…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

Bahraini authorities sets checkpoints and roadblocks leading to Muharraq Funeral
22 August, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – The regime sets check points to prevent citizens from participating in an arranged visit to the 16-year-old martyr Al-Haddad’s grave marking the third day since he was killed by the regime forces’ bullets last Friday night.

The regime forces besieged Muharraq Island, east of Manama, on Tuesday 21st August, 2012 and set many checkpoints and barricades. They were reported to have deployed heavily in most of Muharraq neighborhoods. The check points are also reported to have caused a terrible traffic jam in one of the most important highways disrupting the peoples’ interests.

The regime forces have killed the child Hossam in a very cold-blooded way last Friday evening, on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr, Muslims feast that marks the end of Ramadan. The Martyr was killed by an internationally prohibited weapon that has been used heavily lately against citizens in Bahrain.

Eyewitness reports added that the martyr was abducted from where he was shot in the back by birdshot pellets and was then beaten to death.

Opposition declared a state of mourning for three days during Eid, as flags have been lowered to half-staff in respect of the Martyr Hossam Al-Haddad. Most citizens shared condolences instead of eid greetings and decided to abandon all joyful celebrations. …source

Bahraini regime forces arrest 8 mourners at funeral
Shia Post – 22 August, 2012

Bahraini Shia Muslim women mourn during the funeral of 16-year-old Husam al-Haddad in Muharraq, August 18, 2012.

Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces have arrested at least eight people in an attack on a funeral ceremony in the country’s third largest city, Muharraq.

The people had gathered in the city on Tuesday to mourn the death of a young Bahraini man who was beaten to death by the regime forces.

Sixteen-year-old Husam al-Haddad was killed on August 17 during an attack by Bahraini forces on a peaceful demonstration in the city.

On Tuesday, the regime forces set several checkpoints on the roads leading to Muharraq and tried to prevent mourners from visiting Haddad’s grave.

They used tear gas to disperse the protesters and arrested a number of them.

Anti-regime protests continue in Bahrain despite heavy-handed crackdown by regime forces.

Scores of people have been killed by Bahraini regime forces since a popular uprising erupted against the ruling Al Khalifa family in February 2011.

The protesters hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.

Concerns grow over deteriorating health condition of Saudi Sheikh Nemr
22 August, 2012 – PressTV

A Saudi-based human rights group has warned against the deteriorating health condition of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr, who is being held in a jail in Saudi Arabia, Press TV reports.

The Asharq center for human rights said in a statement that Nemr, who has been on a hunger strike since mid-July, is now in declining health.

The human rights group went on to call on Riyadh to release the cleric immediately and without any preconditions.

It says the Saudi regime is responsible for any injury that is inflicted on Sheikh Nemr while in detention.

The Shia cleric was injured and arrested by Saudi forces while driving to his home on July 8. His family members say he has been badly tortured while in detention.

Sheikh Nemr’s arrest sparked massive protests, with angry demonstrators demanding his immediate release.

Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah in Eastern Province, primarily calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in Eastern Province.

Similar demonstrations have also been held in the capital, Riyadh, and the holy city of Medina over the past weeks.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”
…source

US: Syria intervention would exacerbate crisis
22 August, 2012 – Al Akhbar

American officials on Tuesday said that the risk that US military intervention in Syria would simply exacerbate the problem limits its options to intervene in the country.

Officials explained to the newspaper New York Times that military operations against Syria would mean risk dragging in Syria’s “patrons”, in particular Iran and Russia, and allowing them to be involved more than they already are.

Military intervention could also allow President Bashar al-Assad to bolster popular anti-Western feeling, and push al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups fighting the Syrian regime to turn against the US to combat what could be seen as a new American “crusade” against the Arab world.

Officials from the Pentagon said that the worst case scenario would require hundreds of thousands of troops which would only ignite further problems in the already tense region.

The officials explained that some rebels had asked for portable rocket launchers known as Manpads which, according to experts, would make a huge difference when fighting against helicopter attacks.

However, the officials pointed out that in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided Stinger missiles to the mujahedeen fighting the Soviet Union, only to spend millions trying to track them down after the Soviets left and the opposition groups gave rise to the Taliban. …more

U.S. ‘significant’ in Iraq despite troop exit: Dempsey
22 August, 2012 – By Dan De Luce – Agence France Presse

BAGHDAD: Top U.S. military officer General Martin Dempsey insisted Tuesday during a quick trip to Iraq that Washington was still playing an important role there, eight months after the last American troops departed.

Dempsey met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and army chief of staff Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari during a six-hour stop, becoming the highest-ranking American to visit Iraq since the December 2011 pullout.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview with AFP that Iraq was now a sovereign state, on an equal footing with the United States, a remark completely removed from the 2003 American-led invasion.

“We still retain significant investment and significant influence. But now it’s on the basis of a partnership and not on the basis of ownership,” Dempsey, who served in Iraq as a commander during the war that toppled Saddam Hussein, said before landing in Baghdad.

