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

Tear Gas or Lethal Gas?
7 March, 2013 – by irmedeaca – Dogma Geopolitics

Bahraini anti-government protesters run for cover from tear gas during clashes with riot police near the headquarters of the main Shiite opposition group, Al-Wefaq, in Zinj Village, west of Manama, on December 23, 2011. (AFP/Getty Images)

Based on interviews with local physicians and analysis of news reports, the Government of Bahrain’s oppressive use of tear gas in recent months has reportedly killed both young and old civilians in their homes and in the streets of Manama, the Gulf Kingdom’s capital.

PHR has compiled a list of 34 reported tear-gas-related deaths in Bahrain since the uprising began a year ago. Based on media and other accounts, most civilians who allegedly died from tear gas reportedly have suffered complications from gas inhalation; at least three civilians reportedly died after security forces fired metal tear gas canisters (nearly the size and half the weight of a can of Coke) from grenade launchers into crowds.

Government forces not only assault unarmed street protesters with tear gas during the day, they also attack innocent women, children, and the elderly with tear gas in their homes at night.

Fourteen-year-old Yaseen Jassim Al Asfoor reportedly died from tear gas inhalation after security forces threw three tear gas canisters into his home.

In another recent incident, an elderly woman named Sakeena Marhoon apparently died from repeated exposure to tear gas in her home.

The Government’s use of tear gas is so widespread and excessive that many families are now forced to stuff towels in doors and cracks in windows to protect them from the toxic clouds of gas outside.

Victims of these indefensible deaths and their families are not receiving the justice they deserve. Not only has the government failed to investigate or prosecute any law enforcement officials for employing such excessive force, but authorities also reportedly prohibit doctors from listing tear gas as a cause of death. Instead, coerced doctors have reportedly cited natural or unknown causes of death for some tear-gas related casualties.

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The Memorial of Revolution in Bahrain .. is a Succinctness of Execution in the Roads
Bahrain Network for Human Rights

The organizations and members societies in Bahrain net for human rights watched closely the situation of human rights and the fallout of the protests on 14 th of February which is the memorial of the peaceful protests that out broke to demand democracy in 2011.

The net has called in its constitutive conference the government and its security forces to change its policy and methodology in dealing with these protests.It should also respect the pact and international agreements that they indorsed. But today they are sorry that the security forces didn’t respond to their claims.

In the morning of 14th February which is the memorial of peaceful protest that out broke ,a sixteen years old boy was shot with three police lead fission shotgun that is internationally forbidden and its from not more than three meters distance .Before few hours he was killed ,the young lady Amina Mahdi 35 years old was died effected by the inhalation complication of the tear gas which was the police and the security devices targeting the houses of people.Its also a pursuit the security forces do before Bahrain Independence Commission Inquiry during the emergency state.More than thirty citizens n different ages were victims of it.

Its also worthy to mention that its between 14 till 16 of February only ,three days,the net received 237 injuries varies between suffocation or attacking by the police .Also there were 29 people detained from the protesters or from the arbitrary detention for people who are passing.Or even through the attack on houses after the ministry of interior had declared several of claimed security incidents .As a result of this the police had attacked more than nine houses in less than 48 hours.

INJURED IN SECURTY INCIDENTS ARE AFRAID TO GO TO HOSPITALS.

On Friday 22nd of February another one had been killed .Mahmoud AL Jazeeri 20 years old boy was killed from targeting him through a tear gas on his head.They shot him directly and from a near distance .The video clarified the incident and there were also some eye witness.Mahmoud AL Jazeeri was shot on 14th of February .He wasn’t treated the proper treatment until next day because there were fears to take him to hospital which is controlled by the police security devices and spies since March 2011.They controlled it when they attacked the protests which was against Geneva agreement.
Also four citizens lost their eyes either partially or completely due to police targeting them by lead fission shotgun and due to delay treatment in order not to be detained from the hospital.

