6th April 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahraini hunger striker casts a long shadow over claims of reform
Bahrain's best known human rights activist, Abdulhadi alKhawaja, who is on the 57th day of a hunger strike, could die in jail at any moment say those who have seen him recently. "His heart could stop at any time or he could slip into a coma," said his daughter Maryam. Mr al-Khawaja, 51, who was sentenced to life in jail last year for an alleged plot to overthrow the Bahraini monarchy, says he will continue his hunger strike until he is freed or he dies. His death is likely to ignite violence in Bahrain where members of the majority Shia community have protested against his imprisonment. It would also discredit the Bahrain hunger-striker attempt by the Bahraini government to persuade the al-Khawaja moved to international community it is hospital seriously pursuing legal and constitutional reforms. A leading human rights activist in Bahrain has been moved to The detention of Mr ala hospital clinic and is being Khawaja, has lead to calls for fed intravenously after 58 days the cancellation of the on hunger strike. Bahrain Formula One race later this month. The Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is government has been protesting against a life publicising the race as a sign sentence for his role in antithat Bahrainis are united and government protests last year. the situation on the island Kingdom has returned to Mr Khawaja was convicted by normal. "They are using it as a special security court of a celebration that we are one nation while people are being killed weekly," says Zaynab, another daughter of Mr alKhawaja. Read More trying to overthrow Bahrain's royal family. Human rights organisations have called for him to be freed. His lawyer says his condition is worsening. Mohammed al-Jishi told Reuters that Mr Khawaja was moved to the clinic after losing 10 kg (22lb). "His condition has worsened... his blood pressure is down, and he is getting an IV (intravenous) drip," he said. His daughter Zainab has also been detained during a protest for her father on Thursday. Read More Associated Press reports, the security forces dispersed marchers demanding the release of a leading rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for 58 days. The Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race, which was canceled last year amid concerns about a crackdown on dissent, is supposed to begin on April 20, under the banner, Unied: One Nation in Celebration. Read More prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, was on day 57 of a hunger strike; it was also his birthday. Zainabs tweets reveal that she like many other human rights activists in Bahrain had been extremely worried about her fathers deteriorating health. Thursday afternoon, she posted a photo of her emaciated father, which she wrote was taken that day. Read More

Bahrain activist moved to hospital after hunger strike

A jailed Bahraini activist who has been on hunger strike for 58 days was moved to a hospital and fed intravenously on Friday after his health deteriorated sharply, his lawyer said. Protesters clashed with police at a gathering of more than 5,000 demonstrators in

the north of the capital Manama to demand the release o f Abdulhadi alKhawaja, one of 14 men in prison for leading "Arab Spring" pro-democracy protests last year.

Bahrain Activists Hunger Strike Belies Image of Calm Ahead of Formula One Race

Two weeks before Bahrain is scheduled to hold a prestigious international motor race, the kingdoms attempts to project an image of calm were shattered on Friday when the "Rioters broke from a group of demonstrators on Budaiya police red tear gas at thousands of protesters in the Rd and hurled Molotov cocktails, iron rods and rocks capital, Manama. As The at police," t he Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account. Read More sustained for nearly two months.

Bahrain hunger striker's daughter arrested

Authorities in Bahrain said Friday that they've arrested the daughter of a human rights activist who has drawn international attention and widespread protests with a hunger strike that he's

Zainab al-Khawaja was detained outside the Interior Ministry complex, said her lawyer, who is also representing her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Her father is striking to protest the life sentence he received for his alleged role in the unrest that continues to embroil his country. Read More

On jailed activists birthday, daughter screams outside his prison and is arrested
Zainab Al-Khawaja, well known on Twitter as @angryarabiya, was arrested Thursday night in Manama as she screamed outside the prison where her father is incarcerated, her lawyer reported. Her father,

Bahrain police arrest activist as protests escalate

Bahrain police arrested a female activist after she protested outside the Interior Ministry's headquarters in the heart of the capital Manama, demanding the release of her father, having been on hunger strike for over 55 days.

