16th April 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

next week's Formula One race. arrested on Monday, activists say.

Police, students clash in Bahrain after raid

Police in Bahrain's capital have raided a boys' high school and red tear gas in clashes with students angry over a fellow student's arrest the day before. Tuesday's violence comes as the Gulf nation boosted security in preparation for

Police are clashing with students at the school, located close to the U.S. Embassy in a residential southern district of Manama full of parks and nurseries. Mohamed Jaber, a father of one of the students, says he came to pick up his son but police told him and other parents to leave. Read More student protest. The protest was formed in order to demand the release of a colleague the police arrested on Monday. (Albawaba, April 16 2013) Over 100 people have been arrested in the island kingdom in the run up to the F1 Grand Prix which is scheduled to take place there on Sunday. Read More Police stormed the Jabreya school in Manama, the nations capital, after students became involved in demonstrations demanding the release of one of their classmates, 17year-old Hassan Humidan, who was arrested on Monday. Pictures emerged on Twitter of used teargas canisters and stun grenades utilized by police in the dispersal of the protests. Read More

Bahrain: Police 'fire tear gas' at boys' school

Police in Bahrain have red tear gas and clashed with students in a raid on a secondary school in the capital, Manama, reports say. Ofcers stormed the Jabreya school for boys after students staged a protest demanding the release of a colleague

About 100 people have been arrested this month amid growing tension ahead of Sunday's F1 Grand Prix in Bahrain. The kingdom has been rocked by anti-government protests since early 2011. The latest incident comes a day after a car bomb blew up in Manama, though without causing injuries. Read More According to testimony, the police stormed the Jabreya school for men and clashed with students, who also protested the celebration of the Grand Prix Formula 1 in Bahrain, on Sunday. The incident caused no injuries or detainees. Read More

Bahrain police forces shoot tear gas at boys school

Bahraini police have red tear gas as they clashed with students as they raided a boys secondary school in the kingdoms capital Manama. These clashes transpired after ofcers stormed the school to break up a

Police and Students Clash in Bahrain

Bahraini riot police red tear today in clashes with angry high school students demanding the release of a fellow student arrested the day before for opposing the celebration of a motorsport competition here.

Teargas used to subdue schoolboys protesting Bahraini arrest

Bahrain police have launched a teargas crusade against protesting students at a boys school on the same day a human rights group led a lawsuit against the British government for its suspected role in supplying the repressive regime with spyware.

Police 'fire tear gas' at Bahrain boys' school following student's arrest
Police in Bahrain red tear gas and clashed with students on Tuesday in a raid on a secondary school in the capital, Manama, AP reports.

According to the news agency, ofcers stormed the Jabreya school for boys after students staged a protest demanding the release of fellow student, 17-year-old Hassan Humidan, who was arrested at the school on Monday. Activists tweeted pictures purporting to show clouds of tear gas and spent canisters at the school. Read More

Bahrain GP to be held amid protests

Formula One returns this week to Bahrain, casting the spotlight on a series that has deed criticism to race on while a bloody political crisis has engulfed one of the West's most important allies in the region. The Bahrain Grand Prix has drawn less attention than a

year ago when F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone at the last minute decided to go ahead with the race despite calls by some rights groups for a boycott. But criticism has intensied in the past week, after explosions sparked security concerns and a Human Rights Watch report alleged that authorities rounded up activists living around the track in a bid to "silence" dissent ahead of the race on Sunday. Read More Kingdom of Bahrain, made up of 33 islands in the Persian Gulf, has experienced unrest and rioting on an almost daily basis for more than two years. The problems began when the country was caught up in the Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and civil wars in the Arab world, at the start of 2011. Read More

off, in a letter signed by 20 MPs.

Violence and accusations of civil rights abuses scar the build-up to Formula One's Bahrain GP
While angry demonstrations took place in the kingdoms outlying Shiite villages, the All-Party Parliamentary Group in Bahrain yesterday cited the most atrocious human rights violations as a reason why the Formula Oneevent should be called

Security forces yesterday red tear gas into a Bahraini high school to break up a student protest against the detention of a schoolmate overnight. Police were accused by local human rights groups of beating students in schools in the capital Manama and the district of Sanad, while a journalist from Monte Carlo was threatened with having her permit revoked for reporting the incidents. Read More The skirmishes came after the arrest of a student at the boys school, amid accusations that the government is arbitrarily arresting potential troublemakers ahead of the Grand Prix. The Interior Ministry said that thugs at Al Jabriya School in the capital Manama had been dealt with in line with the law. Read More Sunday night. Police had blamed the act on a "terrorist group". There has been a week of protests in the kingdom ahead of the country's Formula One Grand Prix from April 19 to 21. Al Jazeera's Charlie Angela explains. Watch here

Bahrain GP: The BBC explains the background to the protests

As Formula 1 returns to Bahrain this week, protesters in the tiny Gulf state have once again threatened to disrupt the annual Grand Prix. But who is protesting and why? Dwarfed by its mainland neighbour Saudi Arabia, the

F1: Tear gas used to quell Bahrain Grand Prix protests

Security forces red tear gas to disperse protesters at a secondary school in Bahrain as calls grew for this weekends Formula One race to be called off due to escalating violence.