Between 13th till 22nd of February of the same month ,the police oppressed violently many protests .Among these protests ,the funeral of the young who was killed ,Hassan Al Jazeeri ,and Amina Mahdi.They used excessive force that doesn’t suit the number of protesters or the ways they protests .Hundreds of protesters or even who were inside their homes were exposed to excessive tear gas .Groups of interior ministry employees damaged numbers of cars which were either passing or parked. …more

Bahrain releases body of slain protester, funeral held
5 March, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Several hundred people called for the king of Bahrain to be held responsible for the killing of protesters during a funeral Tuesday for Mahmoud al-Jaziri, a 20-year-old man shot in the head with a tear gas canister, witnesses said.

“Mourners are chanting ‘Down with King Hamad [al-Khalifa]’ and ‘hold him responsible for all the protesters killed and all the crimes committed,” Yousif al-Muhafda, deputy head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, wrote on Twitter.

The procession took place on the tiny island of Nabi Saleh.

The interior ministry released Jaziri’s body Tuesday after holding him for 12 days despite his family’s pleas to bury him.

Graphic photos taken at a morgue earlier Tuesday showed marks of the skull fracture that led to Jaziri’s death.

Riot police shot the projectile directly at his head at close range during a protest on 14 February 2013 marking the two year anniversary of Bahrain’s uprising. He succumbed to his wounds one week later, on February 21.

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Washington, London tyrants unmasked in Bahrain
3 March, 2013 – Finian Cunningham – PressTV

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff

The Bahraini regime has managed to survive against the democratic odds because of unwavering support from Washington and London. Trade, commerce, diplomacy and the supply of weapons have continued unabated despite the abundant record of repression and violations. The American and British governments have backed the Khalifa murderers and torturers to the hilt, indulging in a cynical charade purporting that the regime is engaging in “reform and dialogue” with the popular opposition.”

The Bahraini regime last week issued a new law that shows just how wobbly-scared it is of its own people. Anyone found in possession of a false face mask is liable to be jailed.

The mask in question is the stylized face of Guy Fawkes – the 17th Century English revolutionary who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in the failed gunpowder plot. The 2005 film ‘V for Vendetta’ used the Guy Fawkes’ image in a modern-day fictional setting of revolution in Britain. And in recent years, the mask has become a global symbol of popular protest, donned by members of the Occupy Movement in the US and during countless similar demonstrations across Europe against capitalism and militarism.

Those who wear the plastic bearded face hardly look sinister. If anything, it makes people appear corny and smug, not dangerous revolutionaries. But this Guy Fawkes disguise has the Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain quaking in their boots, and hence it has moved to banish the offending article from the island.

The irony is that it is the regime and its Western government backers who are wearing a mask, and the ongoing brutal repression in Bahrain serves to expose their collective ugly face.

This zero tolerance by the Al Khalifa so-called king towards a comical mask is itself comical. Fittingly, given the history of Guy Fawkes, it betrays a Medieval mindset of a retarded and reactionary regime. The “royal decree” shows just how rattled and nervous the monarchial rulers of Bahrain are towards the slightest display of popular dissent. It is the response of a megalomaniac who cannot bear to have his vain tyranny disobeyed or mocked.

And the people of Bahrain have every right to show the Al Khalifa regime their utmost contempt and derision. This family of murderers and brigands has lorded over the indigenous population ever since it was imposed on the island by the British Empire some 230 years ago. The imposter Khalifas were originally a Bedouin tribe of bandits that came out of central Arabia, whose cut-throat barbarity was recognized by the British government as an expeditious way of controlling Bahrain and the strategic Persian Gulf trading route. The self-styled acquisition of royal titles and finery over the ensuing decades does not alter the fact that this regime still is a band of low-life bandits, thieves and killers.

Like a parasite and a host, the Khalifa thugs have sucked the lifeblood of the Bahraini people ever since. The majority of the island is Shia while the unelected Khalifa regime is professedly Sunni Muslim and closely aligned with the extremist Wahabbi House of Saud, which has a pathological hatred towards Shism. Before the discovery of oil in the 1930s, the Khalifa potentates financed their indolent existence by extorting the Bahrain fishermen, pearl divers and date farmers. They murdered and raped with impunity the subject, captive people of Bahrain. The British colonial office administered the occasional rebuke to their Khalifa henchmen, but in general colluded in the barbarity by turning a blind eye. Nothing much has changed to this day, as we shall see.

