10th January 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Ashton latest to critique Bahrain
The government of Bahrain is called on "once again" to implement reforms spelled out by an independent panel of inquiry, Europe's foreign policy chief said. The ofcial Bahrain News Agency reports Thursday that Human Rights Minister Salah bin Ali Abdulrahman met with Ahmed Fahran, secretary-general of the National Institution for Human Rights. A 2012 initiative in the country called for the creation a 15member comprehensive rights council. Bahrain last year said it was embracing reforms spelled out by a panel of inquiry probing the government's crackdown on dissidents in 2011. The government was criticized for using a heavy hand against opposition groups. Read More and Head of Documentation Unit of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was arrested while monitoring a protest in Manama on 17 Dec 2012 and tweeting about the attacks on protesters and violations to their rights. Read More sentenced to jail terms earlier this week.

Exiled Bahrain Rights Activist to Try to Enter Her Country

Maryam Al-Khawaja is better known as @MARYAMALKHAWAJA,a prolic tweeter about human rights issues in her home country of Bahrain. She is theacting director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights because the directorNabeel Rajab and a past directorher father have been jailed by the monarchy for the past two

years. Her father has received a life sentence on terrorism charges; though in reality they lead peaceful protests against the monarchy during the uprising two years ago. Maryam Al-Khawaja has been in exile in Denmark, rightfully fearful for her safety. Tomorrow, she will attempt to visit her family and colleagues in prison. Read More organizations and political leaders from throughout the world (ranging from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and his high commissioner for human rights through virtually all European foreign ministers, and even signicant voices in the Obama administration). It further outed the explicit ndings and recommendations of the international commission (headed by the renowned jurist Sharif Basyouni,) which it itself had empanelled less than two years ago, in a farcically short-lived feint at reconciliation. Read More

Extended Detention of Bahraini Activist for HR Violations During a Protest

Said Yousif Al-Muhafdhah, human rights defender and the Acting Vice President

A worthy, necessary Nobel honoring the Arab Spring and much more
Earlier this week, Bahrains highest court and nal judicial authority upheld a series of ferocious sentences passed upon 13 nonviolent democracy activists, seven of them to life terms. In so doing it seemed to foreclose any possibility that the entrenched minority regime of the countrys Al Khalifa royal family might yet honor the pleas of human rights

Bahraini protesters rally in support of jailed activists

Bahraini protesters have staged demonstrations to show solidarity with over a dozen prominent activists

The rallies were held on Thursday in the towns of Bilad al-Qadim and Sitra despite the Bahraini regimes continuous crackdown. Read More

Court Decision Shows Bahrain Still Promising Reform With Fingers Crossed
The tiniest nation in the Middle East is once again at the center of a big controversy. A high court in the kingdom of Bahrain, a tiny island nation in the Persian Gulf, has upheld a widely condemned sentence against a group of opposition activists. Critics of the case

argue that the 20 defendants were targeted for political reasons, and that the government is reneging on its perennial promise to pursue meaningful reforms. Bahrain has a long history of political repression, so the appeals court ruling, which was announced on Monday, came as no surprise. It was just another indication that the country has made little progress since being shaken bya violent uprisingnearly two years ago Read More more toxic than normal tear gas to quell antigovernment protestors, in contravention of international conventions. Human rights groups claim this has resulted in at least 34 deaths and several spontaneous miscarriages. Bahrains Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecution Ofce have previously denied that any deaths or miscarriages were linked to tear gas dispersal and asserted that such claims were fabricated. Read More (when asked if you are a health worker answer yes or you will not be able to access the site)

UN chief regrets sentences on Bahrain activists

Secretary-General Ban Kimoon is expressing deep regret at a Bahrain courts decision upholding the harsh sentences against 20 political activists and is calling for a national dialogue to address the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis. Bahrains highest court on Monday upheld the 20 jail

terms including eight life sentences for alleged plots to overthrow the state, that were originally handed down by a military court in June 2011. Ban believes the only way to promote peace, stability, justice and prosperity in Bahrain is a dialogue where all communities can participate without fear or intimidation, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said on Tuesday. Read More

Irish surgeon offers to replace jailed Bahraini

It is usually the case that prisoners attempt to break free from jail, but Irish trauma surgeon Prof Damian McCormack and other colleagues have selessly offered themselves up for imprisonment in Bahrain in place of imprisoned medic Dr Ali Al Ekri, incarcerated and allegedly tortured by his countrys regime. The human rights activists made the offer as it emerged that the Gulf state may have allegedly used 2chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) gas up to 10 times

Bahrain arrests photographer who documented dissent

Bahraini authorities should drop charges they have led against a photojournalist in connection with his coverage of anti-government protests in April, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested Ahmed Humaidan on December 29 and charged him with "demonstrating illegally" and "using violence to assault police and damage public

properties" during the demonstrations in Sutra province, where Humaidan lived, according to news reports. Against the backdrop of Bahrain's Formula One race last April, several thousand protesters demonstrated against human rights violations by the government, news reports said. Humaidan, a freelance photographer, has covered protests in the country since the 2011 uprising. His photographs have been published by local opposition sites including the online newsmagazine Alhadath and the online news site Alrasid. Read More On Monday, Bahrains highest court rejected the jailed activists' appeal and upheld their sentences for their roles in anti-regime protests in 2011. On Tuesday, the United Nations, the European Union, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Britain, and France censured the Bahraini court ruling. Read More

UN, EU, UK, France, human rights groups censure Bahrain court ruling
The UN, the EU, Britain, France, and human rights groups have criticized a Bahraini court decision upholding prison terms for 13 pro-democracy activists, including eight life sentences.