Clad in a formal military dress uniform instead of the combat fatigues worn during the war years, Dempsey stressed that he came to build a dialogue with his Iraqi counterparts and not to make demands.

After a 90-minute meeting with Maliki, Dempsey later told reporters the two discussed the conflict in neighbouring Syria, Iraq’s interest in expanding training with US forces and the purchase of American military hardware, including radar, air defence weaponry and equipment to bolster border security.

After flying over the bustling Iraqi capital by helicopter, Dempsey said he was struck by the air of “normalcy” compared to a few years ago when he served during a raging war with insurgents.

“Only eight months out, and it seems to me that they’ve gripped the opportunity for now that we hoped they would grip,” he said en route back to Washington.

Although Iraq still faced daunting challenges, Dempsey said the country could eventually serve as a democratic model for the rest of the Middle East, which has been shaken by popular uprisings since early 2011. …more

Open Letter to UK FCO Minister Lord Howell on Bahrain and the “Arab Spring”
18th August 2012 – Dr. Mike Diboll

Dear Lord Howell,

In the light of last week’s jailing of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, and last nights killing of 16 year-old protester Hussam Al Haddad, I write to you to request clarification of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office position on Bahrain the “Arab Spring”.

In particular, I request that make clear your position on the following statement attributed to you on the Bahrain News Agency website, dated 29th June, 2012:

“The Minister of State at Foreign & Commonwealth Office said that Bahrain was considered an example in the region and its situation should not be linked to the Arab Spring because the matters were completely different in this case, as the country had achieved remarkable reforms over more than ten years.”

http://www.iaa.bh/pressReleasedetails.aspx?id=243

The context is a meeting which took place in London that month between yourself and Bahrain Minister of Interior Lt-General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa.

According to the BNA, Mr. Rashid Al Khalifa also met with the Director General MI5 Jonathan Evans, Home Office Minister James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland Minister Hugo Swire and Attorney-General Dominic Grieve, and others.

Your words on the FCO website seem more guarded:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=781036282

I ask you plainly: Is is it or is it not HMG’s position that Bahrain is not part of, or “should not be linked to”, the “Arab Spring”? Is the BNA representing your position accurately?

Any objective analysis of the rhetoric, actions, goals and aspirations of the Bahrain opposition, the slogans, tactics, and attitudes of the protesters in Bahrain, and the often brutal and repressive actions of the current Bahrain government in response to the protests will show that Bahrain is indeed part of the “Arab Spring.”

Indeed, Bahrain has seen, as a percentage of population, the largest and most representative protests of all the countries that have undergone “revolutions of dignity” (as they are known in Arabic) since the current wave of protests began in December 2010.

Moreover, the things that the protesters are protesting about: the crisis of political legitimacy and representation in Bahrain, the lack of genuinely democratic and civil society institutions, and the Al Khalifa state’s institutionalised sectarianism, have direct parallels with the grievances of protesters and opposition movements in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, the Yemen and elsewhere.

In their final crises the regimes headed by Assad, Gaddhafi, and Mubarak all claimed commitment to “reform” with Syria, for example, holding elections. In these instances the FCO rightly condemned such “reform” as a sham, yet, flying in the face of objective evidence and expert opinion, it is only too happy to take Bahrain’s claims to reform at face value.

I worked on one of the Crown Prince of Bahrain’s reform projects 2007-2011, was an eye-witness to the initial uprisings in the spring of 2011, have submitted substantial evidence to the BICI, and know first hand the deeply divided nature of the present regime and the hollow, “on-paper” nature of so many of its reforms, pre- and post-BICI.

It might seem — from the perspective of London — to be an adroit piece of positioning to isolate the “Arab Spring” as a phenomenon affecting only the historically anti-Western Arab republics, to pretend that the monarchical dictatorships of the GCC are immune from the uprisings, and to view the extension of GCC power beyond the Arabian Peninsula as an opportunity to consolidate Western interests in a rapidly changing region. …more

A Sad Eid Ul Fitr in Bahrain , 90 Children Behind Bars, Anti Regime Protest continues in Sitra and Nuwaidrat
22 August, 2012 – Jafia News

JNN 21 Aug 2012 Manama : Bahrain is living a sad atmosphere during this Eid. It is supposed to be one of the happiest Muslims occasions celebrated by Muslim communities around the world at the end of Ramadan. Whilst, Bahrainis celebrate it by mourning an innocent child who was brutally murdered by the regime forces. While 90 children , who are below the average legal age, have been kept behind bars treating them like adults by detaining them with accusation that do not go with their age.

The people of Bahrain live sad and grieving moments; mourning the child who was cold-bloodedly murdered by the regime forces after being shot in the back with the internationally-prohibited weapon; shotgun. He was then severely beaten to death in Muhrraq island last Friday night; during a frequent brutal suppression attack against peaceful pro-democracy protesters.

Mourning state is declared by the opposition around Bahrain for 3 consecutive days and flags are lowered to half-staff while no receptions are opened for Eid greetings during these sad days.

