Bahrain
Cracks Down on Freedom
Stephen
Lendman
19
November, 2012
The
ruling Al Khalifa monarchy is one of the world’s most brutal
dictatorships. It’s also a valued US ally. Bahrain is home to
America’s Fifth Fleet.
Imperial
priorities matter most. Washington backs Bahraini harshness. State
terror is policy. Murder, torture, lawless imprisonments, and daily
atrocities get tacit support.
Bahrain
ruthlessly wages war on freedom. Fundamental human and civil rights
are spurned. Activists, protesters, medical professionals treating
them when injured, independent journalists, and others supporting
right over might are brutalized and imprisoned.
Nabeel
Rajab is one of Bahrain’s best. He’s a prominent human rights
leader. Activism got him targeted. His resume includes many
impressive credentials. In 1999, he and others co-founded the Bahrain
Human Rights Society.
In
2002, he, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, and others co-founded the Bahrain
Center for Human Rights (BCHR). Authorities terrorized its members
for years. Nonetheless, it remains viable.
It
promotes civil, political, and economic freedom, ending racial
discrimination, and universal human and civil rights. Bahraini
despots equate these principles with terrorism.
Last
August, Bahrain’s Lower Criminal Court sentenced Nabeel to three
years in prison. Supporting right over wrong in the emirate is
dangerous. Expressing democratic views is criminalized. So is
championing social justice publicly.
King
Hamad calls peaceful protests “foreign plots.” Nabeel and others
like him put their lives on the line for years. Bahraini activists
face arrests, harsh interrogations, torture, and imprisonment. The
mainstream media largely ignores it.
Nabeel’s
been in prison since July. He’s charged under Article 178 of
Bahrain’s penal code. It prohibits unauthorized gatherings of five
or more people for the “purpose of committing crimes (or)
undermining public security, even if intended to achieve a legitimate
purpose.”
His
lawyers appealed. A Bahraini court delayed proceedings. Its ruling
won’t be known until around mid-December. Peaceful protests are
criminalized. State courts tolerate no challengers. They give
kangaroos a bad name.
Bahrain
banned protests earlier. On July 20, 2006, King Hamad ratified Code
32 on “Public Gatherings, Processions and Assembly.” Doing so
amended the 1973 Decree No. 18. Human rights groups condemned the
action. It lawlessly targeted free expression and peaceful
gatherings.
Unauthorized
public meetings and seminars were prohibited. So was anything thought
potentially threatening monarchal rule. Activists were targeted.
Arrests and prosecutions followed. Bahraini repression is brutal and
longstanding.
On
October 30, public gatherings were again prohibited. Interior
Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa said “rallies and
gatherings will be considered illegal, and legal action will be taken
against anyone calling for or taking part in them.”
That’s
how police states work. Fundamental rights are criminalized. Daily
nonviolent protests continue nonetheless. Participants face tear gas,
rubber bullets, beatings, arrests, and at times death.
Anyone
challenging regime harshness faces arrest and brutal imprisonment.
Even The New
York Times noticed.
On October 30, it headlined “Citing Violence, Bahrain Bans All
Protests in New Crackdown.”
Protesters
refrain from violence. Security forces commit it against them.
Banning public gatherings “drew swift condemnation from human
rights groups and opposition activists who said it was intended
solely to stifle criticism of the ruling monarch in the tiny Persian
Gulf nation.”
Activists
accused the monarchy of “methodically blocking all avenues for
dissent.”
“In
recent weeks, activists have been prosecuted for postings on social
media, and doctors, charged with illegal gathering and other crimes
after treating protesters, have been sent to jail.”
It’s
gone on repeatedly since early last year. The Times and other Western
media gave it scant coverage. They still do. Reports exclude
important information readers most need to know.
Dozens
of deaths, hundreds imprisoned, torture, and kangaroo court justice
go largely unnoticed.
Last
November, King Hamad promised 26 reforms. “That promise has gone
unfulfilled.” At best, only three were partly implemented. “The
most important ones – on the release of political prisoners and
relaxation of controls on free expression – have been ignored.”
