Around the world in tear gas: Protests stifled in 2014
14 August, 2014 – Al Jazeera

As a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, seethes with anger after the murder of an unarmed black teenager over the weekend, images of demonstrations are reminiscent of protest zones across the globe. With security forces lobbing tear gas canisters at people to quell unrest, individuals sometimes simply pick up the devices intended for crowd control and throw them back at the riot police.

The images below show similar circumstances in many different locales where political discourse is expressed in street clashes. From anti-occupation rallies in the West Bank and sectarian protests in Bahrain to anti-government agitation in Ukraine and Venezuela, marchers are often eager to turn law enforcement’s own techniques against police.

While such photographs may be familiar in unstable Egypt, perhaps they are more shocking emerging from the Midwest of the U.S.

West Bank. A Palestinian protester throws a tear gas canister back towards Israeli police close to the Israel’s Ofer military prison in the West Bank town of Betunia on April 4, 2014, during clashes after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected appeals from US Secretary of State John Kerry to halt applications to join international treaties to salvage peace talks with Israel.Abbas Momani / AFP / Getty Images

Bahraini protestor throws a tear gas canister back at riot police during clashes following a protest condemning the deaths of Ahmed Al-Mosajen and Ali Abbas, in the village of Al-Maqsha, west of Manama, on April 25, 2014. The two men were killed on April 19, when their car exploded in a Shiite village in Bahrain.Mohammed Al-Shaikh / AFP / Getty Images

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Bahrain opposition: A contractual constitution is a necessity to end the political crisis in Bahrain
18 aug. 2014 – ABNA

The national democratic opposition parties in Bahrain staged a mass rally on Friday August 15th , 2014 marking Bahrain’s independence day anniversary from British mandate in 1971.

The national democratic opposition parties in Bahrain staged a mass rally on Friday August 15th , 2014 marking Bahrain’s independence day anniversary from British mandate in 1971.

In the final communiqué, the opposition parties called for a contractual constitution laid freely by the people to put an end to the political crisis in the country.

“The continuous arrests against dissidents, expulsion, punishment for calling for democracy clearly violates freedom of expression” the opposition parties said.

The national opposition parties stress that the current political crisis has led to many setbacks in the national economy, ignited sectarian strife between citizens as many citizens have chosen to flee Bahrain because of the regime’s policy of nourishing the culture of impunity, encouraging more abuses to take place against human rights.

“The need for contractual constitution is so essential in Bahrain to enable the people to be the source of all powers”, they added, ” the people must be able to elect their own government and their own legislative power through fair elections, to form their independent judicial system”, they stressed

Finally, they emphasized that the popular movement will continue to take to streets until all legitimate demands of the people are fully realized. …source

Hezbollah warns Saudis on Sheikh Nimr’s trial
15 August, 2014
Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has demanded a halt to the prosecution or any legal pursuit of prominent Saudi cleric Ayatollah Nimr Baqer al-Nimr by the Riyadh regime, vowing that continuing with the fabricated legal case against the Shia scholar will further deteriorate the regional situation.

In a Wednesday statement on the case, Hezbollah has called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to stop the trial of Sheikh Nimr based on trumped up charges, al-Alam news network reported Thursday.

The statement added that the objective of Saudi authorities in insisting on following up with the prosecution of Sheikh Nimr, who has been in detention since 2012 based on false accusations, is to issue harsh sentences against him.

“The continued detention of this great scholar and prosecuting him for [engaging in] natural political activities comes while such rights exist for every individual and every scholar and expression of ideas and views is a natural right of all individuals, underlined by all international regulation and divine faiths,” said the Hezbollah statement.

The Lebanese resistance group further emphasized in the statement that the issuance of any unjust ruling in the case will be harmful to Islamic relations and may lead to deterioration of the regional atmosphere.

It further emphasized that the region is in need of cooperation and collaboration among Arab and Muslim nations in efforts to encounter threats they are facing today. …more

Amnesty slams Saudi Arabia over Shia cleric verdict
1 5 August, 2014 – Shia Post

Amnesty International has slammed Saudi Arabia for handing down a harsh verdict to a leading Shia cleric in the country.

Amnesty International said on Thursday that the harsh sentence of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amr shows the disturbing pattern of harassment against the Shia community in Saudi Arabia.

A court in the Saudi kingdom has given the Shia cleric an eight-year jail term and a ten-year travel ban. He has also been barred from delivering religious sermons.

“Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amr is the latest Shia cleric to pay a very high price for refusing to be silenced,” said Said Boumedouha, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

The cleric has been charged with criticizing the country’s ruling system and calling for political reform.

“Daring to peacefully criticize Saudi Arabia’s rulers is no reason to end up behind bars. He must be released immediately in connection with these charges,” Boumedouha added.

Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer has been arrested several times over his calls on the Saudi government to give Shias further freedom to exercise their religious rights.

“The conviction of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amr by a special security and counterterrorism court reveals the extent to which the Saudi Arabian judicial system is arbitrary and unfair. Had the cleric signed a pledge not to deliver religious sermons, he would have currently been a free man. Yet the authorities seemed concerned about one thing alone which is how to punish him harsher for not obeying them,” said Said Boumedoua.