Bahrain Grand Prix lowdown: Why the controversy?

The Formula One roadshow rolls into Bahrain this weekend, for the fourth race of the 2013 season. After a cancellation of the 2011 race, and huge safety concerns last year, the sport will be desperate for a trouble-free week in the country. Metro Sport takes a

look at the troubles in the country, and why this race has become so controversial. What are the problems in Bahrain? The Gulf state became caught up in the Arab spring early in 2011. A number of revolutionary protests took place across the country, focusing mainly on the capital Manama. Read More

Bahrain protests precede Formula One race

A youth opposition group in Bahrain has admitted to blowing up a car in the capital, Manama, on

Anarchists in new threat

CYBER anarchists Anonymous are again vowing to disrupt this weekends Bahrain Grand Prix. The internet hacking group successfully stopped the

ofcial Formula One website from working last year under the title of Operation Bahrain. Anonymous is ghting for human rights in Bahrain and are willing to show their support to protesters by again attacking via the internet. Read More

Tensions rise in Bahrain as police clamp down on dissent

Police in Bahrain have red tear gas and clashed with students in a raid on a secondary school in Manama as the Formula One circus arrives for this weekend's grand prix. The incident happened when students at a boys' school started protesting after a classmate, 17-year-

old Hassan Humidan, was arrested on Monday. Police ofcers stormed the building as activists tweeted pictures which appeared to show clouds of tear gas as well as dozens of spent canisters of gas and stun grenades. Unconrmed reports said there had been injuries. Anti-regime organisations claim that more than 100 people have been detained as the authorities clamp down on dissent ahead of the race weekend. Read More occasion to demonstrate against the ruling family.

Bill would hike penalties for criticizing Bahraini king

A proposal to hike punishment for criticizing the king of Bahrain is an attempt to stie protests ahead of the Grand Prix race, a human rights group charges.

The amendment to the criminal code would jail for up to ve years anyone convicted of insulting King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Amnesty International said Monday in a statement. The bill "is a further attempt to muzzle activists ahead of the upcoming Grand Prix" later this week, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, AI's deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. Read More struggled to nd jobs, housing, and affordable land. At the same time, the track's isolation in the far south of the island -- well, as far south as one can go before hitting military fences -- fed the notion that the race, hosted not far from Sakhir Palace, was conceived mostly as a diversion for society's elite, and aptly demonstrated the misplaced social and economic priorities of the ruling family. Read More

Protests embroil F1 in Bahrain yet again [w/video]

Law enforcement in Bahrain is once again cracking down on pro-democracy protesters ahead of the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix. The Formula One race focuses the world's attention on the Middle Eastern kingdom each year, and protesters take the

This year, human rights organizations cried foul after the government arrested 70 people in a preemptive move to quell unrest. Around 20 people from the Dar Klaib and Shanrakan villages near the Bahrain International Circuit have been detained along with a further 50 individuals from Aldeir and Sameheij closer to the airport. Read More Bernie Ecclestone in the nal hours decided to go ahead with the race despite calls by some rights groups for a boycott. But criticism has intensied in the past week, after explosions sparked security concerns and a Human Rights Watch report alleged that authorities rounded up activists living around the track in a bid to "silence" dissent ahead of the race on Sunday. Read More

Who needs the Bahrain Grand Prix?

Since its rst running in 2004, the Bahrain Grand Prix has been a mainstay of the country's complex political calendar. Indeed, controversy brewed well before a single race could take place, with critics decrying the expense of constructing the vast Bahrain International Circuit even as many citizens

Bahrain GP on despite antigovernment protests

Formula One returns this week to Bahrain, casting the spotlight on an event that has deed criticism while a bloody political crisis has engulfed one of the West's most important allies in the region. The Bahrain Grand Prix has drawn less attention than a year ago when F1 boss

Bahrain Grand Prix: MPs want race cancelled because of unrest

A group of British MPs have called for the Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled amid unrest in the Gulf state. A week of protests to coincide with this weekend's race began last Friday, organised by the opposition to the ruling royal family.

