Bahrain dictatorship charges opposition ex-MP with inciting terror
Press TV – October 5, 2013
Bahrain general prosecutor says senior opposition and ex-MP, Khalil Marzooq, has been referred to court on charges of “inciting terrorist crimes.”
Abdulrahman al-Sayyed said in a statement on Saturday that Marzooq, a leading figure in the kingdom’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq, would also face charges of “promoting acts that amount to terrorist crimes.”
Marzooq was arrested on September 17. He served as deputy speaker in Bahrain’s 40-member parliament before a walkout was staged in 2011 by 18 members of al-Wefaq in protest against the violent crackdown on anti-regime demonstrators.
The statement added that Marzooq was also accused of using his position in al-Wefaq to call for “crimes” that are regarded as “terror acts under the law.”
The prosecutor also confronted Marzooq for his public speeches in which he supported an opposition group known as the Coalition Youth of February 14 Revolution.
On September 18, al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s main opposition group, boycotted national reconciliation talks in protest against the detention of Marzooq.
Last Sunday, a court in the kingdom sentenced 50 Shias to up to 15 years in jail for forming the Coalition Youth of February 14 Revolution.
The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011. Protesters initially called for political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.
Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
Related article
Bahrain Regime Jails 50 Opposition Protesters up to 15 Years
Al-Manar | September 29, 2013
A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced 50 people to up to 15 years in jail, including a prominent Iraqi cleric, for forming an opposition group, a judicial source said.
Sixteen defendants were handed 15-year terms, while four others were jailed for 10 years and the other 30 sentenced to five years behind bars, the source said.
The defendants, including Iraqi cleric Hadi al-Mudaressi who was sentenced in absentia, were charged with forming the February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition, which Bahraini authorities accuse of ‘terrorism’.
Several defendants were sentenced in absentia, including Saeed al-Shahabi, a key London-based Bahraini opposition figure who faces an earlier life sentence for his role in the 2011 uprising.
The interior ministry in June named 11 suspects who were arrested in the case, in addition to 13 people who live abroad.
At least 89 people have been killed by the Bahraini authorities since peaceful protests erupted In February 2011, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Related article
Bahraini government ‘blocks’ activist from traveling home to Gulf kingdom
RT | August 10, 2013
Maryam al-Khawaja (Image from twitter.com)
A prominent Bahraini activist was prevented from boarding a British Airways flight from Denmark ahead of major protests expected to occur in her home country next Wednesday. She says the Bahraini government denied her from traveling.
“I was blocked at the boarding and told to check with the counter because there was a problem. The lady called the office in London who told her that there was a denied boarding message as a decision from the Bahraini government,” Maryam Al-Khwaja told the International Business Times.
“Like all airlines, we are required to comply with requests from individual government authorities,” a BA spokesperson told the news website.
The activist asked the airline to explain why the ban had been issued, but was not initially given a reason.
“I’ve put in a request and they’re going to get back to me. I told them to move as fast as possible because if I don’t receive a response I’ll be consulting a lawyer on the possibility of going to court,” she said.
Mass protests are scheduled to take place in Bahrain on August 14 – the country’s Independence Day.
King Hamad, whose Gulf kingdom has been rocked by Shiite-led protests since 2011, banned protests in Manama on Wednesday in anticipation of the rallies.
The royal decree modifies the law to “ban organizing protests, rallies, gatherings or sit-ins in Manama, with the exception of sit-ins outside [offices of] international organizations” which have been approved by police.
Al-Khwaja said that Bahrain’s government wants “no witnesses to its current and anticipated future violations,” according to a statement from the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BHCR).
She later tweeted, “What I want to know is what the regime is so afraid of that they [would] issue a ban preventing me from traveling to Bahrain.”
The activist was due to visit her father and her sister, who are currently imprisoned in Bahrain for their roles in pro-democracy protests.
Al-Khawaja, who holds dual Bahraini-Danish citizenship but has not renewed her Bahraini passport, is acting president of the BHCR.
Her predecessor Nabeel Rajab, the organization’s official president and prominent human rights activist, is currently serving a prison sentence. He was initially arrested for criticizing the prime minister on Twitter in 2012 and was later convicted of disturbing public order, calling for marches without giving prior notification, and participating in illegal gatherings.
Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth fleet, has made a record 221 entry-denials since February 14, 2011, according to Bahrain Watch. Those barred from entering the country include foreign journalists, NGO members, trade unionists, politicians, aid workers, and activists.
Related articles
Bahraini regime arrests over 200 protesters in July
Press TV – August 9, 2013
Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq says more than 200 people including women and children were detained during the heavy-handed regime crackdown on protests in July.