There have been numerous demonstrations in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province since 2011, with the protesters calling for political reform and an end to widespread discrimination.

Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia. …more

Bahrain regime imprisons 22 Shiite over anti-regime protests
17 August, 2014 – PRessTV

The Bahraini regime has given jail terms to 22 activists for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations in the Persian Gulf country.

The Bahraini regime has given jail terms to 22 activists for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations in the Persian Gulf country.

On Saturday, a Bahraini court sentenced 18 citizens to three years and four others to two years in prison for partaking in protests in Bani Jamra, a village in the northwest of Bahrain.

On Friday, thousands of people staged an anti-regime protest in the village of Diraz on the country’s northwestern coast to voice solidarity with journalists and photographers arrested by the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown.

A separate demonstration was held in the village of Sanabis, located in the suburbs of the Bahraini capital Manama.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, 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 Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

On June 10, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) censured the Manama regime for human rights violations in the country. A total of 46 members of the international body expressed deep concern over the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on peaceful protesters. …more

Bahrainis to Hold Protest Rallies
15 August, 2014 – Tasim News Agency

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bahrain’s political and revolutionary forces have called on the Persian Gulf country’s people to take part in protest rallies on Friday.

They urged people to hold anti-regime demonstrations and insist on the withdrawal of Saudi and Emirati forces from Bahrain, Al-Alam news network reported.

The planned Friday rallies will come on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day and a few days after an Al Khalifa regime’s court has sentenced 14 people to life in prison in relation to the political crisis in the country.

Another 12 citizens have been sentenced to 7 years in prison, making a sum of 434 years for all 26.

“The sentence further entrench the tyrannical rule and extends the crisis between the majority of the people who are demanding democratic transition and the dynasty in power”, the website of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, a main opposition party in Bahrain said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Salman, the society’s secretary-general, in a Twitter post underlined that the repressive verdicts will not (deter) the Bahraini people’s struggle for democracy and equality.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power, amid the regime heavy-handed crackdown on them.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama regime in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters. …more

Bahrain’s ‘injustice-system’ issues anti-Shia jail terms up to 434 years
14 August, 2014 – ABNA

A Bahraini court has handed life sentences to 14 citizens in relation to the political crisis in the country. Another 12 citizens have been sentenced to 7 years in prison, making a sum of 434 years for all 26.

A Bahraini court has handed life sentences to 14 citizens in relation to the political crisis in the country. Another 12 citizens have been sentenced to 7 years in prison, making a sum of 434 years for all 26.

The sentence further entrench the tyrannical rule and extends the crisis between the majority of the people who are demanding democratic transition and the dynasty in power.

Detainees continue to complain of severe torture and coercion during arrest and interrogation. However, their complaints are overlooked by the Public Prosecution Office and the courts that lack fundamental international prosecution standards.
The very well know Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the Bahraini judiciary as an “injustice system” criticizing courts for supporting the repressive regime by repeatedly sentencing peaceful protesters to prolonged periods in jail.

HRW was not the only one to criticize Bahrain for its tarnished record of human rights, Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the trials in Bahrain represent “political persecution” of dissidents. Furthermore, the Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) confirmed in its report that the trials in Bahrain are used to attack the opposition. In September 2013, Bahrain faced condemnation of 47 member States in the UN Human Rights Council for its appalling human rights situation.

Commenting on the jail terms issued today, Sheik Ali Salman, Secretary-General of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, said, “It has become clear that the repressive verdicts will not the Bahraini people’s struggle for democracy and equality”. …source

Business Interests Are More Valuable to Bahrain’s Western Allies Than Democracy and Human Rights
17 August, 2014 – Business Insider

I was sentenced to two years in prison for holding what authorities in Bahrain described as “illegal demonstrations” in 2012. In actual fact I was doing my legitimate and peaceful human rights work. I have been released in May this year, after serving the full sentence. My crime, if it can be called one, was defending the people’s rights and calling for reform in Bahrain. But under the pretext that I had not acquired permission from the government for my protest, I was locked away. The real reason was to keep me silent: my role as the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, my advocacy on the media, including twitter and my relations with international human rights organisations and the UN system made me a threat to the undemocratic government and the Al Khalifa family that runs the country. Now that I am released from prison I can speak freely and engage myself in human rights work again.

The fearsome possibility of being re-imprisoned can’t stop my work. During the time I that spent in prison, my country has transformed into a fully functioning security state. The police force, now made up of thousands of naturalised Bahrainis, mercenaries in all but name, control the streets. Law upon law has been passed to silence protesters. It is now illegal to demonstrate in the capital, or to criticise the king. Offenders are punished by a vindictive and non-independent judiciary. Parliament is too cowed to even question government ministers any longer. Also, prisons in Bahrain are at the moment with detained human rights defenders and political detainees. Since 2011, over 50,000 people have been in and out of jail. Over three thousands of them are now serving time in Bahrain’s prisons, in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Mass beatings and torture is a common occurrence. Although I was not tortured as badly as others, I witnessed other prisoners being beaten and tortured in front of my eyes.

