7th January 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain court upholds life sentences on opposition
Bahrain's highest court Monday upheld jail terms for 20 opposition gures including eight sentenced to life for alleged plots to "overthrow" the state in a decision likely to touch off more protests in the Gulf nation and bring renewed criticism from its Western allies. The group includes a rights activist who staged a 110-day hunger strike last year to protest the verdicts, which critics have denounced as part of attempts to crush an Arab Spring-inspired uprising began nearly two years ago in the strategic island kingdom. Authorities in Bahrain which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet accuse Iran of encouraging the Shiite-led protests as a way to undermine Bahrain's proWestern leadership and gain a key foothold on the doorstep of rival Saudi Arabia. Tehran has sharply criticized Bahrain's crackdowns, but denies it has any direct role with the opposition. Read More An attorney representing three of the defendants said the country's highest appeals court took just minutes to rule on the appeal of the 13 prodemocracy activists, who received sentences of ve years to life in prison, CNN reported. The ruling was the last opportunity the activists had to reverse their convictions. Read More Eight of 20 defendants were given life sentences, part of a crackdown on dissent since anti-government demonstrations erupted in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, home to the US navy's fth eet. The court refused to reconsider the sentences or convictions, which were handed down by a militaryled tribunal created under temporary martial law-style rules. Read More

Bahrain top court upholds sentences against uprising leaders

Bahrain's highest court upheld prison sentences against 13 leaders of the 2011 uprising on Monday, a defence lawyer said, a ruling that could stir up further unrest in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state. The case has drawn international criticism from

rights groups and come under scrutiny from U.S. ofcials keen for acquittals to help restore calm in a country it counts as a regional ally againstIran. Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has been in political turmoil since a protest movement led by majority Shi'ite Muslims erupted in February 2011 during a tide of revolts against governments across the Arab world. Bahrain accuses Shi'ite power Iran of encouraging the unrest. Read More gathered in the Shiite village of Malkiya in support of the prisoners, in response to calls for demonstrations by activists on social networking websites. The rulings were also condemned by the main Shiite opposition bloc AlWefaq, and human rights watchdog Amnesty International while France said it "regretted" the verdicts. Read More

Bahrain appeals court upholds jail for 13 activists

Bahrain's highest appeals court on Monday upheld prison terms for 13 prominent activists on charges of plotting to overthrow the monarchy, lawyers said, in a verdict that sparked protests. Hours after the Court of Cassation's ruling, hundreds

Bahrain court upholds activists' sentences

The convictions of 13 activists for plotting to overthrow the Bahraini government were upheld Monday by the country's highest court.

Bahrain under pressure over refusal to reconsider activists' sentences

Britain has expressed "deep dismay" at a decision by Bahrain's highest court to reject an appeal by 13 opposition activists who were convicted of involvement in the Arab spring protests in 2011.

convictions overturned, the men's defence lawyers said.

Bahrain rejects jailed opposition activists' appeal

Bahrain's highest appeal court has upheld the sentences of 13 activists for their part in anti-government protests in 2011. This was their last possible chance of getting their

Some of the activists received life sentences after being convicted of plotting to overthrow the state. Bahrain has been wracked by unrest since prodemocracy demonstrations began in February 2011. Read More

Bahrain upholds dissenters sentences

Bahrains highest court has reafrmed sentences against the political gureheads of a revolt in the country for trying to overthrow the Gulf monarchy, further undermining prospects for reconciliation. The court of cassation on Monday reafrmed

sentences ranging from ve years to life imprisonment for 13 dissidents who were at the forefront of the anonymous, youth-driven protests that erupted in February 2011. With the backing of neighbouring Gulf states, the minority Sunni-led government in March brutally put down the uprising led by the majority Shia community. Read More

Bahrain's high appeals court upholds convictions of 13 prodemocracy activists

Bahrain's highest court on Monday upheld the verdicts against 13 activists convicted of plotting to overthrow the government for their role in pro-democracy demonstrations sparked by the success of popular Arab Spring uprisings.

The country's highest appeals court took just minutes to rule on the appeal of the 13 people, who received sentences between ve years and life, said attorney Mohsin Alawi, who represents three of the 13. The ruling by the court was the last chance the 13 had to reverse their convictions. They were arrested for their roles in anti-government demonstrations in 2011 as the Arab Spring movement swept across the region. Read More ago as demonstrators agitated for greater democracy and a bigger voice for Shiite Muslims. The unrest triggered a government crackdown marked by beatings and torture, according to an independent commission later created by the government to investigate police abuses. In the year since the commission aired its ndings, Bahrain has pursued reforms, such as retraining police and taking some ofcers to court, but activists say repression has continued. Read More Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnestys deputy director at the Middle East and North Africa program, said the ruling conrms the view of many that the judiciary is more concerned about toeing the government's line than upholding the rule of law and the rights of all Bahrainis. Amnesty has previously described the jailed Bahraini as prisoners of conscience, held only because they exercised their rights to assemble and speak freely. Read More

Court in Bahrain Confirms Jail Terms for 13 Dissidents

A court in Bahrain on Monday upheld prison sentences for 13 of the countrys most prominent dissidents, in a decision that government opponents offered as evidence that the monarchy was ignoring calls to negotiate a political solution that could quiet a nearly two-year-old uprising.

