11th December 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Lawyer: Sentence reduced for Bahrain activist
A defense lawyer says a Bahrain appeals court has reduced the prison sentence of a prominent human rights activist from three years to two. Tuesday's decision is certain to prompt fresh outrage from international rights groups and others who have been demanding the release of Nabeel Rajab. Rajab was convicted on allegations of encouraging illegal protests in the strifewracked Gulf nation.

Bahrain court cuts jail terms for rights activist

A Bahraini court cut on Tuesday the jail terms against rights activist Nabeel Rajab, His attorney, Mohammed al- who is behind bars for taking Jishi, says the court dropped part in anti-regime protests, the charge of insulting police. from a total of three years to two, lawyers said. Read More

The appeals court reduced two jail sentences in cases involving attendance at unauthorised protests from one year to six months each, while it upheld a one-year jail term in a third case, the lawyers said. It also overturned a sentence against the Shiite activist over a conviction for insulting security forces, for which he had been ned 300 dinars (795 dollars), they said. Read More

Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab's prison sentence reduced

An appeals court in Bahrain has reduced the prison sentence handed to prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab from three years to two. The court upheld Mr Rajab's conviction of encouraging "illegal gatherings".

His lawyer, Mohammed alJishi, told AP news agency that he had been cleared of a charge of insulting police. Mr Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been a leader of the pro-democracy protests which have rocked the kingdom since February 2011. The 48-year-old is also one of the most well-known activists in the Arab world, with more than 185,000 followers on Twitter. Read More But the reduction disappointed Rajab's colleagues, lawyers, family and diplomatic observers in the courtroom who said that it did not go far enough. "I made a mistake by being optimistic beforehand," said Said Yousif, who has taken acting leadership from Rajab of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. "This verdict shows the judiciary is not independent and that there is an effort to suppress humanrights defenders." Read More

Activists Conviction Upheld in Test of Pledges by Bahrain

A court in Bahrain on Tuesday mainly upheld the conviction and prison sentence of a prominent human rights activist in a case that exposed the government to international criticism and was seen as a crucial test of the monarchys repeated pledges to allow greater political freedom. The activist, Nabeel Rajab, wassentenced in August to

three years in prison on charges of inciting antigovernment protests. On Tuesday, a judge dismissed one of the charges against Mr. Rajab, who has been incarcerated since August, reducing the overall sentence to two years from three, Mr. Rajabs brother Ammar said. It is very disappointing, said the brother, who suggested that the decision originated with Bahrains rulers rather than with its judiciary. The leadership of the country are not allowing him to go out of prison. Read More Mr Rajab, hailed as a hero by protesters and vilied by the ruling elite, is the leading light of the youth-driven movement in the forefront of the pro-democracy protests that were quelled by the minority Sunni government in March 2011. The government, which was unavailable for comment, has consistently argued that Mr Rajabs calls for protests led to violence that injured police ofcers. Read More

Bahraini court cuts activist's jail sentence

Bahrain's appeal courts reduced the prison sentence of prominent human-rights activist Nabeel Rajab yesterday from three years to two. The case had been widely viewed as a bellwether for the country's willingness to reform following Arab Springinspired unrest last year.

Bahraini activists sentence reduced

A Bahrain appeals court on Tuesday sentenced prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab to two years imprisonment for fomenting violent protests. The court reduced his sentence from three years to two after a charge of verbally abusing a police ofcer was dropped.

Bahrain reduces sentence for human rights activist

A Bahrain appeals court has reduced the prison sentence of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab from three years to two. Human rights groups have long been demanding the release of Rajab. It shows [the reduction of sentence], that the regime insists on practicing revenge