After the discovery of oil, the fate of the Bahraini people became even more blighted. They have endured poverty, unemployment, ill health, pollution and squalid housing while the Khalifa bandits and their entourage have made themselves some of the wealthiest individuals in the world. The oil wealth of Bahrain was siphoned off to enrich one family while the nation of Bahrain became ground down and made to feel strangers in their own homeland. This is literally true. The Khalifas have feared the majority Shia people so much that the regime deliberately imported droves of foreign workers from the Indian subcontinent and the Far East in order to marginalize and exclude the native people from social development. More than half of Bahrain’s total resident population of 1.2 million is made up of expatriate workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

The process of importing Asian workers and naturalizing Sunni Arabs from neighbouring countries is a concerted policy of gerrymandering the population in order to dilute the natural democratic strength of the indigenous people. This huge project in social engineering – one could call it low-intensity genocide – accelerated after Britain gave formal independence to Bahrain in 1971. It was financed by the oil wealth of Bahrain, which adds to the bitterness of the oppression against the indigenous population. Their unjust estrangement and marginalisation by the imposter Khalifa has been financed by the natural resources of their own country that have been so extorted by the invader regime.

This is the background for why the people of Bahrain rose up so defiantly against the parasite regime in February 2011 – an uprising that continues to this day despite systematic violence and repression.

The unwieldy corrupt Bahraini regime would not survive one day more against the popular will for democratic freedom only for the fact of crucial external support. Firstly, Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni monarchs of the Persian Gulf have propped up the teetering Al Khalifa despots by sending their military police to back up the Bahraini mercenary security forces and by injecting millions of dollars in aid over the past two years to keep the Bahraini economy afloat.

Secondly, and more importantly, the Bahraini regime has managed to survive against the democratic odds because of unwavering support from Washington and London. Trade, commerce, diplomacy and the supply of weapons have continued unabated despite the abundant record of repression and violations. The American and British governments have backed the Khalifa murderers and torturers to the hilt, indulging in a cynical charade purporting that the regime is engaging in “reform and dialogue” with the popular opposition.

“The [British] government insists that Bahrain’s judicial system is fair and transparent,” wrote the BBC’s correspondent in the Persian Gulf, Bill Law, last week.

This was in the same week that Bahraini judge Mohammed bin Ali Al Khalifa – a member of the ruling elite no less – sentenced seven youths to 10 years in prison for allegedly attempting to murder police officers. As with hundreds of other Bahrainis languishing in the island’s jails, the defendants were convicted by a Khalifa judge solely on confessions extracted under torture. Meanwhile, in another case, two police officers were acquitted last week over the killing of a protester, despite glaring evidence of guilt.

The British government’s sanguine view was in the same week that the Bahraini rulers refused to hand over the body of a protester to his family for burial – more than a week after his death. Mahmood Al Jaziri (20) was shot in the head at point-blank range by police last month on 14 February during protests to mark the second anniversary of the uprising. The regime’s torturous wrangling over the body is its depraved way of keeping secret the horrific head injuries of the victim.

But these violations, injustices and appalling sufferings in Bahrain provide a searing moment of truth and revelation. Western mainstream media is a fog machine that can often cloud popular perception and understanding of how Western governments operate in the world, for example with regard to claims of supporting democracy and international obligations in Syria, Mali, Iran and elsewhere. However, thanks to the Bahraini people’s struggle for freedom, it is like a crucible where truth is separated from the morass of Western government lies and disinformation.

While the Al Khalifa regime is trying to ban the wearing of a Guy Fawkes mask, it is they who are wearing the most grotesque mask. And it is not just the Khalifa thugs who are seen to be wearing this false face. In their cringing support for these despicable despots, the masks worn by Washington and London are blown away. Their plastic, false faces are ripped clear from their heads and people around the world are able to see the true nature of the American and British governments. Their claims of championing human rights, democracy and international law around the world are exposed beyond doubt as twisted, vile distortions. Thanks to Bahrain, these so-called Western “governments” are proven to be regimes run by and for liars, hypocrites, criminals and tyrants who have nothing but contempt for democratic freedom. And as people are increasingly realizing under the diktat of capitalist austerity, this contempt for democracy applies equally to the citizens of the US, Britain and Europe as in other parts of the world.
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UK: Bahrain our ally; despite crackdown
22 February, 2013 – PressTV

British Foreign Minister for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia Alistair Burt reiterated Britain’s support for the Bahraini regime and its “reforms” during a phone conversation with Bahrain Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Wednesday.