The decision ends all appeals for the dissidents, who were sentenced to between ve years and life in prison for their leadership roles in the revolt that began in February 2011, according to a colleague of one of the jailed opposition members. The 13 are part of a group of 20 opposition leaders who were sentenced by amilitary tribunal on charges that included trying to overthrow the government. Other dissidents were sentenced in absentia. Read More sentences (25 years in Bahrain) was opposition leader Abdulhadi alKhawaja, who ended a 110day hunger strike last June in protest of the ruling. This decision will be nal, with no further venues for the activists to get the verdicts overturned. Twenty people were originally tried, however seven were tried in absentia and have left the country or remain in hiding. One of the main charges against the activists was "forming a terrorist group with intent to overthrow the system of government." Read More

Bahrain court upholds 'terrorist plot' convictions for dissidents

Thirteen people will remain imprisoned, eight of them for life, after Bahrain's high court upheld their convictions Monday for plotting to overthrow the state. The decision cements a deeply controversial case that has troubled human rights groups and the U.S. State Department. The defendants were accused of participating in a terrorist plot during protests that erupted nearly two years

Bahrain court rejects appeals for activists in 2011 protests

Bahrain's highest appeals court has upheld sentences for 13 activists for their roles in the February 2011 antigovernment protests. The sentences, originally delivered by a military court in June 2011, and upheld in an appeals court in September 2012, range from ve years to life imprisonment. One of the eight activists receiving life

Rights Groups Disturbed By Bahrain Court Decision on Activists' Sentences

Rights groups are expressing disappointment over the decision by Bahrains highest court to reject the appeals of 13 activists jailed on charges of organizing pro-democracy protests in Bahrain nearly two years ago. Amnesty International is calling the decision unjust.

Bahrain's court of cassation upholds jail terms for 13 protesters

A court of cassation in Bahrain has upheld jail terms for 13 opposition activists. Several of them are facing life in prison over taking part in protests campaigns in 2011.

The courts decision is no subject to appeal. According to observers this may stir new protests in the country. In March 2011, Bahrain was gripped by a wave of protests of Shiite population demanding the establishment of constitutional monarchy in the Sunni-ruled kingdom. Read More the regime to respect "fundamental liberties".

Bahrains Highest Court Upholds Convictions of Opposition Leaders

Bahrains top court has upheld the convictions of 13 opposition leaders on allegations of plotting to overthrow the U.S.-backed regime. The activists were sentenced by a military court

in 2011, eight of them to life behind bars, after leading massive protests against Bahrains Sunni monarchy. Todays ruling marks the end of their legal options after an appeals court upheld the convictions in September. Another seven activists were also convicted in the initial case but did not le appeals because they were tried in absentia. Bahrain is a key U.S. government ally, hosting the Navys Fifth Fleet. Read More

Bahrain protester sentences slammed

Britain has criticised Bahrain over human rights abuses after the sentences of 13 anti-government protesters were upheld. Foreign Ofce Minister Alistair Burt said he was "deeply dismayed" at the appeal verdicts and called on

"At the time these individuals were sentenced, reports which were acknowledged by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry suggested that some had been abused in detention, denied access to legal counsel and were coerced into confessing," he said in a statement. Read More activists to imprisonment ranging from ve years to life for their roles in a "plot to overthrow the state."

Bahrain jails antiregime activists, overturns appeals

A top Bahraini court has overturned an appeal by 13 anti-regime activists on their sentences for protesting in 2011. The ruling could lead to further unrest by majority Shiite Muslim groups pushing for democracy in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Eight of the activists received life sentences for plotting to overthrow the state by participating in 2011's antigovernment protests. The other sentences ranged from ve to 15 years in prison. "This verdict is nal, there are no more appeals possible, it is the last stage of litigation," lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi told Reuters by telephone from a court in the nation's capital Manama. Read More was very disturbed about the omission of dissident voices from a Commons probe into the UKs relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In a letter to the foreign affairs committee, which is conducting the inquiry, he said the list of approved submissions published last week excluded all the prodemocracy and human rights submissions on Bahrain, while including progovernment contributions. Read More

Bahrain's Top Court Upholds Anti-Govt. Protesters' Conviction

Bahrain's highest court has rejected an appeal by 13 Opposition activists against jail sentences for allegedly participating in the 2011 antigovernment protests. A special military tribunal in 2011 had convicted 20 Opposition leaders and

Their conviction was upheld by a civilian court in September last year. As a last resort, 13 of the defendants led appeals to Bahrain's highest court. Reports quoting defense attorneys said Monday's verdict was nal, closing all doors of appeal. Read More

MPs criticised over Gulf states inquiry

MPs have come under re for their handling of an inquiry into the UKs approach to its Gulf allies after it emerged that evidence from the opposition in the troubled state of Bahrain had been excluded. Lord Avebury, vice-chairman of the parliamentary human rights committee, said he

Bahrain foreign ministers resignation denied

A senior Bahraini ofcial has denied claims that the countrys foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa has resigned. The allegation that he has resigned are baseless and lack credibility, Hamad Al Amer, the ministrys undersecretary for regional affairs and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said.

Claims about Shaikh Khalids resignation were the hottest topic on Sunday evening in the Bahraini blogosphere, giving way to a host of speculation about the reasons for the alleged unexpected decision. Shaikh Khalid, Bahrains foreign minister since September 2005, has won international recognition for promoting the use of social networks as a means of direct and unhindered communication with the public. Read More

Bahrain Grants Citizenship to 5,000 Sunni Syrians

Bahrain has granted citizenship to 5,000 Sunni Syrians, a measure seen as al-Khalifa's plan to change the demographics of the Shiite-dominated country to the benet of the Sunni population.

"The Bahraini government in collaboration with the UAE's Economic Cooperation Ofce in Jordan has attracted and granted citizenship to Sunni Syrians," an informed source in the Syrian refugee camps in Jordan disclosed on Sunday. The source said by the start of the 2013, 5,000 Sunni Syrian citizens residing in refugee camps in Jordan received Bahrain citizenship. Read More