Human Rights and the Will to be free

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Out of 166 inmates, 102 are on hunger strike at Guantanamo, with 30 being fed through tubes. One inmate continued to be hospitalised but prison officials said his life was not in danger.

Inmates are restrained and a feeding tube is pushed through their nose and into their stomach - a practise the UN compares to torture.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Dr Otmar Kloiber, Secretary General at the World Medical Association, said the force-feeding was "degrading and inhuman"....

In a Senate hearing today, Pentagon officials claimed President Obama and future presidents have the power to send troops anywhere in the world to fight groups linked to al-Qaeda, based in part on the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF),...

Human Rights Watch said Thursday a proposed media law by Kuwait would increase state control and curtail the right to free speech, as authorities suspended a popular talk show programme on a pro-opposition television channel.

The draft law breaches international standards protecting free speech as it would give the information ministry excessive power, the New York-based HRW said in a statement. ...

“Any press law should promote free speech and the free flow of information so essential to any democratic society, not throttle reporting and debate,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW said.

Maryam AlKhawaja: "...

This has been most frustrating for me, watching the progression of violence from the side of the opposition. Over time nonviolent activists have lost footing due to the inaction of the international community. 

A year ago, my family would urge people to use only nonviolent protest, and they would listen. When I visited in February, a more common response to this request was “what have you been able to do for us over the past two years?” Honestly, I didn’t have an answer for them. There has been no accountability for the Bahraini regime abroad.

I cannot blame people for becoming disenchanted with this idea of civil disobedience and nonviolence, because it has garnered absolutely no support from international governments. 

I hear people talk about protestors carrying guns on the ground in Libya, and receiving NATO and media support. In Bahrain, we demanded rights peacefully and nobody responded. And so people are resorting to violence. I fear the situation is becoming radicalized and very quickly...."

Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country's 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Hundreds of people who were packed into the courtroom burst into applause, chanting, "Justice!" as Rios Montt received a 50-year term for the genocide charge and an additional 30 years for crimes against humanity.

It was the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide in his or her own country.....

Away from daylight, away from his family and away from justice. Ayatollah Nimr awaits in captivity for the day he will be executed for no crime whatsoever. His sister says he has been denied medical care. This happens under the eyes of the international community.

We are shocked very much observing the silence and lack of action from the international community regarding the situation in Saudi Arabia. These people who are from regions like Qatif in Saudi Arabia are barred from their inalienable right to religious and political dissent. There are thousands of political prisoners in the Saudi dungeons who expect people like yourself to react and stand up for the one thing which all of us share, the unbreakable bond of humanity.

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LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Several thousand people protested in Gabon on Saturday against a spate of ritual killings that has seen mutilated bodies washing up on beaches in the central African state this year.Sylvia...

....It is a story that demonstrates the continuing human rights crisis in Bahrain and the price paid by those who have dared to stand up against the regime. Although victims of violations in a state ruled by a royal family from the Sunni minority have mainly come from the country's majority Shia Muslim population, groups such as Amnesty have reported that anyone who expresses opposition to the ruling family is at risk of arrest, ill-treatment or other abuses.....

In any case, he did not find out the charges against him for weeks, during which time he says he was tortured and abused, and told to sign a false confession. "They said I was part of an organisation planning to bring down the state," he told the Guardian from an undisclosed location in the UK.

"They didn't tell me the charge until two days before my court appearance. I was not allowed a lawyer and when I tried to speak the prosecutor, he would not accept my answers...."They raided my house again two days after martial law was announced, after Saudi forces came into Bahrain....

Now he feels that the world is ignoring the situation in Bahrain. "It is not that the world has forgotten Bahrain. The west and the international community has turned its back on us.

"People have died in jail. Our mosques have been damaged. People have been shot in the street. There is no justice. You see their blood in the road. The west's response is that they see good reforms. But the reality is that people have no human rights. No civil rights."

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The names of several officials from the National Security Apparatus who practiced torture became public: Colonel Yousif Al-Arabi, Major Fahad Al-Fadhala, Major Bassam Al-Miraj, Lieutenant Isa Al-Majali and First Lieutenant Bader Al-Ghaith. ( HRW Report: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2010/02/08/torture-redux-0 ;)

In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa declared a state of emergency after violently cracking down on the pro-democracy protests in the Pearl Roundabout. The National Security Apparatus had obtained extensive powers, where it practiced the following:

1. Raiding thousands of houses, destroying their contents and targeting the residents.
2. Arresting thousands of citizens on political charges.
3. Abusing and torturing thousands of detainees.
4. Interrogating thousands of political detainees.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report indicated that the National Security Apparatus is responsible for ‘interrogating and collecting intelligence information’ as well as ‘arresting people’ which confirms its involvement in the human rights violations that took place during the state of emergency (15 March – 1 June 2011). (BICI Report: http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf)

The BICI report went on to recommend that the National Security Apparatus should be limited to only collecting intelligence information and should not carry out any arrests of suspects.