All kinds of joyful celebrations are absent in all villages and areas of Bahrain, as people share condolences instead of greetings.

The traffic and crowd jams are remarkably weak in some streets and places which are known to be crowded during such occasions. Places of entertainment seem abandoned in respect for the child martyr Hussam AlHaddaq (16 years).

The mourning state comes to reject the nonstop repressing and brutal approach which the regime undertakes when dealing with protesters. The regime forces loot and raid houses as per orders received from high ranked officials. The regime forces are a serious threat for peace and security of the people of Bahrain.

All the arrests of underage children , are related to freedom of expression as many human rights organizations demanded their immediate release as well as the release of all prisoners of conscience specially children.

The regime in Bahrain violates the basic children rights by assaulting and killing them having no regard to their age.

In Bahrain Children’s rights violations take many different forms. Children in Bahrain have been arrested, dismissed, injured, and tortured. They have had their fathers arrested, they have had their schools suppressed, they have had their play grounds repressed, they have had their houses raided, they have had their houses tear gassed, they have been deprived from the right of learning, in addition to a long list of basic rights violations.

The regime has gone farther than violating and arresting, the regime is now cold-bloodedly killing children. Husam Al-Haddad is the last victim murdered by the regime forces by shooting him in the back and them barbically assaulting him to death.

The regime has already murdered many children before. The martyr Sayed Ahmed Sayed Sahms, they murdered martyr Mohammed AbdulHussain Farhan, the martyr Ali Jawad Al-Shaikh, The martyr Ahmed Al-Qattan, the martyr Ali Baddah, the infant martyr Sajeda Faisal Jawad, they murdered martyr Sayed Hashim Saeed, the martyr Yaseen Al-Asfoor and the martyr Mohammed Ebrahim Ya’agoob.

The regime in Bahrain kills children in different forms. Some were killed due to firing tear gas at their houses while practicing the collective punishment against the villages and areas of protests. However many elderly people and children died due to inhaling lethal tear gas. Many were killed by shot guns pellets as part of the official violence committed against the freedom of expression. Many were killed as the regime forces were weaponising the tear gas canisters by firing them directly at citizens or by running the police cars over the protesters like what happened to Ali Baddah.

Some children have been killed during Eids like Ali Jawad Al-Shaikh or while they were playing near their homes like Sayed Ahmed Sayed Shams. They are all 15 years old and less than 18 years old.

The regime has formed BICI by his own will and endorsed all its results. Well, there were 189 children who had been arrested during preparation period of the report. Only 23 children had been taken to juvenile detention centers. Whilst, the remaining had been taken to general detention centers and treated as adults.

According to documented statistics, parents of only 12% of these children had been asked to attend to the detention centers and got notified about their children whereabouts. The remaining children were just arbitrarily arrested and their whereabouts had been hidden from their parents. It is simply the same arrogant behavior of the regime when treating most of other arrested adults; who are by some means forcibly kidnapped.

Official security supervision is applied on some children after the arrest. It is applied on the case of the child Ali Hasan (11-years) who was detained for more than a month.

The Rose Revolution; which has been sparked in Manama, February 14th 2011, might be the most painful revolution for childhood. The children of Bahrain suffer the suppression and mistreatment of the regime forces and its official directorates. Their childhood is not respected. Various types of violations have been committed against them; to the level of cruel and inhumane torture.

The regime in Bahrain perpetrates terrible violations against childhood. The local and international silence reveals the false slogans and principles which call for the protecting rights of children. …more

Former Chechen warlord’s son killed in Syria: report
22 August, 2012 – Agence France Presse

MOSCOW: The son of a late Chechen field commander who waged two post-Soviet wars against Russian forces has been killed while fighting with the rebels in Syria, a Russian Islamist website said Wednesday.

Rustam Gelayev, son of former warlord Ruslan Gelayev, “entered into a battle with superior forces of the Alawite regime in a Syrian district, presumably between August 11 and August 13,” the KavkazCenter website said.

“During the fighting, he was martyred,” said the website, which is regularly used by Russian-based Islamic militants to exchange information and has developed a history of providing accurate battlefield reports.

The elder Gelayev was one of the top commanders in Chechnya’s first war for independence that killed tens of thousands between 1994 and 1996 and ended with the region winning broader sovereignty within Russia.

The improvised region was then wrecked by infighting between the various field commanders and remained infested by violent organised crime until its more militant leaders challenged Russia again in 1999.

The elder Gelayev joined the second war as well, which continued to simmer for years after Russian troops claimed control over Chechnya’s main cities in 2000.

He was killed in 2004 while leading a group of gunmen in battle against Russian border guards in the neighbouring North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

KavkazCenter said the younger Gelayev was born in 1988 and had lived for a most of his life in Russia before receiving an Islamic education in an unnamed Middle East country.

He came to Syria in the summer, said the website, citing unnamed sources and members of the Chechen diaspora in Europe.

