19th November 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain opposition leadership 'systematically targeted'
The head of the main Shia political society in Bahrain has told the BBC that the opposition leadership is being systematically targeted by the state. Sheikh Ali Salman of Wefaq has been charged with insulting the interior ministry through an exhibition about alleged human rights abuses by police. His deputy, Khalil Marzook, is on trial for inciting youth violence and trying to overthrow the Sunni-led government. Mr Salman said the allegations against them both were politically motivated. Read More

Witness at UK trial alleges high-level corruption in Bahrain

A former senior executive at the Bahraini aluminium smelter Alba, the fourthlargest in the world, told a London court on Tuesday there was a "parallel universe of corruption" at the top of the statecontrolled rm during his time there. South African Jeremy Nottingham, who was

deputy chief executive at Alba from 1998 to 2004, was speaking as a prosecution witness in the bribery trial of BritishCanadian businessman Victor Dahdaleh. The trial involves allegations of corruption at senior levels of government and business in Bahrain, a sensitive issue at a time when the Sunni ruling dynasty's authority is being disputed by sporadic protests from within the Shi'ite majority. Read More

Serious accusations keep Wefaqs second man inside Bahrain

A Bahraini court on Monday conrmed a travel ban imposed on prominent Shiite opposition gure Khalil Marzooq, on trial for inciting terrorism, a judicial source said. Marzooq's defence team had requested lifting the

travel ban ordered at the rst hearing in the trial of the former lawmaker, who was also in court Monday. The criminal court set the next hearing for December 12. Marzooq was arrested on September 17 after being called in for questioning and later charged by the public prosecutor with "promoting acts that amount to terrorist crimes". Read More Bahrain's security forces cracked down hard political battle lines between government and opposition were drawn. Two and a half years on, has the Bahraini monarchy learned lessons and weathered the storm? HARDtalk speaks to Ala'a al-Shehabi, an activist with the campaigning group Bahrain Watch. Is there a middle ground between the status quo and revolution? Read More

Bahrain upholds draconian jail terms for 17 activists

A Bahrain appeals court has upheld jail terms of up to 15 years for 17 protest activists accused of attacks on police in the unrest-hit country, a judicial source said Tuesday. The Manama court, which delivered the verdicts on

Monday, also reduced by seven years sentences for three other defendants in the same case, the source said. The group of activists were tried on charges of attempting to murder police, carrying out arson attacks on their vehicles, causing public disturbance and possessing Molotov cocktails. Read More

HARDtalk - Ala'a alShehabi - Founding Member, Bahrain Watch

Back in 2011 the small Gulf state of Bahrain seemed to be on the brink of tumultuous change. The ruling Al Khalifa family faced unprecedented street protests and demands for democratic reform.

Syrias Sectarian Ripples Across the Gulf

The Gulf Arab states have been major players in Syrias war and, in turn, the wars effects have rippled across the domestic landscapes of the Gulf in ways that are often unseen but nonetheless signicant. Chief among these has been a rise in sectarian

partisanship by ofcial and non-ofcial actors alike. Like the Iraq war and, to a lesser extent, Lebanons 2006 war, Syrias internecine conict has enabled the Gulfs ruling families, media commentators, clerics, parliamentarians, and activists to invoke and amplify Sunni-Shia identities, often for goals that are rooted in local power politics. Read More