7th March 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, and Mr. Al-Khawaja is a member of IFEX.

Bahrain: Release Human Rights Defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja - 06/03/12

This courageous defender of the peoples rights in Bahrain and the Middle East and North Africa region is at huge risk of dying in prison. Like the Palestinian activists Khader Adnan, and now Hana Al-Shalabi, he started a hunger strike. Since 8 February 2012, Mr. AlKhawaja has stopped eating, he is now suffering deteriorated health, entering his fourth week without nourishment. In an open letter, Al-Khawaja pledged to stay on hunger strike until freedom or death. Read More freeze on fees for expatriates for another two years, in a bid to assist private rms in their recovery from the recession and political unrest. The government rst announced plans to suspend levies on companies in April last year, at the height of the Arab uprisings in the country. Read More

Saudi Arabias Shiite problem - 07/03/12

At least seven young Shiite Muslims have been shot dead and several dozen wounded by security forces in Eastern Saudi Arabia in recent months. While details of the shootings remain unclear, and the ministry of interior claims those shot were attacking the security forces, mass protests have followed the funerals of the deceased. These events are only the latest developments in the decadeslong struggle of the Saudi Shiites, which has taken on a new urgency in the context of 2011's regional uprisings --

Bahrain should immediately and unconditionally release Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja from prison. He is well-known human rights defender and

but have been largely ignored by mainstream media. The events of the Arab Spring have heightened longstanding tensions in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. Just three days after largescale protests started in Bahrain on February 14, 2011, protests began in the Eastern Province, which is a 30minute drive across the causeway from Bahrain. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Saudi interior ministry vowed to crush the protests with an "Iron Fist" and has unleashed a media-smear campaign against protests and the Shiites in general. While protests subsided over the summer, they started again in October and have become larger ever since, leading to an ever more heavy-handed response from the security forces. Read More

Bahrain delays 'expat tax' by two years 07/03/12

Bahrain will not charge companies to employ foreign workers until 2014, as part of its plan to help revive the countrys economy, Trade Arabia has reported. MPs in the island state voted in favour of extending a

Bahrain Arrests Protesters Who Attacked Police, Ministry Says 07/03/12

Bahrains security forces arrested a group of protesters who attacked a police patrol in Sitra over the weekend, the Interior Ministry said today in

Citizens for Bahrain condemns attacks against foreign workers 06/03/12

The disclosure of hundreds of attacks against Asian workers in Bahrain in recent months is a shocking revelation and a frightening indication of the growing readiness to use violence by certain groups within our society. We condemn these

attacks, which we consider to be equally reprehensible as assaults against Bahraini nationals. The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, which brought these facts to light, reports that these attacks come from an organized group within the anti-government movement. Such a claim is highly disturbing, and we call on all elements of the opposition to distance themselves from all forms of violence and terrorism which in Bahrain can never be a legitimate means of achieving their political ends. Read More

a statement posted on its website. Four policemen suffered severe burns when demonstrators in Sitra hurled a large number of Molotov cocktails at the patrol on March 3, the ministry said in a statement. Tensions in the island nation persist a year after the government quashed a month of anti-government rallies by mostly Shiite demonstrators. Read More has been in the spotlight for some time.

Bernie: Teams want Bahrain GP - 07/03/12

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone insists that the general feeling amongst the teams is that they want to race in Bahrain. The 2011 Bahrain GP was cancelled due to unrest in Gulf state and this season's race

In recent times there has been another spike in protests within Bahrain and it has been suggested that protesters may look to use the race to make a political statement. Despite this, Ecclestone insists that he is committed to the April 22 event and that the teams are also on board. Read More

Extend expat labour fee freeze say Bahrain MPs - 07/03/12

Bahrains parliament yesterday (March 6) voted in favour of extending a freeze on fees for foreign workers for another two years. Read More

A landmark vote yesterday (March 6) saw Bahrains parliament veto a Royal decree that would increase the government's share from 20 per cent to 50 per cent in the revenues of Tamkeen, the countrys labour fund. Read More

Rumour-mongers in Bahrain face jail, ne 07/03/12

People convicted of intentionally spreading false information that leads to violence could face up to two years in prison and a minimum ne of BD200 ($530.46) in Bahrain, said a senior government ofcial. Read More

Bahrains parliament blocks labour fund plan - 07/03/12