27th May 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain jails 14 Shiites for killing Pakistani
A top Bahraini court upheld a 15-year jail term for 14 Shiites on Monday after they were convicted of killing a Pakistani in Manama during the 2011 uprising, a judicial source said. The Court of Cassation announced its verdict in the presence of 12 of the accused, the source said, adding that the remaining two had been tried in absentia. A court convicted the defendants of beating the victim to death "for terrorist purposes", the source said, citing the charge sheet. A semi-military court established under a state of emergency in 2011 had originally sentenced the men to life in prison. Read More 2011 by Syria's civil war, and exacerbated further after Hezbollah's leader openly acknowledged it was ghting on Syrian President Bashar alAssad's side against mainly Sunni rebels. "Political associations are banned from making any kind of contact with the Lebanese Hezbollah organization, for it (is) a terrorist organization," the ofcial Bahrain news agency BNA quoted an order issued by the justice and Islamic affairs minister, Sheikh Khaled bin Ali alKhalifa, as saying. Read More Justice Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ali Al-Khalifa said in a ministerial decree.

Bahrain bans contact with Hezbollah

Shiite-majority Bahrain banned on Monday opposition groups from having contact with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a day after the foreign minister of the Sunni-ruled kingdom branded the Shiite group's head as a "terrorist". "Political associations are prohibited from having any form of contact with the Hezbollah organisation,"

A second clause in the same decree stated that the Iran- and Syria-backed group is a "terrorist organisation." The decision appears aimed at opposition groups, which are mostly Shiites, who dominated anti-regime protests that erupted in February 2011 before coming under a brutal crackdown a month later. Read More Bahrain's foreign minister said on Sunday.

Bahrain bans political groups from contacting Hezbollah

Bahrain on Monday banned political groups from making any contact with Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah, a day after the Gulf Arab state's foreign minister called the head of the Shi'ite Muslim group a "terrorist". The move reected sectarian tensions within Bahrain and across the Sunni Muslim-dominated Gulf region stoked since

Bahrain appeals for rescue of Lebanon from terrorist Nasrallah

The leader of Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is a "terrorist" who must be stopped,

"Terrorist Nasrallah has declared war on his nation," said Sheikh Khaled alKhalifa on his Twitter account. "Stopping him and rescuing Lebanon from his grip is a national and religious duty for all of us," he said. Read More Hizbollah, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Bahrain bans political groups from having links with Hizbollah

Bahrain's Justice Islamic Affairs and Endowments Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa issued an edict on Monday banning political societies from contacting or having links with the Lebanese militant group

The edict will be effective as per the day following its promulgation in the Ofcial Gazette. Bahrain has stepped up efforts in the past few weeks of putting Hizbollah on the list of terror organizations similar to France, Germany and UK. Read More

the head of the public prosecution, said.

Verdict in Bahrain police officers case reducing jail term challenged

The public prosecution said that it was challenging a court of appeals verdict that slashed an ofcers jail term from seven years to six months. We are looking into the ruling announced by the court of appeals and we have the intention to take it to the court of cassation, Osama Al O,

In explaining the reasons for reducing the ofcers prison sentence, the appeals court on Sunday said that he had acted in self defence as he faced a difcult situation. During his rst trial, the ofcer was found guilty of fatally injuring Hani Abdul Aziz Juma, 32, with a pullet gun on March 19, 2011 during the riots that occurred in Bahrain. Read More cooperation to the long due stage of unity, MP Sawsan said. The unity is a vision shared by the leaders and people of the Gulf and the GCC should achieve it in order to full the aspirations and anticipations of the region, she said. Al Taqawi, elected in 2011 to the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament, said that the GCC had an impressive scoreboard, but needed to reinforce it. Read More

Bahrain denies authorising arrests by citizens

Bahrains police chief has denied claims that the police have issued special cards to nationals to arrest vandals. The police have not issued special cards authorising citizens in Muharraq or other areas to arrest

vandals and hold them until police arrive, said Major General Tareq Al Hassan, chief of public security. Bahrain police operate within the law and such cards are not legally permitted. Criminal procedures are handled by the authorities. Investigations and the arrest of criminals are inherent duties of the police, the ofcial said. Read More over social issues. It also shed light on the high-tech tools used by repressive regimes to stie dissent. In many countries the internet was simply shut down, but now we're learning about more sinister moves. A surveillance program called Finspy, produced by a British company, is just one that sits inside your computer, recording everything you say or write. Read More cooperation to the long due stage of unity, MP Sawsan said. The unity is a vision shared by the leaders and people of the Gulf and the GCC should achieve it in order to full the aspirations and anticipations of the region, she said. Al Taqawi, elected in 2011 to the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament, said that the GCC had an impressive scoreboard, but needed to reinforce it. Read More

Bahrain MP calls for Gulf Army

A Bahraini MP says she looks forward to a unied Gulf Army as a prelude to the Gulf Union. Sawsan Al Taqawi was speaking on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council. As we celebrate this glorious anniversary, we look forward to more accelerated paces towards moving from the stage of

Spying software 'used in Bahrain to track activists'

Finspy, UK-developed software that spies on computers and how they're used, has allegedly been sold to Bahrain to monitor pro-democracy campaigners. The Arab Spring exposed more than public anger

Bahrain MP calls for Gulf Army

A Bahraini MP says she looks forward to a unied Gulf Army as a prelude to the Gulf Union. Sawsan Al Taqawi was speaking on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council. As we celebrate this glorious anniversary, we look forward to more accelerated paces towards moving from the stage of