Harsh sentences handed down by regime military courts – Youth Coalition organize, as major party opposition seems mired in fence sitting and opportunism

Bahrain jails Shi’ites over protests
26 Sep 2011 18:13 – Reuters Alertnet – By Andrew Hammond

MANAMA, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Bahrain on Monday sentenced 32 men to 15 years in jail over violent anti-government protests and handed the head of a teachers’ union a 10 year prison term for calling for the overthrow of the Gulf Arab monarchy.

A military court ruled that the 32 men, whose names suggested they were all Shi’ite Muslims, set fire to fields and robbed farmers’ homes “with a terrorist intent” and took part in illegal gatherings, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said.

The agency said teachers’ union chairman Mehdi Issa Mohammed Abu Deeb was found guilty of disrupting schooling, broadcasting false news and threatening national security by encouraging protest marches and sit-ins.

His deputy, Jalila Mohammed Reza al-Salman, was jailed for three years.

Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers in March quashed pro-democracy protests led by the Shi’ite majority demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and a greater say in government.

Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent troops to help crush the demonstrations. In the ensuing crackdown, about 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained — mostly Shi’ites.

The verdicts were issued days after a by-election to fill seats vacated by the largest opposition bloc Wefaq in protest at the handling of the unrest. The election was boycotted by Bahraini Shi’ites, reducing turnout to 17 percent.

Unrest continues almost nightly in many Shi’ites villages in the banking hub, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

A group calling itself the February 14 Youth Coalition — activists involved in the protests that began in February — called on Monday for an escalation in the clashes with police, saying security measures had gone too far to put down attempts to revive protests.

“We announce the beginning of a new stage in the holy defence which will involve more deterrence and pain for the regime,” it said, adding it was time to throw aside “political calculations” on how to respond to the authorities.

“We call on all the people to move forward in confronting the hand that has violated honour,” it said.

It was not clear how much influence the activists have. Wefaq is the strongest group but some analysts say it is losing its hold over many younger Shi’ites, radicalised by events, and that communal violence is likely to worsen in the absence of a political reconciliation. …more