Burt later said on his Twitter account that he “spoke to Bahraini FM @khalidalkhalifa earlier to affirm UK support for National Consensus Dialogue in #Bahrain”.

To Burt’s post, Shaikh Khalid replied: “Thanks for your continued support .. The UK is a true and solid friend”.

The Bahraini regime, backed by Saudi Arabian forces and western governments, has killed scores of people and injure many more since the beginning of the Bahraini revolution in February 2011 against Al-Khalifa.

Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry did confirm in its report in November 2011 that the regime had used excessive force against peaceful protests and blasted Manama for torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

This comes as Physicians for Human Rights has also slammed the Bahraini regime saying doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they had “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protests.

The Al-Khalifa regime began the new round of the so-called reform talks, dubbed the National Consensus Dialogue, with the participation of representatives of protesters on Sunday but there is next to no hope of results as protesters want an elected government rather than the hereditary rule of the current dictators.

The last round of talks in 2011 collapsed almost immediately after their launch with one of the main opposition groups, Al Wefaq, saying the government was not willing to discuss political reform.
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Bahrain: Urgent Appeal – Provide Medical Attention to Detained Political Prisoner Kumail Al-Manami
28 February, 2013 – Bahrain Center Human Rights,

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is gravely concerned over the well-being of the political detainee Kumail Al-Manami whose life is at risk and health is deteriorating. Kumail Al-Manami was sentenced to life in prison in 2010 based on confessions taken under torture. At present, he has been on a hunger strike for more than a week in protest of being denied medical care. Kumail has become infected with a virus which has recently affected many others in Jaw prison; the illness has struck him particularly hard, which puts his life at even a greater risk.

In March 2009, Kumail Al-Manami and six other men from Ma’ameer village were violently arrested following the death of a Pakistani national, whose car was burned during a confrontation with security forces. In March 2010, they were sentenced to life in prison, despite the fact that confessions were extracted under torture, lawyers presented medical reports and photo evidence of the torture and requested an independent team to examine the defendant. This request was denied by the judge. The group was tried and sentenced under the terrorism law, a law that is internationally condemned. …more

Al-Wefaq: Acquittal of killers is an execution of policy of impunity
26 February, 2013 – Al-Wefaq

The High Criminal Court in Bahrain has acquitted two policemen on Tuesday, accused of killing the martyr Fadhil Matrook, aged 32. Matrook was killed on 15th February 2011, during the funeral of the revolution’s first martyr, Ali Mushaima, when the regime forces opened fire directly on the peaceful citizens injuring a number of them and killing one. The killer had a clear intention to kill considering the close range of the firing at the victim, al-Wefaq said.

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society stated that the court’s series of acquittals of murderers of innocent citizens reveals the reality of the regime which has long tried to hide its crimes behind cosmetic and sham committees. The Bahraini court’s acquittal of troops who have committed murder gives OK to commit more crimes against citizens and entrenches the regime’s policy of impunity, al-Wefaq added.

This acquittal comes days after the acquittal of troops involved in the murder of two other martyrs; this reflects the judicial authority’s indulgence with criminals and killers. Al-Wefaq further stated; since these crimes were confirmed by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and international human rights NGOs, these acquittals reveal the regime’s problematic situation, however, cannot be a runaway from its responsibility of these crimes committed by its forces.

The acquittals reflect that the crimes and murders committed by the regime come in a systematic framework, considering the increase in the number of martyrs and victims as a result of the regime’s ongoing escalation in violence, and considering the Public Prosecution’s and courts’ decisions to acquit killers and protect them with impunity.

Al-Wefaq stressed that the acquittals only condemn the regime since its troops are accused of the killing and it is responsible for their acts especially that the killing came within its systematic policy, and they raise questions on the judiciary’s seriousness in holding criminals to account.

Bahrain jails 7 protesters as rights group claim ‘torture’ of activists
28 February, 2013 – BBC

Seven Shia Muslim men, three of whom are minors, have received 10-year jail sentences in Bahrain after being found guilty of attempting to murder police during protests last year. A day earlier, two policemen were acquitted of murdering a protester.