…more

Human Rights Defender Profile: Ahlam Oun from Bahrain
21 August, 2012 – By Diana Sayed

Human Rights First is running a series of profiles on human rights defenders we work with in various countries. These profiles help to explain their work, motivations, and challenges.

Ahlam Oun is a Leaders for Democracy Fellowship graduate from Maxwell School at Syracuse University in New York and worked at Search for Common Ground in the Partners for Humanity Department in Washington DC, USA. She is a recent member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and works closely with Human Rights First to blog in English on issues related to youth rights and stories of the injustice and Human Rights violations in Bahrain especially after Bahrain’s 14Feb Revolution.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the situation in Bahrain?

Bright side: despite the crackdown, harassment and bombardment of houses and arrests people are still protesting and demanding for their freedom and democracy. The crackdown has not waned people’s determination, I see it in their eyes and their chants, it could be described as the “audacity of hope”.

Dark side: Recently, an “unofficial Marshall law” has been implemented; midnight arrests and the waning interest of the international community are a big let down.

Do you see yourself as a Human Rights Defender?

The title of Human Rights Defenders is well-earned by prominent Human Rights activists in Bahrain like Nabeel Rajab, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and Zainab Alkhawaja, I can never claim such title for myself. I am just one of thousands of people in Bahrain who felt the responsibility and need to be positively involved in the movement in anyway possible.

How do you perceive the current situation in Bahrain?

The situation started to be more independent; the 14February youth movement was decentralized without any leader, all parts of society came together, people were more independent, all their ideas were their own without passing through any filters. This is something caught the regime by surprise; they assumed that by arresting known leaders the revolution will stop, yet I never did.

The continue attacks on 14Feb Youth protests made the some people feel that the government authorized protests called by political parties became a safety blanket. Now the situation have changed, the government is not granting permission for political parties to protest, which allowed the political parties to rebel against the government rule and continued calling for the protests. These protests were brutally attacked and members of political parties were injured severely. This helped unified the opposition (political parties and 14Feb Youth) after the regime tried to split them apart.

What do you want – outcome based?

I want freedom and democracy for my country and my people. I have seen the discrimination from a very young age but I was never aware of the sever human rights violations because the regime did not allow such reports to be found easily. The 14Feb Revolution happened and it was the biggest wake-up for Bahrainis. The first time I visited the pearl roundabout was on the 15th Feb, I wanted to understand the reasons behind it and tried to assess the situation and then “Bloody Thursday” forever changed me and made fully join the people’s movement.

I took work off to spend my days at the Pearl Roundabout and I witnessed a variety of people, how organized they were, the tents that were created for women so that they could be educated on their ICCPR rights. This all happened almost instantly, there was a corner for everyone: artists, a makeshift theatre for plays, musicians played, children’s causes, medical stations, unions, lawyers, engineers, politicians all had something. This all signified freedom in a small part of Bahrain, there was freedom of expression for the first time.

We want the international community to apply the same rules and judgment to the violations of human rights in every country equally, specially in the gulf countries. On May 2011, Obama gave his first speech addressing the Arab Spring and since then it was clear to many Bahrainis that he will be siding with the regime. This practice is evident since the US administration waited till near the end in the Egyptian revolution to make a decision in supporting the revolution or not basing it on who is more likely to succeed and not on who deserves.

Besides, the recent $550mn arms deal between US and Bahrain made the people start building resentment toward the US administration by saying: “The barrel of a gulf oil seems to be more important and expensive that our lives.” And I don’t blame them.

What risks do you see are posed on your everyday life?

I risk being attacked or arrested at any moment like everyone else who speaks up in Bahrain. Whenever I hear the doorbell in an unexpected time especially very late at night, I assume that it’s the police, but then I quickly remember that they would break in if they were going to come after me. My family has fears for me but I fear for them more than I do myself, especially my Mum. I don’t tell her or the rest of my family the details of my activities, as it would make them worry very much, especially after they heard and witnessed the abuses that happened to women. …more

Update: Human Rights defender Nabeel Rajab subjected to ill-treatment in prison and placed in a solitary confinement
21 August, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Further to our joint appeal on 16 August 2012 (Kindly see the following link: Bahrain, emboldened by international silence, sentences Nabeel Rajab to 3 years imprisonment), the GCHR and BCHR express their concerns over the recent confirmed information that leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been placed in solitary confinement and banned from making unmonitored telephone calls to his family following the 3 years imprisonment sentence against him on Thursday 16 August 2012.

On 20 August 2012 evening the human rights defender called his family for the first time since the day in which the sentence was imposed. He was cautiously informing his family for being threatened that the call will be cut if involved news about Bahrain. He also confirmed to his wife that the authorities have put him in a solitary confinement and have not had access to any newspapers during the past days. The call, which lasted less than two minutes, was cut suddenly.

