7th/ 8th/ 9th November 2014

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain pulls out of
handball worlds in
Qatar
Bahrain pulled out of the
2015 mens World Handball
Championships in Qatar on
Friday amid tense political
relations between the Gulf
neighbors.
The International Handball
Federation said in a
statement that Bahrain

officials told the governing

body the team was
withdrawing from the 24nation event, which starts
Jan. 15.
The IHF gave no reason for
Bahrains decision. Bahrain
qualified for the
championships nine months
ago.
Bahrain and Qatar have
had rocky diplomatic
relations this year.
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saying that he died of
torture at Jaw Prison.

Bahrain orders probe

into death of prisoner
Bahraini authorities ordered
Saturday an investigation
into the "beating and death"
of an inmate in custody, the
interior ministry said.
The ministry did not reveal
the name of the prisoner
but activists of the Shiite
majority named him online
as Hassan al-Sheikh,

Interior Minister Sheikh

Rashid bin Abdullah alKhalifa has ordered an
"internal review after the
public prosecution's
investigation into the
beating and death of an
inmate," said a statement.
The review will include all
policies and procedures
followed in prisons, it said.
Read More

Specter of ISIL
haunts Bahrain's
elections
On Nov. 9, Bahrain will host
an international conference
aimed at combating the
Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL). The location
is an ironic choice, since
the regime has fueled the
sort of dangerous
sectarianism that launched
ISIL over the last few
years.Bahrains top
Cabinet posts and security
forces are drawn almost

exclusively from the Sunni

branch of Islam, and
government supporters
portray legitimate demands
for democratic reform as
Iranian-inspired Shia
agitation.
The summit comes as the
kingdom prepares to hold
parliamentary elections on
Nov. 22. Bahrain needs free
and fair elections to build a
genuinely inclusive politics
and help delegitimize the
extremism of ISIL and other
groups. U.S. and European
representatives must stress
that during Sundays
conference.
Read More

Bahrain's Justice
Ministry ends action
against Waad
opposition

The Justice Ministry in July

asked a court to suspend
the National Democratic
Action Society, known as
Waad, and two other
groups, including the main
opposition group Al Wefaq,
for three months.

Bahrain has dropped a

case filed four months ago
to suspend the activities of
an opposition political
group, the state news
agency BNA said on
Sunday, in a move that
could ease tensions ahead
of general elections.

The ministry told the court it

had based its decision to
drop the case against Waad
on the fact that the group
had held its annual general
conference and elected a
new secretary general
according to the law, BNA
said.
Read More