against Nabeel Rajab. Actually he should not be behind bars. There are lots of officials and figures of this regime who should be behind bars. Nabeel has always been calling for the peoples will in Bahrain, he is calling for democracy, he is calling for our rights, he is calling for our demands to be achieved. So, he should not be behind bars, but unfortunately we have a dictatorship regime,former Bahraini MP and human rights activist, Sayed Hadi alMosawi, told RT. Read More prosecution said that Rajab had called in public speeches for a demonstration to confront public security personnel, inciting violence and escalation against law enforcement officers, resulting in deaths during those confrontations. Following his speech, a demonstration raged through Manama, turning into an illegal assembly intending to undermine law and order, block roads and assault public security personnel, the public prosecution said. Read More rights defenders in the world. Locking him up for two years only deepens Bahrains human rights crisis and makes a solution more remote, said Human Rights Firsts Brian Dooley. Senior figures in the Bahrain government speak about the need for judicial reform and ending selective enforcement of the law, but todays verdict, yesterdays jailing of human rights activist Zainab Al Khawaja and the continued detention of other civil society leaders show whats really happening. Read More

Bahrain's top activist receives two-year sentence

Bahrains most prominent human rights activist received a reduced two-year prison sentence Tuesday in a nal court appeal over charges of organizing illegal gatherings during the kingdoms popular uprising that erupted last year.

Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was originally handed a three-year prison sentence in August after being arrested on several occasions as part of the monarchys brutal crackdown on dissidents. He has been in prison since May. He was expecting to be released today, Yousif alMuhafda, BCHR deputy head, told Al-Akhbar. Read More separate cases of inciting and participating in protests against the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy. His lawyer, Mohammed alJishi, told AP that he was cleared of a charge of insulting police but the activist's brother said the latest court decision was disappointing. "The leadership of the country are not allowing him to go out of prison," he said. Read More Human Rights, had his threeyear jail sentence for participating in and calling for illegal gatherings reduced to two years by the court. His lawyers will launch an appeal before a higher court against the conviction, which relates to protests in Bahrain between February and March this year. In July, Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three months in prison for libel after posting a tweet critical of Bahrains Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa. His three-year sentence in connection with the protests followed a month later. Read More

Bahrain court reduces Nabeel Rajabs sentence

Bahrains court of appeals on Tuesday reduced the sentence against Nabeel Rajab from three to two years. The activist was put on trial in three separate cases on charges of calling for and taking part in illegal gatherings. The sentences were criticised by international rights groups, but the public

Bahraini Court upholds Reform Activist Nabeel Rajab Verdict - but Cuts Jail Term
A Bahraini court has upheld the conviction of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab but reduced his sentence to two years in prison. Rajab had been sentenced to three years in prison for three

Bahraini Court Reaffirms Rajab Conviction, Reduces Sentence

Today a Bahraini court confirmed the conviction of Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and reduced his prison sentence from three years to two. Rajab is in prison for illegal gatherings. Nabeel is recognized as one of the most respected human

Bahrain: reduction in activist Nabeel Rajab's jail term is 'hollow gesture'

Bahrain must release a prominent human rights defender whose conviction for involvement in antigovernment protests has been upheld by an appeal court today, Amnesty International has said. Nabeel Rajab, the President of the Bahrain Centre for

Eight policemen charged with torturing prisoners in Bahrain

Eight policemen have been charged with torturing detainees in the wake of last years crackdown on Shiiteled protests against the Sunni monarchy, Bahrains public prosecution said Monday.

Five cases have been referred to special courts after charging eight policemen, including a lieutenant, the prosecution said in a statement carried by the BNA state news agency. The charges range from using torture to force a defendant to confess, to causing a permanent disability, as well as insults and physical assaults. Read More of enlightenment and intrigue -- but certainly not in the way the sex-tape starlet or the government of Bahrain had hoped. What a colleague and I never expected when planning the adventure was that our taxi driver would be a Shiite Bahraini who spoke fluent English -- and told us the story of how the Bahraini police tear gassed his village and shot his son for protesting peacefully. Read More various segments of the Bahraini society.

deployed by the Sunni alKhalifa royal family.