The GCHR and BCHR condemn the ill-treatment of leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and are very concerned about placing him in a solitary confinement. The GCHR and BCHR believe strongly that the authorities have violated the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners that states in article 30.1 “No prisoner shall be punished except in accordance with the terms of such law or regulation.” And in article 32.1 “Punishment by close confinement shall never be inflicted unless the medical officer has examined the prisoner and certified in writing that he is fit to sustain it.”

In addition, GCHR and BCHR have also received information that the prison administration is monitoring the calls of the detained human rights defenders and leading activists. Its reported that an officer had interrupted a call between a detained leading activist, Ebrahim Sharif and his wife Mrs Fareeda Ghulum, then the call was cut while she was describing the situation in Bahrain after the alleged kiling of 16 years old child Hussam AlHaddad by the security forces, on 18 August 2012. …more

Bahrain regime forces attack on mourners of killed teenager
Shia Post – 21 August, 2012

Saudi-backed regime forces in Bahrain have attacked people mourning the death of a teenage boy killed in Manama’s violent crackdown on protesters.

Sixteen-year-old Hussam al-Haddad was killed on August 17, when regime forces carried out a brutal attack on a peaceful demonstration in the city of Muharraq, northwest of Manama.

On Tuesday, the regime forces set several checkpoints on the roads leading to Muharraq and tried to prevent mourners from visiting his grave.

They used teargas to disperse protesters and arrested a number of them.

Scores of people have been killed by Bahraini regime forces since a popular uprising erupted against the ruling Al Khalifa family in February 2011.

The protesters hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.

Anti-regime protests continue in Bahrain despite a heavy-handed crackdown backed by Saudi Arabia. …source

Nabeel Rajab: Why Did the U.S. State Department Drag Its Feet?
By Sanjeev Bery – 21 August, 2012 – Amnesty International

On August 16th, Bahraini political activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in jail for his peaceful role in protests critical of Bahrain’s monarchy. He had already been in prison since July 9th, when he was convicted of libel after sending a tweet that criticized Bahrain’s Prime Minister.

But despite all of this, the US State Department did not publicly call on its military ally to release Nabeel Rajab until after his three year sentence had already been handed down.

Why did the US State Department wait so long to come to Nabeel Rajab’s defense?

There were plenty of missed opportunities along the way. One such moment was on August 1st, when Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner testified (see pg 16) at a congressional hearing focused on Bahrain. In his written testimony (pg 4), Assistant Secretary Posner called on the Government of Bahrain to “drop charges against all persons accused of offenses involving political expression and freedom of assembly.”

But in response to a question from Congressman Jim McGovern regarding Nabeel Rajab, Assistant Secretary Posner was more opaque. He stated that Rajab’s case was “a bit more complicated on its facts,” that “there needs to be a due process of law,” and that “the case needs to be heard expeditiously.”

The US State Department should have been unequivocal. Assistant Secretary Posner should have stated that Rajab should not be facing charges for protesting the government or sitting in prison for sending a a tweet.

Indeed, Nabeel Rajab is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. As stated in our latest Urgent Action:

Despite the [Bahraini] authorities’ claims to the contrary, abuses continue to be committed against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family’s rule. The government is refusing to release scores of prisoners who are incarcerated because they called for meaningful political reforms, and is failing to address the Shi’a majority’s deeply seated sense of discrimination and political marginalization, which has exacerbated sectarian divisions in the country. Nabeel Rajab’s latest conviction and sentence starkly contradict the facade of reform showcased by the Bahraini authorities.

Assistant Secretary Posner’s comments obscured Rajab’s situation in other ways as well. In response to a question by Congressman Keith Ellison, Mr. Posner described Rajab as in “detention” and that “the case has been, as I said, adjourned until September.” This was, of course, factually incorrect. Rajab had already been convicted and imprisoned – not just detained – after tweeting criticism of the Prime Minister.

Fortunately, Members of Congress did not limit themselves in the way that State Department officials have. In the days before Rajab’s three year prison sentence was given, 19 Members of Congress publicly called on the King of Bahrain to release Rajab. The effort was led by the above mentioned Rep. Keith Ellison, with the support of Rep. Jim McGovern and others. …more

State Department calls on Bahrain to release jailed human rights activist
By Josh Rogin – 16 August, 2012 – Foreign Policy

The State Department Thursday called on the Bahraini government to vacate charges against Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, who was sentenced to three years in prison for protesting against the Bahraini regime.

“We’ve long made clear that it’s critical for all governments, including Bahrain, to respect freedom of expression, freedom of assembly. So we are deeply troubled by the sentencing today of Nabeel Rajab to three years in prison on charges of illegally gathering,” State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday. “We believe that all people have a fundamental freedom to participate in civil acts of peaceful disobedience, and we call on the government of Bahrain to take steps to build confidence across Bahraini society and to begin a really meaningful dialogue with the political opposition and civil society because actions like this sentencing today only serve to further divide Bahraini society.”

Initially Nuland told reporters at Thursday’s briefing that the U.S. would not “get into the middle” of the case now that Rajab has already been sentenced. But after being repeatedly pressed by reporters, she said that the U.S. administration wants the Bahrainis to scuttle the case against Rajab for this charge as well as a separate charge over a tweet he sent out criticizing the government.

