1st October 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain says opposition activists spied for Iran
Some of the 50 people jailed in Bahrain on Sunday for security offences were also convicted of spying for Iran and had planned "vandalism and rioting" with the backing of the Islamic Republic, the Bahraini government said. The 50 were sentenced to between ve and 15 years in jail for links to February 14, an opposition movement seen by the authorities as a terrorist group working to overthrow the government, activists said on Sunday. The Gulf Arab kingdom, base for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since protests erupted in 2011 led by majority Shi'ite Muslims demanding full powers for parliament and an end to the Sunni monarchy's political domination. Read More

Bahrain jails 50 following protest

A Bahraini court sentenced 50 people yesterday to between ve and 15 years in jail for setting up a group that organises antigovernment protests, and that authorities say is working to topple the government by force, activists said.

Bahrain has seen almost daily protests by members of the Shiite majority since February 2011, when it crushed a Shiite-led uprising demanding that the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty give up power. Bahrains Shiites have long complained of entrenched discrimination in areas such as employment and public services, allegations that the Sunni-led government denies. Read More for their links to the February 14 opposition movement a group the Bahraini regime afrms is a terrorist movement. The Bahrain regime authorities have said many of the 50 were charged for being a terrorist group with the goal of undermining the rules of the constitution and laws as well as preventing the institutions and public authorities from doing their work. Read More "Its appalling what passes for justice today in Bahrain," Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said, as quoted by AFP. The court sentenced the activists on Sunday, including a prominent Shiite Iraqi cleric who was sentenced for forming a secret opposition group. Read More

Dozens of Bahraini activists jailed for up to 15 years

In continuing repression of any opposition to the ruling Khalifa monarchy, 37 activists were jailed for up to 15 years for "terrorist crimes." The day before (Sunday Sept. 29) another 50 activists and protest leaders had been sentenced as well. A criminal court in Manama, presided over by a judge

appointed by the king, sentenced four defendants to 15 years in prison. Six were jailed for 10 years, and 27 others were given ve-year terms. Only two were acquitted. The group were convicted of "carrying out terrorist crimes on April 24 as part of a group attempt to undermine public security and endanger lives of people and public property as well as attempting to kill policemen." Read More

Bahrain activists charged and convicted for spying for Iran

The Bahraini regime has accused and charged 50 of its citizens. Some of them for spying for the Iranian regime as well as planning vandalism and rioting. The Thomson Reuters Foundation reports that their sentences ranged from ve to 15 years in jail

Jailing of Bahrain Shiite activists is appalling Amnesty International

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has criticized a Bahrain court decision to jail 50 Shiite activists for up to 15 years in a mass show trial, calling the verdict "appalling" and urging a probe into reports that some activists were tortured.

US Should Speak Out on Bahrain Abuses

Two years ago this week, in the shadow of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, 20 Bahraini medics were sentenced by a military court to prison terms of between ve and 15 years. They were targeted by the Kingdom after treating injured protestors during the Bahrain uprising in early 2011 and then telling the international media the truth about the scale of the Kingdom's crackdown. The medics were then tortured into making false confessions and given

military court show trials. There was such an international outcry at the medics' verdicts that the Bahrain government promised to retry them in civilian courts. That same week, the leaders of the Bahrain Teachers Association - Mahdi Abu Deeb and Jalila Al Salman were also convicted by a military court. Fast forward to today and it's clear that not much has changed in Bahrain. Despite promises by the Bahrain government, the medics and teachers' appeals played out in unfair civilian court proceedings. Read More

Thousands take to Bahrains streets in pro-democracy protests

Thousands of prodemocracy protestors took to Bahrains streets on Friday, to demonstrate against the Sunni-led government and ruling Khalifa family.

The crowds called for the release of political prisoners and the resignation of Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman. The English Twitter account for the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the largest opposition party, has posted photographs showing thousands of people in a large rally in the capital city of Manama. Read More mastermind, were convicted in absentia and are believed to be living in the UK. Bahraini authorities have accused the UK of deliberately harbouring the men under the guise of being asylum seekers who claim their human rights are abused in Bahrain. Read More Read More

Bahrain accuses UK of harbouring Bahraini terrorists

Bahrain is likely to pursue an extradition treaty with the UK amid claims the European country is harbouring Bahraini terrorists. The Gulf state on Sunday convicted 50 nationals of being a member of a terror organisation. Fourteen, including the alleged