In a letter to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain said: "We request you cancel the Grand Prix. "It is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year." The APPG has also written to broadcasters, teams, drivers and sponsors ahead of the Grand Prix. Read More

Bahrain Grand Prix: calls to cancel F1 race amid threats to jail anyone who 'insults the king'
The cabinet has endorsed proposals to increase penalties for insulting King Hamad, the national ag or other national symbols to ve years and a ne of up to 17,000, and sent them for approval to the National Assembly, which has an inbuilt pro-ruling family majority.

It took the move despite growing protests, including from its Western allies, about the Sunni ruling family's treatment of Bahrain's Shia majority, and imprisonment of human rights activists. The all-party parliamentary Group for Democracy Bahrain on Tuesday repeated last year's unsuccessful calls to cancel the Grand Prix, this year due to take place on Sunday. Read More

F1 faces renewed calls to call off Bahrain Grand Prix

MPs and Lords have joined forces to call for the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix at the eleventh hour.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain has written to Bernie Ecclestone, Formula Ones chief executive, to warn him that the race will once again bring devastatingly bad publicity to the sport and to the island kingdom locked in disputes with protestors. Read More (subscription needed) Justice Minister Andy Slaughter, believes the race "is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year". In the letter, dated yesterday and seen by Press Association Sport, Slaughter adds: "Since April 2012, many more people, including children, have lost their lives and the whole country exists in fear and intimidation. Read More

MPs want Bahrain cancelled

The letter, from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain, cites "the most atrocious human rights violations" as reason the race should be called off and has been signed by 20 MPs. The chair of the APPG, Labour MP for Hammersmith and Shadow

MP's bid for Grand Prix boycott

North Ayrshire MP Katy Clark has tabled a motion in Parliament calling for a boycott of the Bahrain Grand Prix on moral grounds due to continuing concerns over human rights in the kingdom. Protests against the ongoing rule of the royal Al Khalifa family began last weekend and will be taking

place in the run up to the Grand Prix currently scheduled to take place on 21st April. Recent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have charted a range of human rights violations by Bahraini forces such as the detention of political opponents, killing and injuring of protesters and indiscriminate use of teargas and bird shot. Read More place in the run up to the Grand Prix currently scheduled to take place on 21st April. Recent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have charted a range of human rights violations by Bahraini forces such as the detention of political opponents, killing and injuring of protesters and indiscriminate use of teargas and bird shot. Read More

MP's bid for Grand Prix boycott

North Ayrshire MP Katy Clark has tabled a motion in Parliament calling for a boycott of the Bahrain Grand Prix on moral grounds due to continuing concerns over human rights in the kingdom. Protests against the ongoing rule of the royal Al Khalifa family began last weekend and will be taking

place in the run up to the Grand Prix currently scheduled to take place on 21st April. Recent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have charted a range of human rights violations by Bahraini forces such as the detention of political opponents, killing and injuring of protesters and indiscriminate use of teargas and bird shot. Read More

MP's bid for Grand Prix boycott

North Ayrshire MP Katy Clark has tabled a motion in Parliament calling for a boycott of the Bahrain Grand Prix on moral grounds due to continuing concerns over human rights in the kingdom. Protests against the ongoing rule of the royal Al Khalifa family began last weekend and will be taking

royal family have intensied in the build-up to this weekends race.

MPs insist Bernie Ecclestone axes Bahrain race

A group of MPs have written to Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, calling for Sundays Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled. Protests organised by opponents to the ruling

In a letter to Ecclestone, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain said: We request you cancel the Grand Prix. It is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year. Read More

Ecclestone willing to meet Bahrain opposition

Bernie Ecclestone has assured protesters in Bahrain that he understands their grievances and is willing to meet opposition gures ahead of the most controversial Formula One race of the year this weekend. However, in comments that could antagonise rights campaigners and pro-

democracy activists, the F1 commercial supremo also compared civil unrest in the Gulf island kingdom to threatened protests against Wednesday's funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London. "I'm happy to talk to anybody about this, as I did before," he said in comments to British reporters published on Tuesday, mentioning that he had met members of the opposition group al-Wefaq last year in London and Bahrain. Read More

Bernie Ecclestone Compares Bahrain Protesters With AntiThatcher Demonstrators

F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has compared Bahrain protesters to those taking part in anti-Thatcher demonstrations saying "you will always get people that will want to make riots."