“Well, obviously we think that this should be vacated,” Nuland said.

Rajab is already serving a three-month sentence on charges of “libeling the citizens of the town of Muharraq over twitter” after he called for the Bahraini prime minister to resign and said he had lost support in that town.

Nuland also said the Bahrain regime has not completed the reforms it promised to implement after the report of the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) was released last year.

“Our message to the Kingdom of Bahrain throughout this has been to first complete the recommended reform steps that the Bahraini independent commission recommended. As you know, they got about halfway through and some of the rest of that implementation has not gone forward,” she said.

Despite the State Department’s condemnation of the sentence Thursday, leading Bahraini and American human rights activists don’t think the Obama administration is doing enough to pressure the Bahraini regime on the issue and criticized the administration’s previous silence on the issue.

“When Nabeel Rajab was arrested and imprisoned in May 2012, there was no response from the US administration. As the attacks against Nabeel Rajab escalated, the silent reaction from the US administration continued,” BCHR said in a statement today. “The BCHR and GCHR do not imply that the United States of America is directly involved in the escalating attacks on human rights defenders, but the lack of pressure from the U.S. administration appears to be linked with the Bahraini government’s willingness to escalate.”

“It’s long past time for the State Department and White House to speak out publicly on Rajab’s unjust imprisonment,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Nice words like reform and dialogue are not enough when this kind of repression continues in plain view.”

On Aug. 10, 17 members of Congress and 2 senators wrote a letter to the King of Bahrain asking him to release Najab and other political prisoners.

“We respectfully request that you use your authority to order Mr. Rajab’s release under the universal principle that all citizens should have the right to peacefully express disagreement with their government,” the lawmakers wrote.

In an interview last December with The Cable, Rajab said the U.S. government was failing to defend its values and promote the Arab Spring in Bahrain and other countries that the U.S. maintains close diplomatic and military relationships with. …more

Anyone with a little Shotgun experience can tell from the pictures below that young Hussam was shot a close range – about 35 feet away. He was shot in the back – was in retreat turning away from his attacker. The shot-size was probably #4 but could have been #2 – clearly they were not #5-7 riot rubber pellets. Rubber pellets even at this close range would have only welted the skin with minor penetration if any. THIS IS CHILD MURDER and it is being Sanctioned by the US STATE DEPARTMENT. The Bahrain Government at the behest of the US State Department hired the infamous ‘Riot Control’ and ‘Security Expert’ Chief John Timoney and Scotland Yards disgraced ‘phone spy’ and cover-up expert John Yates. The regime policy, under the guidance of US Chief John Timoney, appears to be: “shotgun” and maim the youth involved in ‘street protests’ and intercept them at Hospital. They are using lethal rounds not ‘riot control’ munitions in their assaults to maim and kill – THIS IS MURDER NOT RIOT CONTROL. Phlipn – out.

Terror act led to boy’s death
21 August, 2012 – Gulf Daily News

MANAMA: Police were forced to defend themselves when petrol bombs rained down on them during an attack in Muharraq, it was revealed yesterday. During the melee, a 16-year-old boy died from stray bird shot.

Bahraini Hussam Al Haddad was allegedly among a group of rioters, who targeted police patrols stationed on Khalifa Al Khabeer Road, Muharraq, at 9.30pm on Friday.

“Police received information of rioting in Muharraq on Friday and patrols were sent to deal with them. They attacked passers-by and pelted police vehicles with Molotov cocktails,” said Special Investigations Unit head Nawaf Abdulla Hamza. “Officers had to deal with them to restore order, which resulted in the youth’s death after being shot by a pellet gun,” he said in a statement. …source

Bahraini regime denies rights of children: Al Wefaq
Shia Post – 21 August, 2012

Bahrain’s main opposition party has lashed out at the Al Khalifa regime for keeping children in prison following the wave of anti-government protests across the Persian Gulf state.

The Al Wefaq opposition party says over 90 children are languishing behind bars in the Al Khalifa prisons.

Bahrain’s main opposition bloc also accuses the regime of bringing false charges against the minors, treating them like adult inmates, abusing their rights and even torturing them while in detention.

The comments come after Al Wefaq announced three days of mourning following the death of a teenager at the hands of regime forces.

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces beat to death Husam al-Haddad, the latest victim of police brutality, when they carried out an attack on a peaceful demonstration in the city of Muharraq, northwest of Manama, on August 17.

Several anti-regime protests have been held across the country to condemn the killing of Haddad.

Bahraini protesters have been holding demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa family since February 2011 and they hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of the demonstrators throughout the uprising.

Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet and is among the Persian Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates that receive military equipment from the United States. …more

Bahrain Shuts the Door on Reform
By Catherine Cheney – 21 August, 2012 – Trend Lines

Nabeel Rajab, a prominent opposition activist who founded the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was sentenced to three years in jail last week for his participation in protests.