The trial took place on Wednesday. Attorney General Mhanna al-Shayji said in an official statement that the group were accused of “intentionally attempting to kill policemen in the (Shiite) town of Sitra… using petrol bombs.” Seven of the men received jail terms, and 13 others were acquitted.

The men were arrested in the wake of mass protests that took place in February 2012. Human rights groups voiced criticism of the arrests at that time, claiming the detainment was illegitimate, no arrest warrants had been presented, and the confessions of the accused were extracted under torture.

Following the Wednesday ruling, the main Shia opposition bloc Al-Wefaq alleged that all 20 men, including the five minors, were “tortured” during their interrogation and spoke “under duress.”

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights also noted that the judge presiding in the case, Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Khalifa, is a member of the ruling family.

In February 2012, violent clashes broke out in Bahrain at the funeral of a teenager killed during protests marking the one-year anniversary of a revolt by the Shia majority against the ruling Sunni monarchy. Police blocked and dispersed the procession with stun grenades and tear gas.

Protester Fadhel Al-Matrook died of wounds from the police fire. However, the police officers were acquitted on Tuesday – a judge ruled they had no intent to kill, and were performing their duty during protests. Jalila al Sayed, a Bahraini human rights lawyer, described the verdict as “a very sad day for justice in Bahrain,” BBC reported. …more

Bahrain authorities ‘weaponising’ tear gas
27 Febraury, 2013 – BBC

A US-based human rights group has accused the authorities in Bahrain of indiscriminately using tear gas as a weapon against protesters.

Physicians for Human Rights said it was resulting in the maiming, blinding and even killing of civilians.

The Bahraini government rejected the criticism, saying its security forces conformed to international standards.

Activists say at least 30 people have died as a result of tear gas use in Bahrain since protests began last year.

Tear gas is a generic term for a group of at least 15 toxic chemical agents that disable people by exposing their lungs, skin and eyes to irritants. CS gas is the most commonly used by for crowd control.
‘Unprecedented’

The report published by PHR on Wednesday, entitled Weaponising Tear Gas, was based on interviews with more than 100 Bahrainis and evidence gathered by PHR’s investigators in April.

Its authors said the extensive and persistent use of tear gas against civilians by Bahrain’s security forces during the past 18 months was unprecedented in the 100-year history of its use throughout the world.

“Law enforcement officials have deployed this toxic agent to punish protesters, inflict suffering, and suppress dissent. Usually perceived by the public and security forces as a benign tool for crowd control, tear gas, especially when used in large quantities and in enclosed spaces, poses serious health risks and even causes death,” they wrote.
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Suggestions that the use of tear gas in Bahrain is severely injurious or even lethal is simply not backed up by any research or proof”

Bahrain Information Affairs Authority

“Since February 2011, the Bahraini government has unleashed a torrent of these toxic chemical agents against men, women, and children, including the elderly and infirm.”

The report said Bahrain’s majority Shia community, which has led the protests demanding reforms by the Sunni royal family, had suffered abnormally prolonged exposure.

This had led to significant increases in miscarriages and respiratory problems in areas where tear gas was used frequently, it added.

The report described instances in which non-protesters had tear gas fired into their cars or homes. In at least two cases, people died from complications related to exposure to tear gas because they were trapped in enclosed spaces, it said.

Civilians had also suffered serious wounds when their heads and limbs were hit by metal canisters fired at close range, the authors found. …more

The Many Afterlives of Lulu
The Story of Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout
Amal Khalaf – 28 February, 2013 – IBRAAZ

The pearl teeters; it rolls lazily to one side as the monument’s six concrete legs start to fall apart. [JUMP CUT – IMAGE MISSING] Between broken bones, the pieces of the pearl’s cracked skull lie in sand and rubble.

Squaring the circle is a problem handed down from the Ancient Greeks. It involves taking the curved line of a circle and attempting to draw a perfect square from it; a task that for centuries mathematicians were convinced they could figure out. In the nineteenth century, when the problem was proved unsolvable, the phrase to ‘square the circle’ came to signify an attempt at the impossible. But in 2011, within days of the most sustained and widely broadcasted protests in Bahrain’s recent history, a circle was named a square. The once unassuming Pearl Roundabout or Dowar al Lulu, famous in the international media as the site of the Gulf’s answer to the ‘Arab Spring’, became Bahrain’s ‘Pearl Square’ or Midan al Lulu.