Tension in Bahrain is rising as the country prepares for the Grand Prix, a year after Formula One caused a worldwide furore by staging a race in the Gulf kingdom. Human Rights campaigners have condemned the decision, as security forces clamp down on protesters prior to the race, prompting an increase in raids and arrests. Read More

Bahrain F1: Ecclestone Compares Protesters to Anti-Thatcher Demos

One of Britain's most senior politicians has called for the boycott of Bahrain's Formula 1 Grand Prix, which is scheduled for this weekend, evoking the 1985 boycott of South Africa's race during the apartheid era.

Lord Avebury, who has been in Parliament for over 50 years, criticised Bernie Ecclestone, who likened Bahrain's pro-democracy protesters to those taking part in anti-Thatcher demonstrations. Avebury said the F1 boss "has forgotten about 90 deaths and 13 imprisoned activists". Read More

Ecclestone open to meeting Bahrain opposition

Formula One leader Bernie Ecclestone has said that he is willing to meet opposition members leading up to this weekends Bahrain Grand Prix, as anti-government protests continue to carry on in the country. Ecclestone, who met with opposition group Al-Wefaq

last year in both London and Bahrain, said that he was happy to talk to anybody about this according to Reuters Alan Baldwin. We dont want to see trouble, the British billionaire said. We dont want to see people arguing and ghting about things we dont understand, because we really dont understand Some people feel its our fault there are problems. Read More

Ecclestone willing to meet with Bahrain's opposition

Amid threats from antigovernment protesters that they will target this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix,Bernie Ecclestone has said he is willing to meet with members of opposition groups in the island kingdom.

Ecclestone made a similar offer against a backdrop of media criticism in the build up to last year's race, but the grand prix weekend went ahead without major disruption. This year groups of underground activists have again levelled threats against the sport, but Ecclestone has called for calm and is open to discussion from both sides. Read More

Bahrain grand prix is on, says Bernie Ecclestone

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone insists this weekends Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned, despite a series of small explosions taking place in the troubled country. The February 14 Youth Coalition, an underground

youth movement, have embarked on a week-long campaign entitled volcanic ames, which concluded with a gas canister blowing up inside a stolen car in the nancial district. No injuries were reported. And internet hacking organisation Anonymous have also vowed to disrupt proceedings, demanding that the blood race should be cancelled. Read More High Court over the government's refusal to say whether it was investigating U.K.-based Gamma International, whose FinFisher software has been linked to use in more than two dozen countries, including Bahrain, Ethiopia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. Privacy International argues that the software's export may have broken British law and has been lobbying for months for an ofcial investigation into the company's activities. Read More

Rights group sues Britain over spy software allegedly sold to repressive regimes
Privacy International on Tuesday led suit against Britain for allegedly allowing the sale of surveillance technology used by governments accused of

persecuting their own people in Bahrain, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, and elsewhere. Privacy International's case againstHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was led in London's High Court on Monday, according to the Associated Press. Read More

Rights group sues UK over exports of spy tech

A human rights group is suing the British government over the export of sophisticated surveillance technology that has been used to spy on dissidents in Bahrain and elsewhere. Privacy International said Tuesday it had led a lawsuit before London's

Privacy Rights Group Challenges British Government Over Spy Technology Sales
It has been linked to attacks on activists and dissidents and traced to servers operating across the world. But the next stop for a government spy technology that can inltrate computers and eavesdrop on Skype chats could be a courtroom in England.

On Tuesday, human rights group Privacy International announced that it is challenging the British government for unlawful conduct during an investigation into exports of a surveillance tool known as FinFisher, sold by England-based Gamma Group. FinFisher, sometimes also called FinSpy, is a spy Trojan designed to covertly inltrate targeted computers, monitor communications, and gather data from a hard drive. Read More

But when it came to human rights in his divided nation of Bahrain, Sheik Salman had little tosay.

change is that Chad has dropped off the list. Meanwhile, various oddities remain.

Salman sidesteps rights abuse claims in Bahrain

Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa launched his campaign to head Asian football with plenty of talk about match xing, grassroots football and more equitable spending ofrevenues.

Sheik Salman, who is bidding to become Asian Football Confederation president, refused to answer a question about rights abuses during Tuesday's pressconference. Read More

'Rwanda fuels Congo's civil war, Bahrain tortures citizens,' says the FCO. So why aren't they 'countries of concern'?
The Foreign Ofce launched its annual human rights report today, singling out 27 countries of concern. But how are these offenders chosen? William Hague was at pains to say that the criteria have been reviewed since last year, although the only

A case study on page 38 says there is credible and compelling evidence of Rwandan support for the M23 militia in eastern Congo. These gunmen have committed human rights abuses including the recruitment of child soldiers, sexual violence and the murder and displacement of civilians. When they captured Goma last November, the rebels forced 140,000 people to ee their homes. Read More