2nd December 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain PM's role in disputed aluminium deals probed at UK trial
A British court saw documents on Monday purporting to show that Bahrain's prime minister had direct inuence over the affairs of aluminium smelter Alba when it was making deals now at the heart of a major corruption case. The documents were shown by a lawyer for British-Canadian businessman Victor Dahdaleh, who is on trial accused of paying some $67 million in bribes to former Alba managers in return for a cut of contracts with suppliers worth more than $3 billion. One of Britain's biggest corruption cases for years, the trial has opened a rare window ontobusiness practices normally shielded from public view in secretive Bahrain and comes at a sensitive time of political unrest in the tiny Gulf kingdom. Read More tyres on re in May last year and for taking part in an unauthorised protest during which a police vehicle was attacked, although no one was hurt. The jail terms are the latest against Shiites accused of violence in the Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchy, where a Shiite-led uprising to demand democratic reform was crushed in March 2011. Read More

I've Been Forced into Exile for Defending Human Rights in My Home Country, Bahrain
I am not going back to my country.! It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.!But I made it to continue doing the work that matters most to me: documenting the human rights violations in Bahrain that have been ongoing since protests for change

began in February 2011. I will stay abroad and work from exile for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)!after receiving numerous death threats for launching a campaign to hold ofcials accountable for torture. The BCHR launched a campaign called "Wanted for Justice" from Nov. 1!to Nov. 23, which has involved publishing the names and photos of people responsible for human rights violations in Bahrain.!Many of these offenses have gone unpunished. Read More

Bahrain jails 16 Shiites over attack on police

A Bahraini court on Monday sentenced 16 Shiites convicted of attacking a police patrol with Molotov cocktails to seven years in prison each, a judicial source said. They were also found guilty of blocking roads by setting

democracy protests erupted in 2011.

Bahrain court rejects jailed activist's request for release

A Bahraini court on Monday rejected a request by a prominent human rights activist that he be freed after serving three quarters of a prison term for taking part in unlicensed protests. Bahrain, where the Sunni Al Khalifa family rules over a majority Shi'ite population, has been in political turmoil since Shi'ite-led pro-

The kingdom is a base for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which patrols oil shipping lanes in the Gulf region. Lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi said leading rights activist Nabeel Rajab, sentenced last year to two years in prison for cases related to organising and participating in protests, had a legal right to an early release after spending a year and half in prison. Read More

Jailed Bahraini Shiite activist denied early release

A Bahraini court refused Monday to free prominent Shiite activist Nabeel Rajab saying he was not eligible for early release from jail where he is serving a twoyear sentence, a judicial source said.

Rajab was arrested in the wake of the Sunni monarchy's crackdown on a month of Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding political reforms and jailed for taking part in "unauthorised" protests. His sentence was later reduced on appeal to two years from an initial three and according lawyers and right groups he had been eligible for early release late last month. Read More progress and prosperity in all areas. The government then listed 26 different achievements in response to the 26 recommendations from the BICI report. However, various rights groups continue expressing abuses by the Bahraini governmentincluding the growing threats against human rights defenders and the continued exploitation of the judicial system. Bahrain Center for Human Rights continues to call for medical treatment for incarcerated political leader Abdulwahab Hussain.! Read More

he was eligible because he had served three-quarters of a two-year sentence.

Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab denied early release

A Bahraini court has rejected a request for early release from the jailed human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab. A judicial source told the AFP news agency Mr Rajab's lawyers had argued

The prominent activist was convicted in August 2012 of taking part in illegal gatherings and disturbing public order. Last week, Amnesty International said Mr Rajab had been detained in "inhumane and humiliating conditions". Read More government unrest in the country, though a court later reduced the term by a year.

Bahraini Government Claims 26 BICI Achievements

According to the state run Bahrain News Agency, the Government of Bahrain said, it was implementing the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), and,!it would continue to build on the achievements that had been accomplished and pledged to move forward with reforms and development towards more

Jailed Bahrain activist fails to win early release

A Bahrain court has rejected a request for the early release of jailed human rights activist human Nabeel Rajab, lawyers representing him said. Rajab received a three-year prison sentence in August 2012 on charges of encouraging "illegal gatherings" tied to anti-

Lawyer Jalila al-Sayed said a judge rejected her request Sunday to approve a conditional early release, for which Rajab is now eligible under Bahraini law. Rajab heads the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and is one of several highprole prisoners from crackdowns during an uprising by the country's majority Shiites that began in 2011. Read More