Bahraini Human Rights leader and activist, Mohammed al-Maskati Arrested

Bahrain arrests activist in ongoing crackdown
16 October, 2012 – Al Akhbar

A leading Bahraini rights activist, Mohammed al-Maskati, was arrested on Tuesday for taking part in an unauthorized Manama protest, his lawyer and other activists said.

Al-Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, will likely be charged with participating in an “illegal gathering.”

“He went to the police station with his lawyer after being summoned and was immediately arrested,” Said Yousif, a fellow activist, told Al-Akhbar. “Tomorrow, he will be taken to the public prosecution office.”

Police Tuesday also summoned activist Nader Abdulemam. Abdulemam, whose face was left severely bruised earlier this year after police fired a projectile directly at him, will go in to the police station the following day, Yousif said.

The two activists are only the latest to be targeted by authorities for organizing or taking part in demonstrations calling on the kingdom’s autocratic rulers to introduce democratic reforms.

“We are facing a crackdown on human rights activists,” Yousif said. “This is the price for protecting human rights inside a country with a repressive regime. We knew this from the beginning, and we are willing to pay that price.”

Bahrain has witnessed ongoing opposition protests since February, 2011. It began with protesters calling for more civic freedoms, but many are now calling for the overthrow of the monarchy after it responded by launching a bloody crackdown.

Saudi troops were ushered into Bahrain in March, 2011 to help crush the movement, but protests against the regime persist.

At least 80 people have been killed since the uprising began, according to activists.

Medics have also been targeted for treating injured protesters.

Last week, Human Rights Watch and a group of US congressmen separately called on the country’s monarch to release nine medics who treated activists injured during the uprising.

The medics were all charged earlier this year and released on bail, but re-arrested after an October 1 court decision upheld their charges. …more