The Bahraini opposition party recently revealed that at least 19 children and one woman were also among those arrested by the regime forces during the demonstrations last month.
According to al-Wefaq, over 170 people were also wounded due to the excessive force used by the Manama regime forces.
Meanwhile, Manama forces have raided some 650 homes over the past month, while 18 cases of brutal and inhumane tortures have also been reported.
On August 7, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa banned protests in the capital, Manama, ahead of the August 14 celebrations of the country’s independence from the United Kingdom.
The opposition is planning to hold a major protest on the same day. The Manama regime has warned that any protests would face the “force of the law.”
Bahrain’s loyalist-dominated parliament has also approved a bill banning all protests in Manama.
The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011.
The Al Khalifa regime promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.
Scores of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses.
The protesters say they will continue demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.
Related article
Bahrain Watch organization says Manama regime tracks critics via Twitter
Press TV – August 5, 2013
The Bahrain Watch organization has revealed that the Manama regime uses fake Twitter accounts to track government critics online.
Since October 2012, the Bahraini regime has detained several citizens for posting anonymous tweets that refer to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
An eight-month investigation showed that the Bahraini regime identifies those anonymous online critics by sending them malicious IP (Internet Protocol) spy links from a network of Twitter and Facebook accounts impersonating well-known opposition figures or other seemingly friendly individuals.
When a person clicks on an IP spy link, the report said, the security forces reveal the IP address of the internet connection they clicked from.
The regime can then force the internet service provider of the IP address to disclose the real name and street address of that internet connection’s subscriber.
According to the report, an examination of court records for five related cases shows that the Public Prosecution’s case centers on linking the IP address of the defendant to the offending anonymous Twitter account.
The prosecution, however, declined to disclose how the IP addresses were acquired, citing information obtained through “private methods that cannot be disclosed.”
The Bahraini regime apparently uses these accounts in secret, and may target their followers, friends, or contacts through private messages.
The report also lists over 120 other accounts that were also targeted in Twitter with IP spy links traceable to the government over the past two years.
Bahrain Watch lead researcher Bill Marczak said, “It is outrageous enough that individuals have been arrested and jailed for mere tweets criticizing the government.”
“That these individuals are being tracked down and convicted based on such weak digital evidence only makes matters worse.”
Bahrain Watch has urged political and social activists in Bahrain, and around the world, to be vigilant about impersonation accounts and malicious links.
“Given the government’s track record, it comes as no surprise that it would resort to such measures to stifle free speech,” Marczak stated.
“However, our hope is that this report will spread awareness of the methods that governments around the world use to trap digital activists.”
Related articles
- Al-Khalifa regime blocks Al-Manar website in Bahrain (realisticbird.wordpress.com)
- Bahrain Declares War on the Opposition (lobelog.com)
US Gulf allies crack down on Internet freedoms
RT | June 10, 2013
Gulf Arab allies of the US have come under fire for introducing a series of draconian measures that limit Internet freedoms. The measures restrict content on social media sites, making “offending” posts punishable by extensive jail sentences.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have tightened controls on Internet freedoms recently, targeting social media and phone applications alike in their communications crackdown.
Across the Gulf, dozens of journalists and social media users have been arrested since the beginning of the year for being in violation of the uncompromising national laws.
Punishments include deportation and lengthy prison sentences for crimes such as making derogatory comments about the government “in bad faith,” and offending religion and family values. In Saudi Arabia last month, top cleric Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh warned citizens against using Twitter, stating that those who use social media sites “have lost this world and the afterlife.”
Saudi Arabia
After threatening to ban messaging applications like Skype and WhatsApp, Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator has chosen a new target: The web-based communication app Viber. The instant messaging application has been blocked since June 5.
“The Viber application has been suspended… and the [regulator] affirms it will take appropriate action against any other applications or services if they fail to comply with regulatory requirements and rules in force in the kingdom,” the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said in a statement.
Viber allows its users to text, call and send photos and video messages worldwide using a 3G or Wifi connection, and boasts over 200 million subscribers worldwide.
In March, the CITC warned mobile providers in the Kingdom that if they could not find ways to monitor encrypted messaging and VOIP applications, then they would be blocked, according to local media. The commission then issued a statement saying that “it would take suitable measures against these apps and services,” in its push for greater control over the Internet.
The Saudi government has also begun arresting Twitter users for posts to their accounts. Local media reports that the government is looking into ending anonymity for Twitter users in the country by making users register their identification documents.
