4th, 5th, 6th October 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Abdulrahman al-Sayyed said in a statement.

Bahrain charges leading ex-MP with inciting terror

Bahrain's general prosecutor on Saturday said he had referred prominent Shiite opposition ex-MP Khalil Marzooq to court on charges of "inciting terrorist crimes". Marzooq, a senior gure in the main Al-Wefaq opposition formation who was arrested on September 17, also faces charges of "promoting acts that amount to terrorist crimes",

The prosecutor also accused Marzooq of using his position in Al-Wefaq, a legal association, to "call for crimes that are considered terror acts under the law," the statement said. The prosecutor confronted Marzooq with his public speeches in which he allegedly supported the "principles of terror elements... especially the terrorist group named the February 14 Coalition, which he openly supported," the statement said. Read More Abdul Rahman Al Syed said that the charges levelled after the Public Prosecution completed its investigations of the case also included using a position and management within a legally formed political association to call for committing crimes that constitute acts of terrorism punishable under the Community Protection Law. Read More

Bahrain to try opposition leader for inciting terrorism

The deputy leader of Bahrain's largest opposition party is to face trial on charges including inciting terrorism, the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom said on Saturday. Khalil al-Marzouk was detained in mid-September by police investigating what

authorities called his promotion of terrorism, angering his Al Wefaq party, an Islamist group which says it advocates non-violent methods of activism. In a statement published by the state news agency, First Attorney General Abdulrahman Al Sayed said the Public Prosecution had completed its investigations of charges against Marzouk and ordered him to be jailed pending criminal trial. Read More terror acts under the law." The ex-MP's public support for the February 14 Coalition, for example, was cited as evidence of supporting terrorism according to the prosecutor.

Bahrain charges Shiite ex-MP with "inciting terrorism"

Bahrain's general prosecutor Abdulrahman alSayyed charged Shiite opposition ex-MP Khalil Marzooq of "inciting terrorist crimes" Saturday, according to AFP.

Al Wefaq leader to face trial on October 24

Bahrains First Attorney General on Saturday said that Khalil Marzouq, the Assistant SecretaryGeneral of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, would be put on trial on October 24 on charges of inciting terrorism and promoting acts that constitute crimes of terrorism.

Marzooq, a prominent leader of the opposition AlWefaq legal association, was arrested on September 17th for using his position in the group to "call for crimes that are considered

50 other Shiites were sentenced to serve up to 15 years in jail last Sunday for forming the February 14 Coalition, the movement "blamed for most of the confrontations between security authorities and the Shiite majority" according to the AFP report. Read More

Bahrain Repression Continues Amid Sham Trials and Imprisonment

The lengthy prison sentences handed down to 50 Shia activists last week and the refusal of Bahraini courts to hear their allegations of torture once again conrm the regimes continued repression of the opposition. Amnesty International in a statement this week decried

the unfair trials and sentencing of these activists and the inability of the defence lawyers to present witnesses or to challenge the authorities politically motivated charges. Court decisions seem to be pre-ordained regardless of the facts. Many of those convicted were allegedly tortured in prison before trial as terrorists", an accusation which the Al Khalifa regime hurls at any Bahraini who criticises regime brutality. Read More

U.S. discussing rights issues with Bahrain

The U.S. government has expressed its concern about the treatment of opposition leaders in Bahrain to its close partners in Manama, the State Department said. Bahrain's government last month conrmed the arrest

of Khalil al-Marzooq, a deputy leader from the opposition al-Wefaq organization. He was accused of inciting violence and supporting terrorism through a speech he delivered to supporters in September. The Bahraini government stripped dozens of political activists of their citizenship, including at least one member of al-Wefaq. Bahrain blames the opposition group for unrest in the Persian Gulf country. Read More 15-year prison terms, four others receiving 10 years and the other 30 sentenced to ve years behind bars, according to AFP. Among those implicated is prominent Iraqi cleric Hadi Al-Mudaressi. Ali Alaswad, a member of the opposition Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, puts the numbers involved much higher.Ninty-ve Bahrainis in total were convicted to a total of 808 years," he said. The regime seems intent on locking up anyone and everyone who opposes them. Read More

were dropped and he was let go. He was arrested alongside blogger and photographer Hussein Hubail and others. Lawyer Abdelaziz Moussa explained that all activists had been arrested on suspicion of enticing violence, calling and organizing marches as well as promoting hatred against the regime. Read More

Bahrain frees jailed blogger

Ofcials in Bahrain conrmed that blogger Mohammed Hassan Safy has been released from jail. The blogger, whose arrest had been ordered by the Public Prosecution, had been accused of rebellion against the regime, following a three-hour interrogation all charges

Concerns over fair trail rights cloud Bahrain activist verdicts

Last Sunday, 50 Bahrainis, including one woman, were given heavy sentences for their part in forming a revolutionary coalition. The ruling raised questions about the fairness of politically linked trials in the energy-rich Arab Gulf country. The court accused members of the 14 February Revolution Youth Coalition with "terrorism," slapping 16 defendants with

Bahrain Hosts First Gulf Media Forum for Information Ministers

The Bahraini regime has frequently cracked down on human rights defenders by prosecuting them for their actions on social media. In an ironic twist raising eyebrows around the globe, this week the Kingdom hosted the Gulf Cooperation Councils (GCC) rst Media Forum in

Manama. The two-day forum, themed Mass Media and Telecommunications and their impact on National Security, was hosted by the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) with participation from around 150 GCC representatives, including GCC information ministers, specialized media and telecommunications professionals, and academics. Read More