In These New Times

Bahrain Freedom Movement

6th May, 2011

As the Al Khalifa dictators and the Saudi occupiers continue their crackdown against the people of Bahrain, the regime is facing difficult choices. On one hand the international pressures are mounting despite the American and British support. President Obama called Bahrain’s dictator earlier this week to warn him against pursuing the destructive path of human rights violations, the continuing detention of the medical staff including doctors and nurses and against the sectarian cleansing. Despite their arrogance, the Al Khalifa were forced to release some of the female medical staff despite their earlier fabrication of stories to incriminate them. There are growing feelings that the world is finally beginning to discover the full extent of the Al Khalifa crimes and to take firm stands against this bloodthirsty regime.

These releases were succeeded by more arrests. In the past few days more Bahraini men and women were arrested and taken to the torture chambers being operated by the Al Khalifa and the Al Saud occupiers. Yesterday, Maryam Al Sayigh, 19, was detained and abused. Talal Abdul Hamid (Abu Yaqin) and his cousin, Ahmad Jaffar (Abu Yasser) from Bani Jamra were also arrested yesterday morning. Dr Majid Khalaf was arrested from the Salmaniya hospital. He is a senior surgeon of blood vessels. Saeed Mahdi Ayyad has been arrested when he refused to sign a paper alleging that the family’s house was burnt due to an electric fault. The reality is that the house was burnt by the excessive firing of tear gas canisters.

These arrests followed the arrest of Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al Mahfoodh, 52, the Secretary General of the Islamic Action Society, a registered political society which has been targeted during the recent events. Nothing has been heard of the Sheikh since his arrest on Monday 2nd May.

Meanwhile, the news from the prisons have described an atmosphere of shear terror as the main figures of the opposition are being tortured mercilessly. Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja has broken skull, jaw and hand. His face is full of stitches while his hands and feet have turned black as a result of continuous hanging and beating. Mr Abdul Wahab Hussain’s face was cut in several places. So is Hassan Mushaime who is suffering from cancer. Both are the most senior leading figures in detention. Dr Abdul Jalil Al Singace’s condition is extremely bad as a result of extensive torture in the past six weeks. The Al Khalifa have not heeded the call by Catherine Ashton, the EU Foreign Relations High Representative who has called for the release of all political prisoners immediately. Yesterday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay issued the sharpest international criticism yet of the crackdown in Bahrain where the Sunni-led government has arrested hundreds from its Shia Muslim majority since the protests began. She said:”All political detainees must be immediately released and all detainees must have prompt access to legal counsel,” Pillay said in a statement. She added: “My office has also received reports of severe torture against human rights defenders who are currently indetention… There must be independent investigations of these cases of death in detention and allegations of torture.”

Today, the Swiss foreign ministry has expressed “serious” concern that four people in Bahrain have been sentenced to death for participating in anti-government protests.

The ministry has called on the Bahrain government to commute the sentences as part of a review of the decisions. The statement said: “The foreign ministry therefore encourages the Bahrain authorities to maintain this moratorium and as a next step, to abolish completely the death penalty.”

Despite these calls the Al Khalifa family, backed by the Saudi occupiers, has not stopped targeting Bahrainis. In an inverview with the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Watan, their defence minister, Khalifa bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, threatened to expel Shia natives from Bahrain to Iran and confirmed that his family would continue its harsh treatment of jailed Bahrainis. One of the activists, Naji Fatil, has today confirmed that his flat had been raided and its contents destroyed as the hooded security thugs continued their search for him. Many Bahrainis live in fear of the Al Khalifa brutality. This state terrorism has convinced Bahrainis that they could no longer co-exist with the Al Khalifa and Saudi occupiers and that Bahrainis must be given the right to determine their own destiny.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
6 May 2011