A month of mass protests later and the roundabout was razed to the ground. In its death, the Pearl Roundabout took on a life of its own, becoming the symbol of a protest movement; the star of tribute videos and video games, the logo for Internet TV channels and the subject of contested claims, rebuttals and comments wars. These manifestations of the roundabout – multifaceted, changing and often contradictory – produce a haunting rhetorical effect, instigating debates fuelled by images of past and on-going violence in Bahrain’s history. In its afterlife, Lulu continues to act stubbornly in resistance to the state, despite the government’s attempts to shape the monument’s memory to serve its own interests, going so far as to tear the monument down and rename the ground on where it once stood. Today, Lulu is a powerful symbol for thousands of people recasting their ideals in the monument’s image: a ‘public space’, or midan – Arabic for civic square; one that no longer exists as a physical ‘thing’, but rather, lives on as an image-memory.

The Birth of Lulu

The Pearl Roundabout was a central roundabout in Bahrain’s capital Manama. At its centre stood a 300-foot tall monument, milky white and built in 1982 to commemorate the 3rd Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, a meeting of Gulf States. The monument’s six white, curved ‘sails’ represented each GCC member state: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A large cement pearl sat atop these sails in homage to the region’s former pearl diving economy, which attracted the likes of Jacques Cartier to Bahrain’s soil. But with the pearling industry in decline and tanker traffic drilling and dredging the region’s sea beds, destroying them in the process; the GCC looked forward to a new era of economic development. The 1982 summit also launched the Gulf Investment Corporation, a $2.1 billion fund, and a military partnership between the GCC states: the creation of the Peninsula Shield Force or Dr’a Al Jazeera. This treaty codified what is now the pillar of the GCC’s military doctrine: that the security of all the members of the council relied on the notion of the GCC operating as an ‘indivisible whole’.

To celebrate the end of the momentous summit, a cavalcade of cars took officials to the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the construction of the 25 km causeway linking Bahrain to the mainland Arabian Peninsula. King Fahd bin ‘Abd Al ‘Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain, stepped forward to release the black drapes. Bahrain, at least in theory, was no longer an island. After its construction, Lulu became the chosen pearl in Bahrain’s crown: the star of souvenir shops. It was, for a while at least, a symbol of Bahrain, sanctioned by the government, photographed by tourists and its image presented on neon shop signs.

Drive around Bahrain in January 2013 and there are symbols everywhere. As the 21st Gulf Cup (a biannual football tournament) was held at Bahrain’s newly revamped Shaikh Isa Sports City, the highways and streets are lined with flags and symbols of the Gulf Cooperation Council, marking a summit meeting held in Bahrain in December 2012. Yet, all over the island, behind trees covered in red and white fairy-lights, royal crests, billboards of smiling leaders and flags of GCC countries, we see walls. And on these walls are many images and symbols that counter the state sponsored GCC branding campaigns, especially in villages and smaller side streets in Manama. You will see graffiti scrawled in Arabic and in English, some of which you can read if you happen to pass by before they have been painted over. Through layers of paint, these walls bear the traces of a conversation, an argument. Images and names of political prisoners, cries for help, or calls to fight. The most popular word you see written on the walls is ‘Sumood’ – perseverance – stencilled or scrawled alongside hastily drawn pictures of the former Pearl Roundabout. …more

Bahrain: ANHRI Denounces the Upheld of the Imprisonment Sentence against the Rights’ Activist Zainab Al-Khawaja for Month on the background of Entering Pearl Roundabout
28 February, 2013 – Arabic Network for Human Rights Information

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) denounces the decision issued by the Bahraini court to reject the appeal of the rights’ activist Zainab Al-Khawaja on the judgment issued against her to imprison her for a month on the background of entering a restricted area which is the Pearl roundabout. ANHRI also denounced the statement of the Ministry of Interior on the non-delivery of the body of the martyr Jaziri.