Zainab Al Khawaja was arrested on charges of attacking an on- duty public employee, the Ministry announced on Friday. "After being notied several times that she was in a restricted area, she attacked a public employee and was arrested by a policewoman to be referred to public prosecution," ofcial source said. Read More in danger and urged the international community to intervene and press for his release. Khawaja, who was condemned with other opposition activists to life in jail over an alleged plot to topple the Sunni monarchy during a month-long protest a year ago, began his hunger strike on the night of February 8-9. Read More Reprinted here:
Bahrain opposition rallies for hunger striker - FRANCE 24 Bahrain opposition rallies for hunger striker | The Asian Age www.timesunion.com/news/article/ Bahrain-protesters-rally-behindhunger-striker-3463766.php Bahrain opposition rallies for hunger striker - Region - World Ahram Online Bahrainis rally in support of hunger striker

international intervention from groups such as Amnesty International.

Police descend on Bahrain rally for hunger striker

Bahraini security forces fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters marching Friday in support of a jailed human rights activist whose nearly two-month hunger strike has become a powerful rallying point for the tiny nation's Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni monarchy. "Freedom or martyrdom," cried marchers who carried portraits of Abdulhadi alKhawaja, whose declining health has brought appeals for

Al-Khawaja and seven other opposition leaders were sentenced to life in prison in June after bring convicted of anti-state crimes. Bahrain's Shiite majority began an uprising nearly 14 month ago against the political controls of the Sunni monarchy, which remains backed by its Western allies and holds strategic ties such as hosting the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Read More Reprinted here:
Police descend on Bahrain rally for hunger striker - Wire World News The Sacramento Bee

Bahrain opposition rallies for hunger striker

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Bahrain on Friday for the release of a jailed activist who has been on hunger strike for almost two months. Two demonstrations -- in Jidhafs district of Manama and in the village of Aali -uged the release of rights activist Abdulhadi alKhawaja, witnesses told AFP. The protesters carried pictures of Khawaja alongside Bahraini flags and chanted his name. Bahrain's largest opposition movement Al-Wefaq warned that the activist's life was now

Marches in Bahrain for hunger striker

Thousands of protesters in Bahrain have chanted slogans in support of a jailed human rights activist whose nearly two-month hunger strike has become a powerful rallying point for the tiny nation's Shi'ite-led uprising against the Sunni monarchy. 'Freedom or martyrdom,' cried marchers who carried portraits of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja,

whose declining health has brought appeals for international intervention from groups such as Amnesty International. Al-Khawaja and seven other opposition leaders were sentenced to life in prison in June after bring convicted of anti-state crimes. Bahrain's Shi'ite majority began an uprising nearly 14 month ago against the political controls of the Sunni monarchy, which remains backed by its Western allies and holds strategic ties such as hosting the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Read More events on its streets last year proved to be more independent than many expected and there is no doubt that there are those amongst the country's rulers seeking genuine reform. It is also true that not all the problems in Bahrain come from one side. In a context where genuine and sustainable reform is taking place, holding a Grand Prix could be a unifying event for the people of Bahrain as well as a positive showcase on the world stage. But things are not at that stage. Read More

Bahrain: UN top official calls for investigation into killing of citizen journalist
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with promoting and defending the freedom of the press today called for an investigation into the killing of a citizen journalist in Bahrain during a civilian demonstration. Ahmed Ismael Hassan AlSamadi, 22, was shot on 31 March while filming the

crackdown of security forces on a demonstration in the village of Salmabad, southwest of the capital of Bahrain, Manama. The basic human right of freedom of expression and the freedom of journalists and citizen journalists to cover events are essential for any society that wants to uphold the principles of democracy and rule of law, said the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova. Read More

Time to Rethink the Bahrain Grand Prix by Richard Burden MP

Damon Hill is right to call on the governing body of motor sport to rethink its decision to go ahead with this year's Bahrain Grand Prix. I say that as someone who is a motor sport nut as well as an MP with a keen interest in the Middle East. The inquiry which the Bahrain Government set up into the

