5th June 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain activists recount abuse claims in retrial
A Bahraini defense lawyer says jailed activists challenging verdicts issued against them by a militaryled tribunal recounted in court that they had been subjected to torture and beatings after their arrest. Lawyer Mohsen al-Alawi says several of the defendants claimed Tuesday they faced abuse by police and others as part of a crackdown by Bahrain's Sunni leaders against a Shiite-led uprising calling for greater political rights. thick white smoke pours through the window. According to the videos caption on YouTube, it was filmed in the city of Aali, in the north of the island, on May 27. One of our Observers who lives there told us that this video was indeed filmed in Aalis old town centre. While it is impossible to verify the date, a large protest was held on May 27 in solidarity with imprisoned Shiite activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaji, and was reportedly broken up by Bahraini security forces. Activists say that they often use large amounts of tear gas to dissuade residents from letting protesters hide in their homes. Read More inappropriately approached by him over a year before being fired in October 2011, AFP reported on Tuesday. The incidents allegedly took place at the ambassadors home in the Paris suburb of Neuilly. The 44-year-old plaintiff had initially accused al-Belooshi of raping her on more than one occasion, but later told investigators that she was able to thwart those attempts Read More

Bahraini Human Rights Defenders Letter Smuggled Out of Prison

Human Rights First has obtained a translated copy of a letter written by Bahraini prisoner and Human Rights Defender Mahdi Abu Deeb and smuggled out of Bahrains Jaw Prison. The letter is from Abu Deeb to the King of Bahrain, asking him to implement human

The civilian court retrial for the 21-member group includes eight activists Bahraini residents regularly sentenced to life in prison for send us videos showing the anti-state crimes. police making liberal use of tear gas. This latest video, Among them is Abdulhadi al- however, is particularly Khawaja, who ended a more striking. than 100-day hunger strike last week. Seven defendants The video below shows three were convicted in absentia. police officers patrolling what appears to be a calm street. Read More One of them loads his tear gas gun, aims it through an open rights reforms. Abu Deeb is window, and shoots into the the President of the Bahrain house. A few minutes later, Teachers Association (BTA), and was arrested in April last year for his part in the prodemocracy uprising. He was tortured, convicted in an unfair military trial and Bahraini ambassador sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Vice-President of to Paris probed over the BTA, Jalila Al Salman, sexual harassment was convicted in the same trial also after being tortured, French prosecutors have and was sentenced to three opened a preliminary years in prison. They are investigation into the Bahraini currently undergoing an ambassador to Paris alleged appeal and although Al sexual harassment of an Salman is out of prison while employee. that process continues, Abu Deeb remains in custody. A former domestic worker for the Bahraini envoy, Nasser Read More al-Belooshi said she was media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, used as a centralising force for protestors. Many Bahraini young people sought refuge online, far away from government censorship laws that violate their basic human rights to free speech. Social networks have created a space for the voiceless people who had no opportunity to speak out before. It is also a space that continues to make their voice heard on a wider scale, beyond Bahrains boundaries. Read More

Bahraini police caught on camera spraying tear gas into homes

strengthening its ties to its powerful neighbor.

Bahrain: The role of Social Media in promoting democracy

In early 2011, Bahrain was the third country to experience its own Arab Spring, following Tunisia and Egypt. On the 14th February 2011, thousands of youths marched towards the capital city of Manama demanding political reforms. The cry for freedom and change was spread through social

10 new cases of torture filed against Bahrain cops

Saudi Arabia's plan to forge a closer military and political union with other Persian Gulf countries risks inflaming tensions with Iran, experts warn. Bahrain, a tiny island kingdom which is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, is intent on

The Saudi spear-headed plan envisions a unified military and foreign policy across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also includes the Sunni monarchies Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The proposal is seen as a bulwark against the growing influence of Shiite Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival. Read More