3rd/ 4th July 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Why Obama Supports Tyranny Over Democracy in Bahrain
"America is a close friend of Bahrain," President Obama said in a 2011 speech at the United Nations just seven months after the Bahraini dictatorship responded to peaceful democratic uprisings by ordering security forces to shoot live rounds into crowds of protesters. After promising to call on the Bahraini regime "to pursue a meaningful dialogue that brings peaceful change," Obama said he believes "the patriotism that binds Bahrainis together must be more powerful than the sectarian forces that would tear them apart." Everybody listening knew there was a high level of deception in what Obama was saying since he was calling for peace while continuing to send money and weapons to the regimeas it crushed peaceful demonstrations with ghastly force. But Obama even went so far as to recite the Bahraini regime's own propaganda by framing the unrest in sectarian terms as opposed to a movement for democracy. Read More of adequate evidence that the ofcers engaged in the torture of two female and four male doctors [Al Jazeera report] in March 2011. Both ofcers, one being Bahraini princessNoura Bint Ebrahim al-Khalifa [BBC report] who serves in Bahrain's Drugs Control Unit, denied the charges. Prosecutor Nawaf Hamza will appeal the decision [ENA report] if they nd error in the court's reasoning. Read More

Voices in Danger: The abuse of activists in Bahrain

Ali Abdulemam smiles when he remembers speaking to his family for the rst time in two years. The prominent blogger and founder of Bahrain's largest pro-democracy website, Bahrain Online, went into hiding during a government crackdown on critical bloggers and activists just before the February 14 uprisings. He had been

arrested by the National Security Agency before, and knew what torture felt like. For two years, his wife Jenan, their eight year old son and three year old twin daughters had no idea where he was, when they might speak again, or whether he was even alive. But last month, Abdulemam resurfaced in the UK. Somehow, he had avoided arrest and escaped the island kingdom. Finally, he was able to log on to Skype and tell them he was OK. Read More the unprecedented services to investigate alleged police misconduct were formally launched at a special ceremony attended by police personnel and diplomats. The ombudsman was among the recommendations set forth by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), and we have been working closely with well established similar institutions to benet from their experience and approach, Al Mouawda said. Read More

Bahrain police ombudsman formally launched

Bahrains rst police ombudsman has said that his work would be transparent, honest and objective. The ombudsman will be independent administratively and nancially and will look into all cases referred by individuals, be they Bahraini citizens, expatriates living in the kingdom or visitors on trips, Nawaf Al Muawda said as

Bahrain court acquits police officers of torture charges

A Bahraini high criminal court on Monday acquitted two police ofcers on trial for the torture of six Shiite doctors during the uprising against the Sunni regime in 2011. The Grand Criminal Court's Third Chamber acquitted the two ofcers of all charges due to the lack