The Bahraini court has issued a decision to reject the appeal of Zainab Al-Khawaja on the Bahraini court on Monday, December 10, 2012, which sentenced her for a month and to ensure 100 dinars to stop the execution of the sentence on the background of charges to participate in unauthorized demonstration on February 12, 2012, and the entry of Pearl Roundabout, which authorities consider it as a restricted area. Despite she and who were walking in the street naturally; they did not do any act, any word or commit any crime punishable by the law. In addition to the lack of an official decision indicates that the area of Pearl roundabout is a restricted area. She languished 8 days of the sentence period and there are 22 days to complete it.

In a related context the court rejected the appeal of Zainb regarding the imprisonment sentence for two months on charges of destroying movables related to the ministry of interior.

ANHRI denounces the statement issued by the ministry of interior of Bahrain regarding the non-delivery of the body of the martyr Jaziri to his family. The spokes man of the interior ministry said that the family of the martyr signed the document of receiving the body but the family refused to have the funeral in the area of “Nabeeh Saleh” as the family wants to have the funeral in “El-Deah” area then to bury him in “Nabeeh Saleh”, which is according to the ministry of interior is violating the Bahraini norms and traditions. …more

Bahrain – Appeal Denied, Impending Arrest of Human Rights Defender Zainab Al-Khawaja
27 February 2013, Bahrain Center for Human Rights

An appeals court dismissed an appeal from Zainab Al-Khawaja today, placing her at risk for immediate arrest.

Al-Khawaja was sentenced to one month of detention. She has already served eight days of this sentence, and could be arrested at any moment to serve the remaining 22 days.

The BCHR maintains that this arrest is a gross violation of her right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Ms. Al-Khawaja has been targeted for her activism in support of human rights and outspoken criticism of the ruling family. There have been more than one dozen cases brought against her in a direct assault on her in an attempt to prevent her from exercising her right to freedom of expression.

(Beirut) – 14 February, 2012

A Bahraini blogger and activist, Zainab Al-Khawaja (@angryarabiya) -28 years old- was arrested on February 12, 2012, while marching peacefully towards the Pearl Roundabout in Manama. It is the second time in which she was arrested by the security forces in Bahrain during the last two months. Reports confirmed that Zainab Al-Khawaja has been questioned by the Public Prosecution Office and charged with “illegal gathering of more than five people”. She will be kept in police custody for7 days pending investigation.

The march to the now demolished Roundabout–symbol of freedom and center of the last year popular protests – was organized by Nabeel Rajab, head of Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), who walked along with his wife and two children, together with another two activists. As they approached the Pearl Roundabout they were shot at by the Riot Police with stunt grenade and tear gas. Al-Khawaja continued her way to the barbed wires surrounding the pearl roundabout where she was arrested.

The arrest and 7 days detention of Al-Khawaja coincides with the intended demonstrations that will mark the first anniversary of the peaceful protests on Feb 14. Al-Khawaja is a prominent blogger on Twitter under the name (@angryarabiya) with over 33,500 followers. She has been actively reporting on the current events in Bahrain, latest news on the protests and arrests, and in the mean time encouraging people to demand their human and civil rights.

Al-Khawaja is already facing a trial on February 27 2012, facing charges of illegal gathering, assaulting a police officer and inciting hatred against the regime, after she was arrested during a protest on December 15, 2011, and detained for 5 days, where she was beaten and ill-treated.

The GCHR and BCHR believe that the arrest of Activist Zainab Al-Khawaja is directly linked to both her work in the defence of human rights and democracy in Bahrain and online activities in reporting the news and events at a time in which the government pursues a policy of media blackout. We see this as part of an ongoing trend of harassment of human rights defenders in Bahrain. GCHR and BCHR are very concerned for the physical and psychological welfare of human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja.

The GCHR and BCHR urge the Bahrain authorities to:

1. Immediately Release Zainab Al-Khawaja and drop all charges against her, as it is believed that these measures have been taken against her solely due to her legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;

2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Bahrain are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights is an independent centre and has been registered in Ireland. The Centre works to strengthen support for human rights defenders and independent journalists in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. …source

Bahraini forces arrest rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja amid protests
27 February, 2013 – PressTV

Bahraini regime forces have arrested prominent human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja as a wave of fresh anti-regime protests erupt across the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The activist was reportedly arrested by the Saudi-backed forces at a demonstration held in capital Manama on Wednesday.