Qatar
Despite its status as a regional media hub, the emirate state is considering a new cybercrime law that would widen government control over news websites and online commentaries.
If passed, the law would enable the government to punish websites or social media users for violating “the social principles or values,” or for publishing “news, photos, audio or visual recordings related to the sanctity of the private and familial life of persons, even if they were true, or infringes on others by libel or slander via the Internet or other information technology means,” Qatar News agency reported.
United Arab Emirates
At the end of 2012, the UAE passed a sweeping new cybercrime law: Anyone found guilty of criticizing the country’s rulers or institutions online may be jailed or deported. The law attracted widespread opposition, with legal consultants warning it is broad enough to penalize anyone caught posting allegedly offensive comments against the state.
This law has been used to jail citizens for Twitter posts over the past few months. In May, the UAE appeals court sentenced Abdullah Al-Hadidi to 10 months in jail for tweeting details of the trial of his father.
He was arrested on March 22 on charges of disseminating information on Twitter “in bad faith.” The court ruled that he wrote false details of a public hearing that, along with his father, involved 93 other people accused of plotting to seize power in the Gulf Arab state.
Kuwait
The government has arrested dozens of activists and at least six journalists in 2013 in the constitutional emirate, often described as the most liberal country in the region.
In March, Twitter user Hamed Al-Khaledi was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly insulting the ruler of the Gulf nation. Others have been accused of “threatening state security” or “offending religion.”
In April, a Kuwaiti court sentenced former parliamentarian and opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak to five years in prison for remarks deemed critical of the ruler of the state, which he made last year at a public rally.
Kuwait has been a member of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1996, which protects the right to freedom of expression, including peaceful criticism of public officials.
Bahrain
The Bahraini government has been trying to suppress an ongoing uprising by introducing stricter penalties. In April, the government passed a law making it illegal to insult the Gulf state’s King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa, or its national symbols.
Recently, Bahraini blogger and activist Ali Abduleman was granted asylum in the UK after two years in hiding. Adbuleman claims he was persecuted by the government “for exercising the right to express his opinions” on his website. The Bahraini government claims he was tried for “inciting and encouraging continuous violent attacks against police officers” and conspired to spread “false and inflammatory rumors.”
In May, 62-year-old Bahraini protester Abdulla Sayegh was sentenced to three months in prison for hanging a national flag from his truck during a 2011 rally. The same month, six Twitter users were jailed for allegedly offensive comments about the country’s ruler deemed to be ‘abusing freedom of expression.’ According to prosecutors, they posted comments that undermined “the values and traditions of Bahrain’s society towards the king.”
One of the best-known human rights abuse cases in Bahrain is that of activist Nabeel Rajab, who was sentenced to three years in jail in August 2012 on charges of ‘participating in an illegal assembly’ and ‘calling for a march without prior notification.’ He openly criticized the country’s regime on RT for Julian Assange’s show The World Tomorrow.
The country has witnessed mass protests led by the kingdom’s majority Shiites against the minority Sunni-led government for two years. The Shiite demonstrators call for a transfer to a democratic system, and complain of discrimination in jobs and government. Their loyalty is in turn questioned by the ruling Al Khalifa monarchy, which has been in power for decades.
Related articles
Prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab goes missing
Al-Akhbar | May 16, 2013
Prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been removed from his cell to an unknown location, losing all contact with his family and lawyer, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights reported Wednesday.
In an appeal sent out by the human rights group, Rajab had reportedly witnessed prisoners at the central Jaw prison being tortured.
Rajab’s wife had received a phonecall from Rajab testifying on what he had witnessed in the prison. Shortly after, Rajab’s wife was told that her husband had been removed from his prison cell.
His lawyer, family and fellow activists have not been in contact with him since.
On Wednesday, six Bahraini tweeters were sentenced to one year in jail each for insulting the King and “misusing the right of free expression.”
Torture in Bahraini prisons is very commonly used to force prisoners to sign confessions. In February of last year, leading political prisoners began refusing food after reporting systematic abuses in Bahrain’s jails, including beatings, torture and the use of tear gas.
Nabeel Rajab, who founded the Bahrain Center for Human Rights in 2002, has been in custody since June 6 on charges of “public insults against plaintiffs,” the prosecution said in a statement at the time of his rearrest in June 2012.
The avid Twitter user has been charged with insulting the security forces, posting comments on Twitter deemed insulting to a government body and organizing peaceful protests.
His activism has given him the largest Twitter following in Bahrain, and the fourth largest in the Arab world.
The BHCR appeal calls for the immediate release of Rajab “as it is believed that he has been targeted solely due to his legitimate and peaceful work in the defense of human rights.”
