Bahrain Regime uses child kidnap, illegal arrest and detention, rape and torture to terrorise Bahrain families

Q&A: What about Bahrain’s uprising?
By Nicole Dow – CNN – 15 August, 2012

(CNN) — For more than a year, rights groups have criticized Bahrain for its crackdown on anti-government protests.

The protests, which began in February 2011, were spurred by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt but have failed to gain the traction of the other Arab Spring uprisings.

Lamees Dhaif, a journalist and activist, shares her thoughts on what is happening in her home country and its future in this conversation, edited for length and clarity.

CNN: What do you think about what happened to Ali Hasan, the 11-year-old boy who was arrested in May for participating in an “illegal gathering” and released months later from jail?

Dhaif: I think what happened to Ali Hasan is very tragic. Keeping a minor behind bars for a month is unexplainable. No judiciary system in the world keeps infants jailed for this long without a trial. …

I think that children are being detained frequently now in order to silence protesters. The regime wants to warn protesters that it can do whatever it wants to anyone regardless of his/her age or type of activity the person performs at the time of arrest. … Ali is not the first minor nor the last. There are still others in jail.

CNN: How is this story illustrative of what is happening in Bahrain? Where do you see the situation in Bahrain going?

Dhaif: The situation in Bahrain is unpredictable and chaotic just like all the arbitrary arrests and fabricated charges. The judiciary system is not independent. The charges are a reflection of what the regime wants to take place on the ground. The charges are politically biased, and in most cases, no solid evidence is present. …

The situation is becoming more and more complicated especially now that activists and human rights defenders who were not arrested earlier are targeted now by the regime. An example is Nabeel Rajab, who is detained for bogus charges. The regime is escalating its revenge from its people amidst the silence of the international community. …more