Since the recommendations of the BICI report, many detainees and their families confirmed that masked men in civilian clothing from the National Security Apparatus raided their homes. Additionally, riot police cars and black cars with tinted windows (known to belong to the NSA) surrounded their homes.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) have documented that those arrested by the National Security Apparatus disappear for up to several days before contacting their families by phone.

Limiting the powers of the National Security Apparatus:

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa issued Decree No. 115 of 2011 to amend some of the provisions of Decree No.  14  of  2002  regarding  establishing  the  National  Security  Apparatus,  this  amendment includes:

1. The  National  Security  Apparatus  specializes  in  collecting  information  and               observing  and revealing  all  harmful  activities  related  to  spying and  terrorism,  in  order  to  maintain  the national security of the Kingdom and its institutes and organizations.

2. The  National  Security  Apparatus  refers  the  cases  that  require  arrest  or  detention  to  the Ministry of Interior in order to take the necessary legal procedures in that regard.

Through these amendments, the National Security Apparatus is not entitled to carry out arrests.
  The Criminal Investigations, the other face: 
During the period between 23rd April to 5th May 2013, the BYSHR and the BCHR documented that

the  Criminal  Investigation Department conducted numerous  arrests  of political  and  human  rights activists, the common factor among these arrests being:

1. The  person  detained  by  the  Criminal  Investigations Department disappears for  a  period that exceeds 48 hours and that lasts up to 5 days, where the detainee does not contact or meet his or her family.

2. Groups of  people  dressed  in  civilian  clothes – wearing  masks – raid, and sometimes vandalize the home, and confiscate electronic devices.

3. The riot police and black cars with tinted windows support and assist by surrounding the house from all sides.

4. Numerous claims of torture and abuse, and the use of the same torture methods as in the National Security Apparatus.

5. Not permitting detainees to meet their lawyers.

6. Accusations  against  some  security  personnel  who  carried out  torture  in  the  National Security  Apparatus  of  participating  in  the  abuse  and  torture  in  the Criminal  Investigation Department.

The following people were arrested recently:

1. Hussein Ramadan (independent activist): he was arrested from his home in the village of Sanabis on the 23rd of April 2013 – all contact with him was lost for 5 days. He confirmed being at the Criminal Investigation Department during those 5 days.

2. Hisham  Al-Sabbagh  (A  leader  in  the  Islamic  Action  Society):  he  was  arrested  from  his home in the village of Sanabis on the 26th of April 2013 – all contact with him was lost for 5 days. He confirmed being at the Criminal Investigation Department during those 5 days.

3. Jehad Mohammed Ali (A member of the Islamic Action Society): he was arrested from his home in the village of Aali on the 2nd of May 2013 – all contact with him has been lost since the day of his arrest and until now.

4. Salman Zenaldeen: he was arrested while leaving a coffee shop on the 2nd of May 2013 – he  called  his  family  on the 4th of May  and  informed  them  that  he was  at the  Criminal Investigation Department.

5. Naji Fateel  (administrative  member  of  the  Bahrain  Youth  Society  for  Human  Rights):  he  was  arrested  from  his  home  in  the village  of  Bani  Jamra  on  the 26th of April  2013 – he contacted  his  family  on  the  4th of May  and  informed  them  that  he  was  at the Criminal Investigation Department.

Conclusion:

The  Bahrain  Youth  Society  for  Human Rights and  the  Bahrain Center  for  Human  Rights  believe that  the National  Security  Apparatus  has returned  through  those  affiliated  with  the  Criminal Investigations Department by spying on dissidents and activists; conducting arrests, interrogations, detaining them as well as abusing them.

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa’s decision in regards to limiting the powers of the ‘National Security Apparatus’ was in order to conceal the violations committed during 2002 – 2011 and to escape the questioning of the security officials in this Apparatus.

Recommendations:

1. An independent and impartial investigation in the torture allegations that took place in the Criminal Investigation Department.

2. Hold accountable  all officials  responsible  for  the  abuse  of  detainees  in  the Criminal Investigation Department.

3. Immediately cease the detention of civilians at the Criminal Investigation Department, and to directly refer them to the specialized detention centers.

MANAMA, Bahrain — A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has sentenced 31 protesters to 15 years in prison each for roles in firebomb attacks against security forces during an anti-government demonstration last year.

In western Burma, 140,000 people have been forced from their homes by communal violence. Their camps are now at risk of being inundated by monsoons.

...

The Baloch, the Khan insists, are the region’s only secular people and disgusted by the Shiite extremism of Iran and the Sunni variety practiced in neighboring Pakistan (the country’s official name is, after all, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan). But there is one issue on which he is not willing to compromise: The provinces of both countries that are Balochi-inhabited will and must revert to their natural owners.