Related article
UK spyware used against Bahraini activists – court witness
RT | May 12, 2013
UK spy technology was used against British citizen in Bahrain, new evidence filed in a UK high court has claimed. Activists are calling for a judicial review of the UK’s failure to hold firms accountable for sales of spy software to repressive regimes.
The evidence submitted contains a witness statement from Bahraini activist and writer Ala’a Shehabi, 30. She has both Bahraini and British citizenship, and is one of the founding members of Bahrain Watch, an independent research and advocacy organization set up following a security crackdown in the country in February 2011.
Shebabi became one of the targets of the FinSpy malware emails, developed by UK firm Gamma International, the Guardian reported.
The activist claimed she received four phishing emails from what appeared to be authentic email accounts after being released after detention.
The FinSpy software reportedly allows for surveillance of emails, social media messaging and Skype calls, and can retrieve files saved on an infected computer’s hard drive. It also can remotely operate microphones and cameras on computers and mobile phones.
“I have real concerns about the Bahraini regime having effective unfettered access to my computer, reading my emails and monitoring my calls. Not only is this a gross invasion of my privacy, I am concerned that it could put in danger from the Bahraini authorities myself, my family members and other activists,” the paper quoted Shehabi as saying.
In her witness statement, she claims that the first infected email was supposedly from Kahil Marzou, the deputy head of Bahrain’s main opposition party. Other emails purported to have come from an Al Jazeera journalist.
“It upset me a lot, scared me and made me feel quite paranoid. I am very concerned that it appears that a product of a British company,” she stressed.
The campaign group Privacy International (PI) in November reported that Gamma International is selling surveillance technology without a proper license. The technology sold is being used by 25 countries to spy on activists, who are later targeted by repressive regimes – a situation that “amounts to criminal conduct” on the part of the tech firms, the activist group said in an 186-page report it sent to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
In the spring and summer of 2012, Bahraini activists, including Shehabi, received emails containing malware. After the University of Toronto’s CitizenLab investigated the case, it found evidence connecting the malware to FinSpy.
With this new witness statement, privacy rights groups are seeking to force the UK government to review exports of surveillance technology. The activists are pushing for a judicial review of the government’s apparent failure to investigate whether the sale of technology to repressive regimes is a breach of export-license controls.
In April, Privacy International filed an application for judicial review of HMRC over its role in allowing the export of advanced surveillance technology used by repressive regimes worldwide – including Bahrain – to spy on dissidents.
Privacy International’s lawsuit is over the government’s refusal to disclose whether it investigated UK-based Gamma International (GI). GI’s FinSpy software has allegedly been used by some two dozen countries worldwide.
“In the wrong hands, today’s surveillance technologies can have devastating effects, and the public, especially victims targeted by this surveillance, have a right to know what the UK government is doing about it,” said Eric King, head of research at Privacy International.
Gamma International, an Anglo-German company registered in the British Virgin Islands, denied reports it had sold to oppressive regimes, and maintained that it complies with export controls.
The UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills advised Gamma International that FinSpy products have been controlled by EU legislation since 2000 and “require a license” in order to be sold outside the EU. This would require the tech firm to disclose the names of export customers.
Bahrain’s human rights violations
Bahrain’s human rights situation is “critical in the wake of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that erupted in February 2011,” Human Rights Watch reported in December.
Police regularly use violence to disperse crowds of protesters, while Bahrainis, led by the country’s Shia Muslim majority, are continuing to protest, demanding greater rights and freedoms from the ruling Sunni minority.
More than 80 people have died in unrest since the pro-democracy protests begun in the February 2011 uprising, with thousands arrested and imprisoned and severe violence reportedly employed during the course of the arrests. Physical and psychological torture of prisoners to sign false confessions has also been reported.
New laws were passed in Bahrain in April making it illegal to insult the country’s king and national symbols, charges that carry five-year jail sentences.
Related article
Female Bahraini Doctor ‘Severely’ Tortured in Jail
Al-Manar | March 31, 2013
A female Bahraini doctor says the Al Khalifa regime forces have ‘severely’ tortured her and several other doctors, who treated injured anti-regime protesters, in order to extract false confessions.
“We were forced to sign false confession blindly without reading them and these confessions were taken or extracted by severe torture and I mean by severe torture physical and psychological torture,” Dr. Fatima Haji said in a recent interview with Russia Today.
“We’d been denied sleep for days and had been standing for days. We were not given food or fluids and were hardly allowed to go the toilet,” Haji stated.
