25th/ 26th September 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain FM slams Hezbollah chief as 'criminal'
Bahrain's foreign minister on Tuesday lashed out at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling him a "criminal" with no right to criticise the kingdom over its treatment of its Shiite opposition. The sharp riposte to remarks made by Nasrallah Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Ross Robertson said that he had sent an open letter to the King of Bahrain, presenting a respectful appeal for Khalil Al Marzooq's immediate release on behalf of the PGA. Khalil Al Marzooq had served as a democratically elected member of Bahrain's House of Representatives, and in 2010 he was elected Deputy Speaker of Bahrain's Parliament, Robertson said. Read More According to Public Prosecutor Nayef Yous, the day before comes amid a ratcheting up of sectarian tensions across the region as Sunni and Shiite Muslims back opposing sides in Syria's civil war. "The people of Bahrain are above being addressed by a criminal whose hands are stained by the blood of innocents in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq," Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa wrote on Twitter. Read More

Bahrain stung by Obama comment on sectarian tensions

Bahrain voiced disappointment with President Barack Obama's description of the kingdom as beset by sectarian tension, arguing its problem was with "terrorists" who fomented division. Bahrain has been rocked by almost daily clashes by

members of the Shi'ite Muslim majority since February 2011, when it quelled a Shi'ite-led uprising demanding the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty give up power. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Obama mentioned "efforts to resolve sectarian tensions that continue to surface in places like Iraq, Bahrain and Syria". Read More

Global legislators calls on Bahrain to release exparliamentarian

The head of an international group of legislators on Thursday called for the immediate release of a senior exparliamentarian who is facing "politically motivated" charges of incitement to violence and terrorism in Bahrain. New Zealand Member of Parliament and president of

Bahrain slams US speech at UN: FM

Khalil al-Marzouq, Assistant Secretary General of Bahrains main Shia opposition association alWefaq, was taken into custody on September 17. The opposition leader was rst summoned to a police station, where he was allegedly interrogated for seven hours in the presence of his lawyer.

after the interrogation, Marzouq was charged under the Law for Protecting the Community from Terrorist Acts, with inciting and advocating terrorism, and using his leadership position in a legally organized political society to incite crimes. The Public Prosecutors ofce ordered Marzouqs detention for 30 days, pending an investigation. If convicted, he will face a lengthy jail sentence, and his citizenship may be revoked. Read More

Bahrain News Agency reports.

Western governments, the Rafto Foundation said in a statement.

Bahrain says it's a target of smear campaign

Bahrain's reputation on the international stage has been tarnished by reporting from a hostile media, the government's spokeswoman said Thursday. Bahraini spokeswoman Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab said the government won't be "handcuffed" by a hostile media campaign, the ofcial

The Persian Gulf kingdom was the subject of frequent travel warnings from a British government concerned about the possibility of violent protests in the country. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said last week the arrest of opposition leader Khalil alMarzooq on terrorism charges suggested Bahrain wasn't serious about reform. Read More

Bahrain rights group wins Norwegian award

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, whose founder and director are both jailed, won Norways Rafto Prize for rights defenders yesterday for its ght against repression in the Gulf state. The award would turn the spotlight on systematic violations of human rights in a region where abuse is too often met with silence from

The founder and director of the Bahrain centre are both currently serving prison sentences, illustrating the severe repression in the small nation which is a close US ally. The founder of the centre, Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, is serving a life sentence in jail after he and several other leading opposition gures were convicted of plotting to overthrow the monarchy. Read More

American in Bahrain sentenced to 10 years in jail

A U.S. citizen was jailed for 10 years in Bahrain on Tuesday, Sept. 25, on charges of attempted murder, during a disturbance related to antigovernment protests, his lawyer said.

The State Department conrmed the jailing of American-born Tagi alMaidan for 10 years and said his lawyer would appeal the sentence. Maidan had earlier told Reuters the charges against him were false but that he had made a false confession under torture after his detention in October last year. Read More

Bahrains government strangles opposition with impunity

On 17 September, Bahraini authorities arrested Khalil Marzouq, a prominent member of the opposition Al Wefaq group. Following an interrogation that lasted over seven hours, he was charged under newly amended terrorism laws leading, to Bahrains main opposition party to pull out of the National Dialogue.

The credibility of the dialogue itself has come under criticism, as the government has carried on with its crackdown on dissent throughout the discussions. Amnesty International points to this irony by noting that authorities have been aunting the National Dialogue as the central reason for canceling the visitof UN Special Rapporteur on Torture back in April, yet have nevertheless moved towards arresting participants. The actions have been criticised as measures intended to wipe out the opposition. Read More