There are so many places like that – it is impossible to list them all.

They want you back in their deadly embrace; they want you to be corrupt and hopeless, as you were before the “Bolivarian Revolution”.

They want you to be the top oil exporter, but with all those horrific slums hanging, like relentless nightmares, over your cities. They want your elites and your military top brass to speak English, to play golf, to drive luxury cars and to commit treason after treason, as they used to commit treason for decades, before your brave predecessor, President Hugo Chavez, began serving and literally saving the poor, in Venezuela and all over Latin America.

Those who are planning to destroy you, those who belong to the so called ‘opposition’, in their heads, are already portioning you; they are dividing your beautiful body – fighting over which parts should be taken where and by whom. They are arguing which pieces of you should stay at home, and what should be taken abroad – a leg, an arm, and your deep melancholic eyes, the color of the profound pools under the mighty waterfalls of Canaima. They want to sell your jet-black hair, as black as those evenings in the mountains, or like that endless night sky above Ciudad Bolivar.

They want everything, all that is under your skin as well as what is deep inside your body. They want your skin, too, as well as your heart.

They want your dreams, which are almost everybody’s dreams – the dreams of all those people from all over the world, people that have been oppressed, and humiliated, for centuries, up to today. They want to take your dreams and to step on them, dirty them, spit on them and to crush them.

But it is not over; it is all far from being over. You are loved and admired, and therefore you will be defended. By all means – we who love you will not be ungenerous; we will not be negotiating the price!

For many men and women, for millions all over the world, you used to be a girl; a brave, rebellious, wonderful young woman… then suddenly you became a mother and then you turned to a motherland – for all those who lacked one until this very moment. For me, too, you became a motherland… for me too!

***

I am not a Venezuelan citizen. I wish I could be, but I am not. But I have fought for Venezuela, in my own way, through my reports and speeches, through films and in my books. I fought ever since Hugo Chavez became the President, ‘my President’.

And I am proud that I fought. And now, when Venezuela is once again under vicious attack, I want to stand firmly by her side, by the side of her Revolution, by the side of El Processo, and of her great Presidents – both Chavez and Maduro!

And I want to say this, and I will say this loudly, carajo: I don’t care what passport is hanging from my pocket, but Caracas is now my capital, and Caracas is what we are going to defend, if we have to. Because in Caracas, we will be fighting for Havana, for Harare and Johannesburg, for Cairo and Calcutta, for the tiny atoll nations in the Pacific Ocean, for Hanoi, for Beijing, and even for Moscow, Asmara, La Paz, Valparaiso, Quito, Managua and for so many of the other independent, freedom-loving places of this wonderful world.

The violent activities undertaken by those so-called ‘protesters’ in Caracas have to be stopped, immediately, and if necessary, by force.

‘The opposition’ has been paid from abroad, as it has been paid, in the past and now, in China, in Eastern Europe, in Syria, Ukraine and in Thailand, as it has been paid everywhere else in the world, where the West could not manage to easily strip those ‘rebellious’ countries of all their riches, while keeping them humiliated, and on their knees. …more

Formula 1 – Red Bull hit yet more testing trouble in Bahrain
Reuters – 21 February, 2014 – eurosport.com

Australian Daniel Ricciardo managed just 28 laps at the Sakhir circuit before the team decided to suspend running to prepare the car for the final day of the second pre-season test on Saturday.

Red Bull, winners of the last four drivers’ and constructors’ titles with Sebastian Vettel, have struggled to get their Renault-powered car running reliably while Mercedes and Ferrari-powered rivals have been getting in the laps.

Vettel did 59 laps on Thursday, more than twice as many as the team had managed in all five previous days of testing in Spain and Bahrain, but the gremlins returned for his new Australian team mate.

Ricciardo did his best to sound positive, however, and said the car was definitely making progress.

“It’s coming together bit by bit. We’d love a big chunk all at once but obviously that’s not the way these things work, so we have to be a bit patient for now,” he said.

The team’s race engineering co-ordinator Andy Damerum said the mechanics had their work cut out and explained that the mechanical issue was not one the team had experienced previously. …more

Britain’s Prince Charles to visit Bahrain
Habib ToumiBureau – 20 February, 2014 – gn

Manama: Prince Charles will visit Bahrain and call on the royal family on Friday, the British embassy in Manama said.

“The Prince’s visit will follow his visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which took place from Monday 17 to Friday 21 February 2014,” the statement released on Friday said.

“The Prince of Wales will be welcomed by His Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Prince of Wales will then call on His Majesty King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa,” the embassy said.

Iain Lindsay, the UK ambassador in Bahrain said that the UK-Bahrain relationship “is a warm, close and long-standing one.”

“Our first agreement of friendship dates from 1816, which is why over the next two years, leading up to 2016, we shall be celebrating the bicentenary of bilateral relations,” he said in the statement. “I am delighted His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales is visiting Bahrain. The British Royal Family has a strong and well-established relationship with the Bahraini Royal Family. This visit underlines the strength of the UK’s bilateral ties with Bahrain,” he said. …source