“It’s not Iran or Pakistan or Afghanistan; it’s Baloch land....

Thousands of activists will be coming to Washington, D.C. the weekend of June 8-10 to support a powerful exhibit and event called 'One Million Bones', a visual installation on the National Mall to commemorate past genocides and generate awareness and action on current conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other areas affected by mass atrocities.

Join the Enough Project on Monday, June 10th, following the events of the weekend, to meet face-to-face with staff representatives or Members of Congress themselves when possible to inform them about atrocities unfolding in the world's worst conflicts....

...Nabeel Rajab called his wife on 14 May 2013, telling her that he had witnessed the torture of young political prisoners at the hands of prison guards at Jaw prison. He raised his voice telling them to stop, and when they realized that he had witnessed what was happening, they quickly left. Nabeel Rajab asked his wife to request that theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visit him in prison so he can give them his testimony of what he had witnessed. Rajab’s wife received a phone call that evening informing her that Nabeel was reportedly removed from his cell that night by prison guards and was not returned....

Prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab is believed to have been transferred from his prison cell by authorities without the knowledge of his immediate family.

Rajab's wife, Sumaya, told the BBC on Wednesday that she had been informed of her husband's removal by a relative of a fellow prisoner.

According to US-based advocacy group Human Rights First, Said Yousif, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, received a call from Rajab on 12 May, during which he claimed to have witnessed the torture of eight young men in Bahrain's Jaw Prison....

...That's right. The nation's courts decided that the victim is the one who'll be whipped 100 times in public, for the crime of "sex outside marriage." And only one thing will get President Mohammed Waheed Hassan to intervene. Us....

The Baloch nation, while under severe attack from the Pakistani ISI and suffering under occupation, wins the elections!   They have organized, united and presented a steadfast front against the Pakistani menace occupying their motherland!  Azad Balochistan!

Thousands of partisans of Bahrain's opposition demonstrated near Manama on Friday to protest against the alleged torture of jailed regime opponents, witnesses said.

Gathered around the Shiite village of Daih, men and women waved Bahrain's national flag and held up signs that read: "Manama, capital of torture," the witnesses said.

"Torture is a practice rooted in the security agencies," in Bahrain, the main Shiite opposition bloc Al-Wefaq said in a statement.

It charged that a tug-of-war is underway in Sunni-ruled Bahrain between "a political majority demanding a democratic transition and a hard core dictatorship that refuses any change."...

    Breaking Turba and Throwing Quran,Stealin…

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR)expresses its grave concern for the information received from trusted sources that Naji Fateel – an administrative member of theBYSHR – was subjected to brutal torture in the Criminal Investigation building.

According to the information received by the BYSHR, Naji Fateelwas subjected to:

1.Electrocution (in the genital, on his left leg and on the back)
2.Simulated drowning
3.Beating (by using the feet, hands or unknown tools) on the left leg – Naji had an operation on his left leg due to a work injury, he had it fixed with a metal rod – and on his head and back.
4.Threatening to spread his wife’s photos (when Naji’s house was raided his wife’s camera was confiscated and it had her personal photos in it).
5.Hanging him by his hands from the room’s ceiling (his feet did not reach the room’s floor).
6.Libelling and insult (using sectarian and political expressions).
7.Sexual harassment and threatening with rape.
8.Standing up for long hours.
9.Not allowing him to sleep, sit or lay down.

Naji Fateel was handcuffed – from the back – and blindfolded while he was in the Criminal Investigation building; the handcuffs and blindfold were only opened after he was transmitted to the Dry Dock prison.

Naji Fateel was taken to hospital twice – the Ministry of Interior hospital – while he was in a state of coma due to the torture he faced.

He was taken to the Public Prosecution at night, and before the Public Prosecutor, Naji Fateel refused to be interrogated without the presence of a lawyer, he was then returned to the Criminal Investigation building where he was beaten more severely than before because he had asked for his lawyer. When he was returned at dawn on Saturday – 4 May 2013 – he signed papers before the Public Prosecutor and he was not permitted to see what was written.

On Saturday evening – 4 May 2013 – Naji Fateel called his family and informed them that he was in the Criminal Investigation building after he was cut off since his arrest on Thursday at dawn (2 May).

On Sunday at dawn – 5 May 2013 – Naji Fateel was transferred to the Dry Dock prison where he suffers from several injuries and severe fatigue.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR)demands:

1.The immediate release of Naji Fateel and dropping all charges against him.
2.Immediately and independently investigate the torture allegations and hold those responsible for torture and abuse accountable, and that includes those who interrogated him in the Public Prosecution and Criminal Investigation building.

(Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused Bahrain of failing to protect workers' rights in its response to a March 2011 general strike at the time of the Arab Spring and asked for formal consultations under a free trade pact.

"Ensuring that workers in Bahrain - and in other countries - can exercise their fundamental labor rights is a top priority for the Obama Administration," acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in a statement.