25th June 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

February 2014, as she is already serving previous sentences. about its future, Commander Richard McDaniel asserts.

Bahrain activist Zainab al-Khawaja 'given new jail term'

A court in Bahrain has sentenced pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja to two months in jail for insulting police, opposition sources say. The decision would mean she stays in jail until

Her father Abdulhadi alKhawaja is also in jail. Ms Khawaja has been a leading activist in the Gulf kingdom, which has been in political turmoil since prodemocracy protests erupted in February 2011. Read More

U.S. has no 'plan B' for Bahrain naval base: officer

The US military has failed to prepare a realistic "plan B" if political turmoil forces the closure of a vital naval base in Bahrain, a naval ofcer argues in a report released Monday. The Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain is the most US important maritime base in the Middle East but senior ofcers have become complacent

"Surprisingly, military leaders have no 'Plan B' if strategic access in Bahrain is jeopardized," McDaniel wrote, in a paper published by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "Because of a strong desire to support the government of Bahrain, losing critical access is not currently being considered, and strategic basing alternatives are not being developed." Read More Those arrested belong to a group called Jaish al-Imam (Army of the Imam), who were planning to carry out attacks on key installations in the country, the ministry said. This "terrorist cell," which the ministry said had links to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, was busted in February. Eight of its members were said to have received weapons and explosives training and were nanced from abroad. Read More centre to help a number of detainees escape has been foiled, the ministry said on its Twitter account. The assault group, made up of eight people, planned to use cars to storm the building and to shoot guards with the weapons they had, a spokesperson for the police later said. Read More

U.S. Navy Officer Presents New Strategy for Bahrain

Commander Richard McDaniel, USN, Federal Executive Fellow at Brookings Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence,published a report entitled No Plan B: U.S. Stretegic Access in the Middle East and the Question of Bahrain, on how the U.S. should respond to the continued uprisings in Bahrain against the monarchy in order to maintain military access, diversify the U.S. footprint, and positively affect

Bahrains progress towards better governance and human rights reform. McDaniel argues that maintaining the 5th eets presence in Bahrain is in the U.S.s and Bahrains strategic interest, and could grant the U.S. greater leverage in encouraging democratic reforms.The 5th Fleet has also helped the U.S. build strong political, economic, and cultural ties with Bahrain, and losing naval access to Bahrain would hinder the United States capacity to deter Iran, combat piracy in the Indian Ocean, and maintain freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf. Read More The ministry said the eight suspects were arrested on June 21- 22 for their involvement in the attack, and that the police were pursuing another suspect on the run. "Two Kalashnikovs, 143 Kalashnikov bullets, 5 loaded magazines and a gun were conscated from the arrestees," it said. Read More

Bahrain arrests 9 Shiites for 'planning prison break'

Bahrain announced on Tuesday the arrest of nine Shiites it said are linked to Iran and that were planning to attack a prison to facilitate a jail break. The interior ministry said arms, ammunition and a plan for attacking the prison were seized.

8 arrested as Bahrain foils prison break plot

Eight gunmen were arrested during an operation by Bahraini police to foil their attempt to break in a detention center, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Bahrain police foil escape attempt

Bahrains police on Tuesday said that it foiled an attempt to storm a pretrial detention centre and help detainees escape. An armed terror operation targeting the detention

The Brotherhood in Bahrain

Despite the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwaits dominant presence and inuential position over Brotherhood members in other Gulf nations, Bahrain was actually the rst effective starting point for organizing the Brotherhood in the Gulf. This has been conrmed by observers, analysts and accounts from members of the Brotherhood themselves.

According to the encyclopedia of the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan Wiki), Brotherhood activity has been present in Bahrain since the time of the organizations founder Hassan Al-Banna: On June 11, 1937, the Muslim Brotherhoods weekly newspaper stated that the Brotherhood had divided the world into regions and each region into districts assigned to certain people. The eighteenth region was designated for the people of Sudan, the nineteenth for the nations of the Islamic world. Read More

Prof. Al-Singace Denied Family Visits and Medical Attention in Bahrain Jail
CCS has learned from Professor Abdul JailAlSingaces family that he has been denied medical attention and family visits while serving a life sentence in prison. AlSingaces conviction was based on his reporting on human rights abuses in Bahrain. Dr. Al-Singace, a professor of mechanical engineering who has taught at the

University of Bahrain since 1995, is also a leader of the democratic opposition. We are particularly concerned with Dr. AlSingace lack of access to medical care because he is partially paralyzed and wheelchair bound. CCS had written numerous letters to the King of Bahrain, the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, and other government ofcials in protest against his conviction. He was arrested in August, 2010 upon his return from addressing the British House of Lords on Bahrains human rights situation. Read More