infopalSaudi monarch death ends his bleak reign; calls to stop Bahrain F1 “blood race”
The death of the Saudi king, Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz, has been commemorated by victims of the Saudi invasion of Bahrain with a mixture of relief and hope that the occupation would be speedily ended. The Saudi army was ordered by the defunct king to invade Bahrain in mid March 2011. It gave material and moral support to the regime but failed to alley its fear of imminent fall.
Calls have been made by Bahraini people to stop the F1 motor racing scheduled to take place in Bahrain next April. Over the past three years this race has led to the killing, imprisonment and torture of many Bahrainis. On 29th April 2012 photo-journalist Ahmad Ismail was killed by regime forces for his anti-F1 activism. On 20th April 2013 two women activists; Nafisa Al Asfoor and Raihana Al Mousawi were arrested for attempting to protest at the F1 race course. They were severely tortured and jailed until now.
This morning Alkhalifa regime postponed the trial of Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary General of Al Wefaq to 25th February. This is further punishment at a time when international pressure is mounting for his immediate and unconditional release. Preparations for the fourth anniversary of the Revolution are being made by the revolutionary forces and the continued detention of Sheikh Salman will make them more comprehensive and devastating to the tribal clan.
The dictator is becoming more vicious in treating native Bahrainis, with more arrests and severe torture on detainees. In the early hours of every morning Death Squads attack people’s homes in various towns and detain scores of people. Yesterday Ali Hassan Al Maqabi was snatched from his home and taken to the torture dungeons. More native Bahrainis were arrested at police check points including Ahmad Al Shaarqi and Ghanim Abbas, 21 from Dair Town. On Monday 26th January regime’s Death Squads attacked several houses and arrested more people including: Mohammad Al Taitoon and Sayed Hassan Al Ghuraifi. Isa Al Jawhar from Barbar Town was detained on Thursday 22nd January at the airport. Abdul Rasool Abdul Ameer was arrested on 22nd January off the coast of Karbabad and taken to unknown destination. He is originally from Ras Al Rumman but lives in Buri Town.
Two native Bahrainis have had their jail sentences confirmed; Murtadha Al Salatneh and Dhia Al Hasabi were kept in custody after their jail sentences had been renewed. Mahmood Al Mokhowdar was remanded in custody for further investigation after being severely tortured by Alkhalifa Death Squads, but nothing could be proven against him. There are growing fears for the safety and well-being of a native Bahraini youth who disappeared two weeks ago. Isa Moosa, from Al Ekr Town, was abducted by members of regime’s Death Squads. Despite repeated requests for information, the regime refused to give any information about this native Bahraini victim.
In a serious escalation in the war against freedom of expression the regime announced yesterday that it had arrested nine people for tweeting negative remarks about the defunct Saudi king. The victims are: Mohammad Saeed Al Adraj, 24, Mohammad Ahmad Ali, 21, Yousuf Fadhel Salman, 21, Abbas Ali Ahmad, 23, Ali Jaffar Ahmad, 29, Sayed Hussain Jaffar, 28, Ali Ibrahim Ali, 21, Ibrahim Yousuf, 19 and Hussain Mohammad Ahmad, 22. The nine were subjected to horrific treatment by Alkhalifa torturers. They face the prospect of jail for two years. This is the “reform” hailed by UK. Nabeel Rajab was recently sentenced to six months imprisonment for tweeting negative remarks about one of Alkhalifa departments.
In another development the family of Ali Haroon, who had been handed by the Thai authorities to Alkhalifa last December were detained by Alkhalifa torture officials. They were on their first visit to see their son who had been subjected to most horrific torture both in Bangkok and in Bahrain. His mother, blind brother, three sisters and their children were taken to Al Rafa’s torture centre. The children were later released but the rest of the family remained in custody. The family of another prisoner, Hassan Al Haddad, was also detained and taken to the same torture centre. No further details were available.
Bahrain Watch has established a link between the recent death of a Bahraini native citizen, Abdul Aziz Al Saeed and tear gas supplied by Brazil. Prominent Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab posted a picture of a tear gas projectile he had found on the doorstep of Al-Saeed’s house along with empty tear gas shell casings close by in the same area. The shell casings are consistent with Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Germany/South Africa) and Condor Non-Lethal Technologies (Brazil) tear gas. However, only the Condor tear gas has inner projectiles matching that in the picture posted by Rajab. Pressure is expected to mount on the Brazilian authorities to stop shipment for further gas canisters and could be held responsible for the death of Abdul Aziz Al Saeed.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
28th January 2015