The protests, led mostly by members of the Shiite Muslim majority who are calling for democracy, began last year and continued even as the government imposed martial law and responded with what many call excessive use of force.

Explaining that he was disappointed but not surprised to read the news, Toby C. Jones, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University, told Trend Lines the verdict represents the end of any pretense of reforms in this small island kingdom in the Persian Gulf.

“Nabeel Rajab embodies a threat to the regime because he is this powerful voice, this populous figure, who is not sectarian and who uses the language of human rights,” he said. Jones explained that over the past 18 months, Rajab has been particularly resilient despite being beaten and shot at. “It was only a matter of time, given his visibility and his defiance.”

Jane Kinninmont, senior research fellow for Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, emphasized that this is not an isolated case, with hundreds of lower-profile figures in prison because of their involvement in protests.

“But for months it had appeared Rajab was relatively protected because of his high international profile with human rights organizations,” she said, adding that his imprisonment sends “a signal that the government is taking a harder line on protests.”

Looking at the opposition more broadly, Kinninmont described internal disagreement over the extent of change they seek, with the largest political group, Al Wefaq, “pragmatically calling for a constitutional monarch” and the “more revolutionary Feb. 14 youth movement” seeking a republic.

Asked what change there has been since the initial demonstrations in February and March of last year, Jones said few of the opposition’s demands have been met.

He mentioned the Bassiouni Commission, which was tasked with investigating the unrest, as a window of opportunity for reforms, but said little action was taken after the commission issued its report late last year.

“A number of important human rights reforms have been announced, but implementation remains a problem and the impact isn’t being felt on the street,” Kinninmont said. “There has been progress in some areas . . . but there has been very little done to address the accountability issue.”

One problem, she said, is that many senior officials “still seem to deny the report’s findings.”

Jones said “reform” is a word the Bahraini government, led by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, uses to accommodate and appease its Western supporters who “continue to claim Bahrain is on the path to reform.” …more

European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights
19 August, 2012

Urgent appeal: to the United Nations and the Red Cross: The leader of the human rights movement Nabeel Rajab is put in solitary confinement facing humanitarian persecution, and his imprisonment is a setback in the history of human rights defenders.

(Bern – Switzerland 21.08.2012): We the European- Bahraini Organziation for Human Right appeal to the United Nations and the International Red Cross for urgent intervention and immediate action to demand the release of human rights defender and the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, who was arrested solely for exercising the right to freedom of opinion and peaceful expression, whether online or through demonstrations calling for democracy and justice in Bahrain. We also urge the United Nations Council for Human Rights, the European Parliament, and all concerned governments, to exert their influence on the Bahraini authorities to stop human rights violations and get Mr. Rajab out of solitary confinement.

The moment of Mr. Nabeel Rajab’s arrest from home

Human rights defender Mr. Nabeel Rajab was subjected to violations of his civil and humanitarian rights as a citizen and defender of human rights starting with a media campaign to tarnish his work and discredit him the official media in Bahrain, as well as harassing, arresting, and beating members of the center he heads. He was violently arrested from his home during the period of Emergency Law “national safety” in March 2011, and was tortured for hours at an unknown location, threatened and then released. That was followed by directly targeting him physically in marches for democracy through beatings, arbitrary arrests, and morally through defamation and falsification of the facts, and later unfair trials sentencing him to three years in prison on the date of 08.16.2012 to suffer from abuse and persecution in prison, shocking the international community and human rights organizations. International organizations repeatedly called on the Bahraini authorities to release him with no response to these claims, which have become of no matter and importance to the Bahraini government. Nabeel Rajab’s family wrote an open letter to the U.S. and British governments and all governments that have influence in Bahrain and the United Nations and all human rights organizations, regional and international.

Mr.Nabeel Rajab with his wife Mrs.Sumayah Rajab

Mrs. Sumayah Rajab, the wife of Mr. Nabeel Rajab told the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights about her husband’s circumstances in prison saying: My husband Nabeel Rajab called and was cautious in his words, he could not talk about his situation in prison, and when I asked him: Are you in solitary confinement he said: yes. She added that Nabeel Rajab said he was just taken out of solitary confinement and newspapers were prevented from him, then the call with Nabeel suddenly dropped and lasted less than two minutes. …more

Bahrainis hold anti-regime rallies in Sitra, Nuwaidrat
21 August, 2012 – PressTV

Bahraini anti-regime protesters have taken to the streets in the island of Sitra and the Nuwaidrat village in the country’s northwest, despite heavy-handed crackdown by Saudi-backed forces.

The recent protests were held days after 16-year-old teenager Husam al-Haddad was beaten to death by Bahraini Interior Ministry personnel in the city of Muharraq, northwest of Manama, on August 17.

Several anti-regime protests were held across the country to condemn the killing.

Bahraini protesters have been holding demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa family since February 2011 and they hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.

Scores of people have been killed and many others injured in the Saudi-backed crackdown on the peaceful protests.

