23rd October 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Human rights corner: Lets not forget activists in Bahrain
When we speak of and demand human rights we should not by all means act as if some people deserve more rights than others. Humans are equal all over the world and have equal rights. No one deserves more rights than others on any basis. When reading any human rights treaty we nd in the rst articles an emphasis on nondiscrimination on the basis of gender, sex, ethnicity or race, et cetera. For this reason, defending human rights is a universal cause. Unfortunately, in practice this is not the case. The international community tends to turn a blind eye to human rights violations in specic countries and at specic historical moments for political or strategic reasons. Bahrain highlights the use of double standards when defending rights. I write this article in solidarity with my friends and fellow human rights defenders in Bahrain who have been imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and for being at the forefront of defending rights in their country. Read More

US must Pressure Bahrain on Human Rights (Strindberg)

On the last Friday night of September, Bahraini police shot seventeen-year old Ali Neamah in the back with bird shot, in the village of Sadad. He died on site. Alis family insists that he was engaged in peaceful prodemocracy protest the now almost daily demonstrations in the Shia villages surrounding the capital Manama. The Ministry of Interior, meanwhile, claimed that he had been part of a domestic terror attack and that the policemen defended themselves according to legal procedure. During the massive protests that

followed, crowds blamed Alis death on King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifah personally, and on the political system over which he presides. The slogan may God burn your heart, oh Hamad, as you have burned the heart of a martyrs family gave a sense of the frustration and desperation. Indeed, Ali Neamah was only one of over eighty individuals who have been killed as a result of the ongoing repression of Bahrains pro-democracy movement, which began with the assault on peaceful demonstrators at Pearl Roundabout in mid-February 2011. Read More any dealings with Bahrain until it changes itspoliciesand adjusts its attitude. Citizens of countries which pretend towards any form of democratic government should use their right to speak out against these abuses. This is the story of just one of Bahrains many victims. On 22 October, a court in Manama cleared a policewoman of torture and ill-treatment in the course of her duties when a female Bahraini journalist, Nazeeha Saeed, was assaulted and beaten in custody during anti-government protests last year. Read More

Arms sales and human rights don't mix, UK told

MPs have nally recognised what has been blatantly obvious for a long time: human rights and arms exports do not go well together. This conict always made a nonsense of the Labour government's call for an "ethical dimension" in foreign

policy though the late Robin Cook did his best to try and reconcile Britain's role as one of the biggest sellers of weapons with its stated aim of protecting human rights around the world. Now, the House of Commons foreign affairs committee has called on ministers to be "bolder in acknowledging contradictions between the UK's interests overseas and its human rights values". Read More Saeed, a correspondent for France 24 and Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya, had been summoned to a police station for questioning in the city of Rifaa on 22 May last year. Lieutenant Sarah al-Musa was the rst female ofcer to be prosecuted before a civilian court for abuses carried out by the police during the crackdown on the popular uprising that began in February last year. Her trial opened on 6 June. Read More

TIME TO REIN IN #BAHRAIN

The Kingdom of Bahrain is not presented to the world as a major power, or aseriousthreat to peace and stability. Quite the opposite. So why is it continually allowed to get away with human rights abuses?Those responsible should be charged and tried, along with the chain of command. Countries which are entitled to pride themselves on their human rights record I am aware this is ashrinkinglist should be ashamed to have

Bahrain: Policewoman acquitted of torturing France 24 correspondent

On 22 October, a court in Manama cleared a policewoman of torture and illtreatment in the course of her duties when a female Bahraini journalist, Nazeeha Saeed, was assaulted and beaten in custody during antigovernment protests last year.

Bahrain upholds convictions against two teachers for organizing strike efforts
A Bahrain appeals court upheld verdicts against two teachers on Sunday for organizing a teachers' strike early last year to support antigovernment protests [JURIST news archive]. At their rst hearing in front of a military tribunal, the pair were convicted of using their positions as vice-president and president of the Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA) to

attempt to overthrow the Bahraini government through a teachers' strike that halted the educational process and "incited hatred" against the regime. No evidence [AI backgrounder] has been presented that they used or advocated violence of any means. Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb was sentenced to ve years in prison while Jalila alSalman was given a six-month sentence. Abu Dheeb has been detained for 18 months. Al-Salman was in connement for ve months but was released on bail. However, alSalman has alleged torture while being detained. Read More

had arrested seven people it suspected of the bombing.

Bahrain Village under Siege, Prisoners Tortured

"They were then taken to the public prosecution ofce without a lawyer to try and convince them they were guilty," Yousif, Deputy Head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, told AlAkhbar. The village of al-Eker has been under siege since the bomb was detonated overnight Thursday. Bahrain on Sunday announced that it

Yousif was arrested yesterday along with two other activists, Zainab alKhawaja and Naji Fateel, after trying to break the siege. The three marched from the neighboring village of Sitra to deliver bread and medicine to residents when they were detained at a checkpoint at about 2:00 pm. They were released around midnight, Yousif said. Read More