She further said the inmates were beaten by wooden sticks and hollow pipes. They were also electrocuted, sexually harassed and threatened with death and rape.
Haji is one of a group of doctors who were sentenced to five years in jail for their role in anti-regime protests. However, they were acquitted in 2012.
The confession they were forced to sign said that they were in possession of arms in the hospital where they worked and that they were trying to topple the Manama regime.
~
Featured Video
Prof John Mearsheimer: IRAN CEASEFIRE HANGS by a THREAD
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Murdering Babies is “Permissible” When They’re Palestinian
What the Media Missed on Itamar
By ALISON WEIR | CounterPunch | March 17, 2011
US media have been widely and repeatedly reporting on the awful March 11 murder of three small Israeli children and their parents. While no one yet knows who committed this act, reports presume that the murderers were Palestinian, and for this reason the incident is receiving major attention. Various heads of state, including President Obama, have condemned it.
If it turns out that the murderer or murderers were Israeli, as some previously presumed “terrorists” have turned out to be, or a foreign worker who had previously threatened the family over unpaid wages, as some reports from the area suggest, it is likely that coverage of the incident will quickly vanish from U.S. headlines.
For now, however, American news reports continue to provide excruciating details about the atrocity. Given the amount of reportage, it is surprising how much significant information is omitted.
For example, none of these reports mention that the location of the murders, Itamar (near Nablus), is an illegal Jewish-only settlement on stolen Palestinian land in the midst of refugees whom Israel pushed off their ancestral land through massacres and ruthless military actions.
Nor do reports mention the frequency with which Israeli settlers beat, occasionally torture, and sometimes murder Palestinians of all ages, burn their crops, and hack down their groves of olive trees, the livelihood of many Palestinian villagers; hundreds, at least, of these trees, have been destroyed by rampaging Israeli settlers. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Beyond Gaza: The expanding geography of displacement
- Fars sources dispute Trump claims on proposed Iran agreement
- Israel Is Arming ISIS Linked Gangs With Military Drones To Help Carry Out Further Ethnic Cleansing In Gaza
- Congress quietly moves to integrate US and Israeli militaries
- Israel Relaunches, Rebrands Online Propaganda Campaign
- German politician blasts ‘totalitarian madness’ of sanctions on pro-Palestinian journalist
- Avoiding Catastrophic Failure in Cuba
- Trump Administration’s DOJ Filing in Supreme Court ‘Sharp Betrayal’ of Religious Freedom
- Prof John Mearsheimer: IRAN CEASEFIRE HANGS by a THREAD
- Russia warns US against sending more troops to its borders
- If Americans Knew
- ‘A War Criminal Admitting to His Crimes’: Netanyahu Says He Ordered Military to Seize 70% of Gaza
- Pro-Israel cash goes undercover as US voters turn against Israel
- Trump pal funneled millions of Israeli gov’t cash into US media
- ‘My only “crime” was being a doctor’: Dr. Ahmad Mhanna on his 22 months in Israeli detention
- “We’ll start with 70%”: Israel plans to take over more of Gaza – Daily Update
- In the epicenter of Lebanon’s legacy of conflict with Israel lies Palestine – Two Articles
- U.S. bears brunt of Israel’s missile defense, Pentagon assessments show
- Joe Kent’s Memorial Day Speech on Israeli influence over the U.S. and the Executive branch
- UN Adds Israel to Blacklist of Perpetrators of Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, Ambassador Says
- Israel Relaunches, Rebrands Online Propaganda Campaign
- No Tricks Zone
- A Grand Solar Minimum Has Arrived…Global Cooling Of At Least 1°C Is Expected By The 2030s, 2040s
- European “Expert Commission” Urges COVID-19-Like Global Climate State Of Energency!
- Real-World Observations Do Not Support The Position That Climate Change Is Human-Caused
- Germany’s AfD Party Calls Debunked Climate Scenarios “Greatest Fraud In Human History”
- Researchers Find Rapid Global Warming Phase At End Of Last Ice Age (Ca.18,000 Years Ago)
- Even The DNA Of Single-Celled Plankton Can Upend Alarmist Arctic Sea Ice Melt Claims
- Scandal: Although Climate Panic Is Canceled By IPCC, Europe’s Policymakers Continue With Their Crushing Policies
- How Once Hardcore Climate Alarmist Lucy Biggers Realized It Was All A Scam, Brainwashing
- German Expert: “No Climate Crisis” …”Warming Generally Better For Humanity”
- New Paleo Research: Modern ‘Climate Change’ Has Had No Apparent Impact On Precipitation Patterns
Aletho News 