Bahrain hosts the US Navy Fifth Fleet and is among the Persian Gulf countries, such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, that receive military equipment from the United States.

On May 11, the US State Department said Washington will resume sales of military equipment to Bahrain.

…source

Bahrain: ICRC begins visits to detainees
2 February, 2012 – Interview

In connection with the violence that erupted in Bahrain a year ago, resulting in numerous arrests, the ICRC has started visiting detainees in the country. Gerard Peytrignet, head of the ICRC regional delegation in Kuwait, explains.
What is the aim of the ICRC’s visits to detainees in Bahrain?

The main objective of our visits to detainees – whether in Bahrain or elsewhere in the world – is to monitor their conditions of detention and their treatment and bring about improvements where necessary. It is important to recall that people arrested and detained must at all times be treated humanely and held in decent conditions. We check whether they have access to basic necessities such as food, sanitation, health care, contact with family members, etc.

Another important focus of our visits is to monitor the treatment the detainees receive, from the moment of arrest and throughout the entire period of their detention – including during the interrogation period and pre-trial detention.

Detainees who have not been able to contact their families will be given the opportunity to send messages to them. This is of course done in full transparency: the detaining authorities check the messages, which are allowed to contain nothing but family news.
Why have the visits begun only now, almost one year after the civil unrest erupted?

We have been engaged in dialogue with the authorities in Bahrain for several months. The dialogue resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the interior ministry in December 2011. On this basis, we started to visit detainees in the second half of January. The ICRC had already visited places of detention in Bahrain between 1996 and 2001.

Which are the detention places the ICRC has access to? And which detainees do you have access to?

We are currently visiting Jaw prison in Manama, the main detention facility in the country. The visits are being carried out by a team of five ICRC delegates, including one physician. Under the agreement with the Bahraini authorities, we have access to all detainees held in connection with the current unrest.
Will detainees trust the ICRC? Will they speak freely to its delegates?

Visiting detainees, anywhere in the world, is a challenge. Our overall aim is to ensure that detainees are treated humanely and held in satisfactory conditions. There are standard conditions for carrying out visits to detainees. In order to get an independent and accurate picture, we need to be able to tour the premises, to repeat visits as often as necessary, to have dialogue with the detaining authorities, and to talk freely with the detainees of our choice, in private.

Private talks with detainees are central to assessing detention conditions and treatment. But they are also a way of bringing some humanity to places where people are cut off from their families and friends. The personal relationship you have with prisoners is paramount because what you bring as a human being can sometimes already bring some kind of relief. Visits are repeated frequently, in order to enable us to monitor individual cases effectively. This also helps build trust with the detainees we visit.
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16 yo – Abdulrahman al-Awlaki – U.S. Citizen

American 16-year-old boy — latest victim in Obama’s global drone war
by News Sources, 19 October, 2011 – WarInContext

The Washington Post reports: In the days before a CIA drone strike killed al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki last month, his 16-year-old son ran away from the family home in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa to try to find him, relatives say. When he, too, was killed in a U.S. airstrike Friday, the Awlaki family decided to speak out for the first time since the attacks.

“To kill a teenager is just unbelievable, really, and they claim that he is an al-Qaeda militant. It’s nonsense,” said Nasser al-Awlaki, a former Yemeni agriculture minister who was Anwar al-Awlaki’s father and the boy’s grandfather, speaking in a phone interview from Sanaa on Monday. “They want to justify his killing, that’s all.”

The teenager, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was born in Denver in 1995, and his 17-year-old Yemeni cousin were killed in a U.S. military strike that left nine people dead in southeastern Yemen.

The young Awlaki was the third American killed in Yemen in as many weeks. Samir Khan, an al-Qaeda propagandist from North Carolina, died alongside Anwar al-Awlaki.

Yemeni officials said the dead from the strike included Ibrahim al-Banna, the Egyptian media chief for al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate, and also a brother of Fahd al-Quso, a senior al-Qaeda operative who was indicted in New York in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden.

The strike occurred near the town of Azzan, an Islamist stronghold. The Defense Ministry in Yemen described Banna as one of the “most dangerous operatives” in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, often referred to by the acronym AQAP.

U.S. officials said they were still assessing the results of the strike Monday evening to determine who was killed. The officials would not discuss the attack in any detail, including who the target was, but typically the CIA and the Pentagon focus on senior figures in al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen.

“We have seen press reports that AQAP senior official Ibrahim al-Banna was killed last Friday in Yemen and that several others, including the son of Anwar al-Awlaki, were with al-Banna at the time,” said Thomas F. Vietor, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “For over the past year, the Department of State has publicly urged U.S. citizens not to travel to Yemen and has encouraged those already in Yemen to leave because of the continuing threat of violence and the presence of terrorist organizations, including AQAP, throughout the country.”
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U.S.PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANTS KEEP IT HIDDEN-QUIET FOR U.S. PUBLIC AND MAKE IT PALATABLE FOR U.S. CONGRESS