18th/ 19th May 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain top Shiite clerics home raided by security forces
Bahraini security forces raided the house of top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Shaikh Isa Qassim on Friday, the opposition said. Bahrain has been in violent turmoil since the oppositionled pro-democracy protests erupted in 2011. Protests continue and often end in clashes between demonstrators and police. At least two people have died this year. Security personnel forced open the door of Shaikh Isas home in the village of Duraz in the early hours of Friday morning and searched the house, Bahrains main opposition bloc Al Wefaq said on its website. Read More However, more severe crimes are being given less harsh punishments. For example, a police ofcer was given only seven years for repeatedly ring his gun at an unarmed citizen. Bahrain has taken steps to reform its government, though these attempts were never fully carried out. Bahrains citizens are still going to jail for reasons the government refers to as: illegal gathering, unauthorized demonstration and inciting hatred against the regime. Read More According to the government-run Bahrain News Agency, the six suspects where charged in ve different cases related to the misuse of freedom of expression and defaming His Majesty the King on Twitter. It added that the six were charged [with] misusing freedoms of expression and opinion publicly and remandedin custody ahead of their trial. Read More

Surveillance for Sale: 'UK exports spyware to Bahrain to track activists'

The Bahraini government is accused of using surveillance software from a UK-based company, to spy on a leading rights activist. That's according to documents led at the High Court in London, by one of the founders of the rights group, Bahrain Watch. The

programme works by infecting your computer, and then recording your Skype conversations and social media activity. It can also take screenshots without your knowledge, and access information on your hard disk. Alaa Shehabi, who led the court documents - told RT that digital surveillance has been spreading in Bahrain, since former high ranking UK police ofcer John Yates became security advisor there. Read More

Bahrain citizens denied basic rights

In the U.S., many citizens exercise their right to peaceful assembly. However, in Bahrain this basic human right is being denied. Citizens are subject to ridiculous punishments for peaceful expression and assembly. In a recent ruling of Bahrains Court of Cassation, seven of 13 defendants were sentenced to life in prison simply for expressing their feelings.

Arab Spring Not Over Yet in Bahrain

While the world focuses on the fallout from the Arab Spring in major countries like Egypt and Syria, a seething frustration continues to mount among democracy aspirants on the tiny Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain. The United States once again nds itself torn between its claims to support democracy and its desire to back autocratic regimes which support what it

claims are its strategic imperatives in the Gulf region. But democracy activists in Bahrain are growing increasingly impatient with continued autocratic rule at home and US support for repression. While Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak was being toppled in February 2011, the Arab Spring struck in Bahrain as 100,000 protesters led into Manama's Pearl Roundabout for three days of protests calling for democracy reforms to the longstanding rule of the Al Khalifa monarchy. Read More

Bahrain Jails Six Twitter Users for Insulting King

Six Twitter users were sentenced to a year in prison each by a Bahrain court on May 15 for allegedly insulting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the micro-blogging site.