Similar protests were also held in the villages of Diraz and Dar Kulaib, and the town of Sanad.

The protests were staged over the Bahraini regime’s refusal to hand over the body of Mahmoud Issa al-Jaziri, an anti-regime activist killed at a demonstration in mid-February.

Jaziri was hit in the head by a tear gas canister on February 14 after security forces attacked anti-regime demonstrators in Nabi Saleh, south of Manama, as they were marking the second anniversary of the uprising.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged 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 the peaceful protesters.

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

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters. …source

An international campaign against the use of lethal gases and shotguns by the Alkhalifa regime against people has been launched.

No country has abused chemical gases like Bahrain

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – It started after an Irish University established that the gases used by police against Bahraini demonstrators were ten times the acceptable international level of concentration. To mark the second anniversary of the February 14 Bahraini uprising, Prof Damian McCormack, Prof David Grayson and Tara O’Grady call for a ban on CS gas, 2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile.

Also, Avaaz, the online campaign group has launched a petition calling on two companies who had supplied the Alkhalifa with these lethal gases to stop the process.

Experts say that Bahrain is using a poisonous form of tear gas against civilians that Bahrain wouldn’t even be permitted to use in a war against armed soldiers! Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) report that in 100 years of tear gas being used against civilians, no country has ever abused it like Bahrain. Police “routinely violated every UN principle governing police use of force.” There is no excuse for using this brutality which claimed victims from a boy as young as 8 to an elderly man of 88. Activists are taking their campaign to Europe and America in order to achieve the required ban on the use of lethal gases and shotguns. More than 100 people have died as a direct result of the use of those two weapons.

A big controversy is flaring up after a controversial decision to rename a Royal Military Academy (RMA) sports hall. The decision has come under attack from politicians but has been defended by Army officers. Mons Hall, a top quality sports hall at the RMA in Sandhurst and home to the British modern pentathlon team, is said to be named after The Battle of Mons, where thousands of British and German soldiers died in 1914. However, Lieutenant Colonel Roy Parkinson from the RMA said: “Mons Hall was actually named after Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot. Bahrain’s dictator, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa who has been plundering Bahrain’s wealth had given £3 million. “To change the name of something which commemorates a very tragic episode in British military history, simply because they’re getting a sum of money from a rather dubious source, is appalling,” said Labour MP Andy Slaughter.

Meanwhile jailed doctors have called for 17th February to be named “Day to Defend Medical Neutrality”. They issued a statement signed by: Dr Saeed Al Samaheeji, Dr Ali Al Ekri and senior nurse, Ibrahim Al Demstani. The statement said that in proposing this we “remember the violations against the medics when the Revolution was launched on this day in 2011; the banning of the medics from attending the injured that led to cases of death that could have been prevented”. Also 65 prisoners staged a five day hunger strike to mark the second anniversary of the 14th February Revolution.

There is also grave concern for the life of Mahmood Isa, of Nabih Saleh island, who had been shot on 14th February at close range, smashing his skull. He is still in the danger zone. Also Hassan Jassim who was shot on that day, is suffering blood haemorrhage resulting from a direct hit to the head. Many others are suffering away from hospitals which are still under military control.

On Wednesday 21st February, The Independent newspaper published a report about the rifts within the Alkahlifa clique. It said: “In a highly unusual step, members of the Royal Family are now beginning to speak out against their rivals – the first clear admission that the family has indeed become divided. In an anonymous interview with the Wall Street Journal newspaper this week, a “senior royal” hit out at his cousins bemoaning the fact that “surrounding the king are all powerful Khawalids”. It further added: “Khawalid is a term used in Bahrain to describe an ultraconservative faction within the Royal Family who trace their lineage back to Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa, who in the 1920s was the powerful younger brother of the then Emir. He led a brutal crackdown against a Shi’a uprising and was imprisoned by the British. His supporters were known for their intense dislike of the island’s majority Shi’a population and spent much of the late twentieth century outside the corridors of power. But key Khawalid figures have managed to get into senior positions within the Royal Family and in recent years appear to have sidelined figures who are more sympathetic to economic and political reform such as the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamed al-Khalifa. “ …source