The reality Bahrain’s situation has not improved. Like most countries which saw uprising and revolution in 2011, it has only worsened. I am happy to say that the United States, one of Bahrain’s closest allies and whose Fifth Fleet is station in my country, is keenly aware of these problems, though whether they will pressure the government to improve the situation remains to be seen. More concerning – and infuriating – is the British response to Bahrain’s crisis. In 2013, the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs recommended that the FCO should “designate Bahrain as a ‘country of concern'” in its next Human Rights Report. Despite overwhelming evidences that the human rights situation had only continued to deteriorate, the British Government refused to upgrade Bahrain to a country of concern. The government reasoned that a new dialogue with the Crown Prince was promising evidence of improvement. Even when the dialogue quickly fell apart, Britain has refused to take further action. But the fact is that there can be no meaningful dialogue when most of Bahrain’s civil and political leaders are in prison. …more

Bahrain: Harassment of leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab at Heathrow Airport
31 Jul, 2014 – BCHR

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) express their concern over the harassment and ill-treatment of leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and his family at the hands of the authorities at Heathrow Airport.

On 24 July 2014, Nabeel Rajab, president of BCHR and director of GCHR, arrived with his wife and two children (12 and 16 years old) at Heathrow International Airport from Bahrain on a personal visit to see friends and undergo medical checkups in the UK. To their surprise, they were held for approximately five hours at a temporary detention center at the airport as they were waiting for the immigration authorities to process their entry papers. Their luggage was thoroughly searched and their fingerprints and photos were taken. They felt that they were treated “like criminals”. Rajab was allowed one phone call only and had to be escorted by a policeman when going to the rest room. Additionally, he was interrogated about his sentence and imprisonment in Bahrain, which was the apparent reason for this treatment. Later, they were informed that they would be allowed to enter the country; however, their passports were held for investigation and they were told that they will be notified in two weeks (by August 7, 2014) whether they will be allowed to stay in the UK for three weeks as they had planned. Rajab’s visa was issued via the UK embassy in Bahrain a few days before his trip and no issues were brought to his attention at that time.

Rajab was imprisoned in Bahrain for two years between July 2012 and May 2014 for exercising his right to freedom of assembly by participating in and calling for peaceful protests, in the Capital Manama, in defense of people’s rights in Bahrain.

He was considered a prisoner of conscience by several human rights bodies including the UK based Amnesty International[1], and his detention was considered arbitrary by the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.[2]

In June 2014, the UK embassy in Bahrain held his passport for over 16 days after he submitted it to apply for a UK visa, despite the fact that the normal visa procedure does not take more than 5 days. The embassy also delayed handing back the passport after he asked for it even if without a visa. Eventually he was handed back the passport with a visa that was issued then canceled. As a result of this delay, the embassy effectively managed to hinder the human rights defender’s planned activities to travel to the UN human rights council (HRC) 26th session in Geneva, as a meeting organized between Rajab and the OHCHR was cancelled after initial postponement, and his participation in several planned events on the side of the UN HRC, which were announced publicly were also cancelled, due to the fact that he was not able to travel while his passport was held at the embassy.
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Children of Bahrain: Those who oppose the regime are in prisons
01 August, 2014 – Shafaqna

SHAFAQNA – Why are more than 190 Bahraini children spending Eid inside the prison cells of the “Prison Island” as, the US Assistant Secretary of State, Tom Malinowski described it?

The very first Eid to occur during the period of the 14th February uprising, saw on 31st August 2011 an event that turned Eid celebrations into mourning and sadness. This was the killing of 14-year-old Ali Jawad Al Shaikh, who was shot and killed at the hands of the regimes security forces in Sitra.

Since this time, Eid in Bahrain has changed into protests. However, Eids has been an opportunity for the regime to continue to harvest the lives of a children; a martyr, a detainee and a tortured. Eid is sometimes considered an occasion to remember these children behind the bars whose number has exceeded the hundreds. Other times and for others, Eid is but a time for tragic events.

According to Al Wefaq statistics, the children in the Bahraini prisons have exceeded 450 since the beginning of the revolution on 14 February 2011 until September 2013.

Between 14 February 2011 and until November 2013, the extrajudicial killing cases have resulted in 16 deaths of children. And now the number has surpassed to 20.

Between Alnham’s eye and Hisham Hassan’s School

On 13 June 2012, the 5-year-old child, Ahmed Alnham, was next to his father who works as a fish seller in one of Al Dair’s neighborhoods when the regime’s forces directly shot Ahmed in his face. Ahmed Alnham lost one of his eyes in front of his parents with blood covereing his face.

Some schools’ administrations called some students’ parents for investigation sessions because of drawings on the students’ desks like Lulu Roundabout. The 8-year-old- Hisham Hassan was suspended from the school on 8 January 2013 and got beaten by the school’s administration members in front of his peers for repeating political slogans. Hisham was entered into a school commission inquiry without his parents knowledge.

Although he was imprisoned, Al Wefaq honored, on 24 July 2014, the outstanding youth, Mohammed Abdulrida Al Jalabi, who graduated from high school with an average of 95%. An empty seat on the platform was specialized for Al Jalabi, where his photo was placed. …source