27th January 2014

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

a defense request to lift the ban against Ali Salman, the head of the Shiite bloc alWefaq.

Bahrain lifts travel ban against opposition leader

A defense lawyer says a Bahraini court has lifted a travel ban against the head of the Gulf island nations main opposition group. Lawyer Abdullah alShamlawi said on Monday that prosecutors agreed to

Salman was summoned by authorities in late December for questioning on allegations of incitement over comments made in a sermon. He was accused of using sectarian language, inciting hatred against the Sunni-led government and promoted rioting and vandalism. Read More ammunition on Jan. 8 in the village of Markh, near the capital, Manama. It says Muslim's family received no information about him or his whereabouts until his death was conrmed Sunday. Bahraini authorities had no immediate comment on the allegations. The shooting appears to match an incident announced by the Interior Ministry earlier this month in which it said two suspects in an investigation into a suspected weapon smuggling plot were injured while trying to ee police. Read More to establish the truth about the death of Fadel Abbas. Those responsible for his death must be held to account, said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa Programme. The conicting information that has emerged over the version of events that led to his death makes such an investigation even more urgent. Read More

Bahrain court upholds jail terms for 18 Shiites

A Bahraini court upheld on Monday jail sentences of 10-15 years for Shiites convicted of launching attacks on police and forming a "terror group," a judicial source said. In the rst case, the appeals court conrmed 15year prison sentences

against each of 10 defendants convicted of attempting to murder four policemen, the source said. They targeted the policemen in April 2012 in the Shiite village of Akr, near the capital Manama, according to the charges. A lawyer said the verdict ignored accusations by the defendants that they had been tortured into giving confessions. Read More A ministry statement said Fadel Abbas Musalem, 20, had been taken to hospital after being wounded in the head on January 8 when police tried to arrest him in a village near the capital Manama. It added that police acted in legitimate defence when they red on a car carrying Mussalem and another man when it kept driving towards security forces despite warning shots. Read More

Main Shiite opposition in Bahrain says man dies after being shot by police earlier this month
Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc says a young man has died after being shot by authorities earlier this month. The al-Wefaq bloc said Sunday that 19-year-old Fadhil Abbas Muslim and a friend were hit with live

Bahraini wounded during arrest dies

A young Bahraini prisoner died of wounds he suffered during a police operation to detain him on charges of weapons smuggling, the interior ministry said on Sunday. However, the Gulf kingdoms main Shiite political opposition group said the man died on Saturday as a result of torture during his detention.

Bahrain: Death of young detainee shot in head must be investigated

The Bahraini authorities must immediately investigate the death in custody of a 19-year-old boy who was shot in the head by security forces, said Amnesty International. Bahrains authorities must come clean and open a full, independent investigation

Politics impede Bahrains labor movement

Just like other civil society organizations, the Bahraini trade union movement faces weighty challenges, especially following the uprisings that started as of February 2011. Contrary to the emergence of independent trade union movements that raised slogans of freedom, democracy and dignity in some Arab Spring countries!before or during

the popular uprisings, the Bahraini trade union movement witnessed a setback. Following the popular uprising events, trade unions included worker groups that supported suppression and consecrated single-person rule. A campaign was launched against the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU), which represents the trade union movement independently from the regime at the very least, aiming at reducing its roles in Bahrain. Read More