Bahrain unrest fuels calls for grand prix to be cancelled

Pressure is growing for motorsport authorities to cancel this month'sFormula One race in Bahrain, amid continuing violence on the streets and a hunger strike by a jailed activist. Protesters, human rights groups and MPs have called for the race, due on April 22, to be called off. They say it is unacceptable to go ahead with the grand prix while riot police are using teargas and live bullets against demonstrators, one of whom was shot dead last week. The country's Sunni leadership is determined to

hold the event. It argues that the revolt by the kingdom's Shia majority, which began nearly 14 months ago and caused last year's grand prix to be abandoned, has mostly fizzled out. In the run-up to the race, opposition supporters have plastered posters on walls and lambasted Formula One drivers via social media. "We don't want Formula One in our country," an activist, Ali Mohammed, told Associated Press during a recent rally in the capital, Manama. "They are killing us every day with teargas. They have no respect for human rights or democracy. Why would we keep silent? No one will enjoy the F1 in Bahrain with cries for freedom from the inside and outside of the race." Read More amid the continued unrest in the kingdom.

MP leads growing calls for FIA to reconsider under-fire Bahrain Grand Prix
Pressure was mounting on the motorsport authorities to reconsider the decision to go ahead with this year's Bahrain Grand Prix. MP Richard Burden, who is active in Parliament on both the Middle East and motorsport, echoed Damon Hills' call for the FIA to think again about holding the race on April 22. Mr Burden, Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, said: 'Damon Hill is right to call on the governing body of motorsport to rethink its decision to go ahead with this year's Bahrain Grand Prix.

'I say that as someone who is a motorsport nut as well as an MP with a keen interest in the Middle East. 'The inquiry which the Bahrain government set up into the events on its streets last year proved to be more independent than many expected and there is no doubt that there are those amongst the country's rulers seeking genuine reform. It is also true that not all the problems in Bahrain come from one side. 'In a context where genuine and sustainable reform is taking place, holding a grand prix could be a unifying event for the people of Bahrain as well as a positive showcase on the world stage. But things are not at that stage. Read More

Bahrain 'should not happen', says MP

Labour MP Richard Burden has joined calls for the Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled amid fresh concerns about the ongoing political trouble in the Gulf island state. Former world champion Damon Hill said this week that the FIA should rethink the hosting of the Sakhir race

Burden, who under the last government was a special advisor to the Minister of Sport, Richard Caborn, on motorsport, has backed Hill's view. "Damon Hill is right to call on the governing body of motor sport to rethink its decision to go ahead with this year's Bahrain Grand Prix," Burden wrote in a column for the Huffington Post. Read More

Bahrain unrest 'continually monitored', say FIA

Motor racing chiefs admitted Friday that they are continually monitoring the violent unrest in Bahrain as pressure grows to cancel the Gulf kingdom's Formula One Grand Prix, scheduled for April 22. "The FIA is in daily contact with the highest authorities, the principal European

embassies and, of course, the local and international promoters," the international motor racing federation said in a statement released to AFP. "The FIA is the guarantor of race security and in each country counts on local authorities to guarantee this security. "On this point, we have been regularly assured by the highest authorities in Bahrain that all the security challenges are under control." Read More "In hindsight, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) should not have scheduled the 2012 race so early in the season,"said Richard Burden, a Labor member of parliament. "It was always going to be too early to know how far things had moved on in Bahrain since last year. F1 can't turn the clock back but, with three weeks to go before the race, it can still rethink. It should do so," he added. Read More

More on Richard Burden MP and F1

Labour MP urges FIA to rethink Bahrain | F1 News | Apr 2012 | Crash.Net MP says Bahrain GP should not go ahead Racer.com Rethink call on Bahrain GP - News - Grantham Journal Labour MP Richard Burden says Bahrain GP should not go ahead - F1 news AUTOSPORT.com

MP: Formula One must scrap Bahrain again | The Sun |Sport| Motorsport Bahrain Grand Prix: MP Richard Burden Calls For Rethink pitpass - MP calls for Bahrain rethink Calls grow to scrap Bahrain Grand Prix / Sport / Home - Morning Star Bahrain 'should not happen', says MP Yahoo! Eurosport

F1 urged to rethink Bahrain Grand Prix as protests continue

Formula One bosses are under increasing pressure to review their decision to stage the Bahrain Grand Prix later this month. A British politician added his voice to the growing chorus of dissent on Friday saying motorsport ofcials should "rethink" their plans.