The
Post exhibited a rare moment of candor. It should have done more much
sooner. Nonetheless, it said “convictions of leading regime
opponents (were) reconfirmed.”
It
mentioned Nabeel’s imprisonment. It excluded his activist history
and harsh treatment. It said public protests were banned.
Without
explanation, it said “five bombs exploded around the capital of
Manama on Monday, killing two people.”
Protesters
spurn violence. Despite brutal security force crackdowns, they remain
peaceful. Bahraini authorities called Monday’s explosions
“terrorism.”
They
were state-sponsored false flags. Expect more of the same ahead. Four
suspects were arrested. They won’t be treated kindly or fairly.
Bahrain’s head of public security blamed Hezbollah elements. No
evidence whatever suggests it.
Minister
Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab said opposition groups use Iranian tactics.
He blamed pro-Iran television stations for supporting Bahraini
protests. Press TV reports them accurately. So do Russia Today and
independent journalists.
The
Post downplayed what’s happening. “Bahrain is no Syria,” it
said dismissively. Editorial policy belligerently attacks Assad for
doing his job. Bahraini state terror over the same time frame got
scant coverage.
The
Post said the emirate is home to America’s Fifth Fleet. Implied is
its presence legitimizes harsh security. The editorial admitted that
Washington supported a Bahraini nominee for “an advisory position
at the UN Human Rights Council.”
Congress
approved military sales and aid. “Such action(s) damage US
credibility across the Middle East.”
On
the one hand, Washington lawlessly challenges Assad’s independence.
On the other, it supports Al Khalifa despotism. It not only largely
ignores its worst repression, it condones and encourages it.
The
Post editorial went so far but no further. What readers most need to
know was omitted. What’s going on in Bahrain, why, and who benefits
wasn’t explained. Readers know little more now than earlier.
A Bahrain
Center for Human Rights report
headlined “The BCHR Holds the King Responsible for the Spread of
the Culture of Impunity which Has Claimed the Lives of Tens of
Victims.”
Facts
don’t lie. Disturbing truths were revealed. BCHR compiled
compelling evidence. Ruling Al Khalifa despots remain unaccountable.
Security
forces commit daily “gross violations of human rights.” Bahraini
and international laws are violated. Extrajudicial killings,
arbitrary execution, torture, mock trials, and excessive force are
commonplace.
“(I)mpunity
is still entrenched in the doctrine of the Authority and its security
institutions as a basic prevalent culture.
It
operates as an instrument of state terror. Authorities get away with
murder, torture and other atrocities. Ordinary Bahrainis wanting
equal rights face brutalizing repression.
BCHR
expressed special concern about a “systematic policy of impunity
and of providing immunity to criminals and enabling them to continue
with their duties and their security positions without
accountability.”
Innocent
people are shot and killed. Some are executed in cold blood. Others
are beaten, arrested, and imprisoned. Justice is a four-letter word.
Principles
relating to Effective Prevention and Investigation call for careful
examination of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary executions, and
other security force violence. Authorities whitewash state-sponsored
crimes instead of prosecuting offenders.
King
Hamad bears full responsibility. Bahraini law is what he says it is.
Equity, justice and freedom don’t have a chance.
Activists
challenging state repression may end up dead by gun shots, lethal gas
or slit throats. Obama wholeheartedly endorses what legitimate
leaders condemn. Fundamental human and civil rights don’t have a
chance.
A
Final Comment
On
November 7, Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 31 activists. An
interior ministry statement announced it. Doing so coincided with
more state-sponsored violence and arrests.
Prominent
opposition figures affected include:
(1)
Saaed Shehabi, a London-based Bahraini political activist and Bahrain
Freedom Movement member.
(2)
Former MP Jalal Fairooz.
(3)
Hasan Mushaima, Haq Movement head. It’s a high-profile Bahraini
opposition group.
Revocations
were ordered for violating Article 10 Bahrain’s Citizenship Act. It
permits targeting individuals accused of threatening state security.
Justice
in Bahrain is none at all. Activists wanting to live free may end up
dying for it. That’s how police states operate. Bahrain is one of
the worst.
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