INSIGHT: US Differences with Bahrain Playing Out in Public

Washingtons relations with Bahrain are under strain after royal comments at a regional strategy conference in the islands capital. The incident, described by the Associated Press as a diplomatic flap and a public slap against Washington, reopens the debate about the progress of reforms as street violence continues between Shiite protesters and security forces

Kim Kardashians Bahrain milkshake diplomacy leaves a bad taste

When your humble Cableguy finally arrived at the Kim Kardashian-endorsed Millions of Milkshakes franchise in Bahrain, we felt like our pilgrimage to the promised land of strawberries and whipped cream had been one

Over fifty people, including security personnel, have died in protests pressing for more political representation and other rights over the past two years. In February 2011, most Shiite members of parliament resigned, and subsequent by-elections reinforced the Sunni majority in the assembly despite the islands majority Shiite population. Protests continue on an almost daily basis an embarrassment to Washington given that the island hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, a key component in efforts to deter Iran. Read More

With New Plans for Dialogue, February 14 Uprising May Come Full Circle
How fitting it would be if Bahrain's uprising were finally resolved in the same manner in which it originally was notresolved--with a political deal brokered by the crown prince--an appropriately absurd result to highlight even more starkly how far the turmoil, bloodshed, and political posturing of the previous two years accomplished *literally* nothing.

Bahrain minister pledges transparent dialogue

Bahrains justice minister on Tuesday assured sceptical members of parliament that they would not be excluded from a much-anticipated national dialogue expected to be launched between the

There will be no exclusions of lawmakers and there will be no interference from foreign countries in the dialogue, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa said during the parliament session after MPs expressed concerns on both counts. Read More Society, told our sister publication the Gulf Daily News yesterday (December 10) that it was ready to enter a dialogue "as early as today". The society has been accused of undermining government attempts to push forward with a second round of national dialogue by refusing to scrap preconditions. Read More

The most decisive moment of the uprising was of course the two days March 12 and March 13, in which time Sh. Salman failed to coax opposition leaders to the bargaining table despite offering a generous seven-course menu of thorny political issues that he, and by implication King Hamad, was ostensibly prepared to discuss. Al-Wifaq demanded the government first agree to an elected constitutional assembly empowered to revise the 2002 charter, and got nothing. Read More

various segments of the Bahraini society.

Bahrain minister pledges transparent dialogue

Bahrains justice minister on Tuesday assured sceptical members of parliament that they would not be excluded from a much-anticipated national dialogue expected to be launched between the

Bahrain opposition ready to resume talks

Bahrain's opposition has claimed it has dropped preconditions for holding talks with the government, according to a report. Hamed Khalaf, vice-president of the decision-making body of Al Wefaq National Islamic

There will be no exclusions of lawmakers and there will be no interference from foreign countries in the dialogue, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa said during the parliament session after MPs expressed concerns on both counts. Read More

Participants in Intl Conference of Bahrain Arrive in Beirut

Participant figures and delegations from different American, European, Asian and Arab countries continue to arrive in the Lebanese capital of Beirut to participate in the second International

Conference in Support of Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, organized by the Bahrain Forum for Human Rights on December 12-13, 2012. Majority of the participants have arrived on Tuesday, while some European personalities are scheduled to arrive in Beirut Wednesday morning before the start of the conference. Read More Despite the brutal police crackdowns on protesters, Bahrainis are still eager to defend their rights, RT reported.

Bahrain charges 8 police officers with torturing prisoners

Bahrain's public prosecutors say they have charged eight police officers with torturing political prisoners who were arrested during a Saudibacked crackdown on prodemocracy protesters. Read More

by the authorities in Bahrain as Security Forces have displayed an increasing amount of excessive force during recent arrests. Read More

Mosques Under Construction ReDemolished by Authorities in Bahrain

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses concern over the continued attacks on religious freedom represented in the redemolishing of Shia mosques, which have been under construction since they were initially attacked and demolished during the government crack-down in 2011. Read More

Bahraini Court Jails Young Woman as Rallies Continue

A Bahraini court sentenced the daughter of a prominent opposition activist to one month in jail for her alleged involvement in an unauthorized rally.

The defense team of Zainab al-Khawaja, the eldest of the rights activist's daughters, now argues that Pearl Square, the cradle of 2011 protests, was not officially declared "a forbidden area." Read More

Young Man Severely Injured By Direct Shot to the Face; Excessive Force During Arrests Continues in Bahrain
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is appalled by the growing brutality shown