Andrew Anderson: Bahrain Grand Prix will end in tears

"The good thing about Bahrain is it seems more democratic there than most places. People are allowed to speak when they want, they can protest if they want to," said Bernie Ecclestone in an interview with the BBC on 27th March 2012. Ahmed Ismael Al-Samadi, (22 years old) from Salmabad, was shot in the stomach by a man in civilian clothes accompanying the security forces during a protest on 30th March 2012. He later died from his wounds.

I was in Bahrain this week to try and see my friend and former colleague Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, an internationally renowned human rights defender, who was arrested in April 2011, brutally tortured and then sentenced to life in prison after a grossly unfair trial. I attended his appeal court hearing on Monday but Abdulhadi, who is currently on the 57th day of a hunger strike, was not brought to the court. He was moved from Bahrain's Jaw prison on 3rd April to be held in a clinic at the Ministry of Interior. He is currently at serious risk of organ failure having lost 25% of his body weight. Read More

Understanding The Resilience Of Monarchy During The Arab Spring Analysis

Over a year into the Arab Spring, a curious pattern has come to dene the revolutionary wave that has swept the Middle East. It is presidents and colonels, not kings and princes, who have proven most vulnerable to social upheaval. Civic unrest forced Zine Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia to leave the country

for exile abroad, while in Egypt mass protests compelled Hosni Mubarak to cede power to military caretakers. In Libya, an armed rebellion with NATO assistance defeated the regime of Muammar Qadda, who lost both his ofce and his life. Milder earthquakes have shaken other presidential regimes, as well: witness Bashar Assad in Syria, whose regime confronts widespread uprisings outside Damascus, and Ali Abdullah Salih in Yemen, who grudgingly acceded to political transition in the context of roiling violence. Read More inating the importance of the democratic uprisings in several Arab countries in shaping the future contours of the Middle East. This caution applies especially to exaggerating both the prospects of democracy -particularly the unhindered linear transition to representative rule -- in the Arab world and the role of major Arab powers in determining political outcomes in the Middle East in the short and medium-term future. Read More

Lawyer: Zainab Bahrain hunger striker's daughter jailed

A Bahraini lawyer says the daughter of a jailed human rights activist on a nearly twomonth hunger strike has been transferred to prison after her arrest. Read More

closer to death after 58 days of a hunger strike. Read More

Martyr in Bahrain as Khawaja Expected to Raise Level of Challenge

An old lady was martyred after being poisoned by the Bahraini forces toxic gases that hit her residence in the Maamir region. Read More

Assessing the Arab Spring in its second year

The "Arab Spring" is now over one year old. In much of the popular analysis over the past year the term "Arab Spring" has become the dening characteristic of the "new" Middle East emerging from decades of authoritarian and repressive rule. However, one should be cautious about

Bahraini HR Activist AlKhawaja Nears Death, Family Sends Urgent Appeal

The family of detained Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja sent out Friday an urgent appeal for his release as he teeters

Canadian School Shows Solidarity with Bahraini People

Canadian ESLE school students organized a rally in the school campus to show solidarity with the Bahraini people. Read More moved to prison Friday after being detained during widespread protests for her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, whose declining health has brought international appeals for intervention, AP reported.

Bahraini regime forces attack protesters outside Manama

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked thousands of anti-regime protesters on the outskirts of the capital city of Manama, Press TV reports. Read More

Khalifa regimes deance of international calls demanding the release of top rights activists Abdulhadi alKhawaja. Read More

Assessing the Arab Spring in its second year

A Bahraini lawyer has said the daughter of a jailed human rights activist on a nearly twomonth hunger strike has been transferred to prison after her arrest. Mohammed al-Jishi said Zainab al-Khawaja was

Bahraini cleric slams US for preaching democracy, AL for silence

Top Bahraini cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has slammed the US and the Arab League for turning a blind eye to Manamas brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests,Press TV reports. Read More

Bahrainis call for more Abdulhadi Khawaja and seven rallies to demand alother opposition leaders were Khawaja's release
sentenced to life in prison in June. Read More Bahrainis have called for more protest rallies in response to the ruling Al