Bahrainis protest Herzog’s visit, More Saudis sentenced to death
The past week was dominated by the public outrage at the visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog to Bahrain. It was met with massive public outrage and condemnation. The khalifi regime has intensified its normalization with “Israel” against the wish of the natives who have rejected the move. Hertzog’s visit rallied the public opinion in an unprecedented way. Twenty two Bahraini NGOs signed a letter sponsored by the National Initiative Against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy. The statement was titled: No to the visit by the Israeli president to our country which we consider a dagger in the side of the Ummah. It called on the ruling tribe to stop its hasty normalization process despite the total rejection by the people. The Palestinian flag was raised in most towns and cities, as dozens of protests condemned the khalifi treachery and the visit by a senior figure of the occupiers.
Bahrain death row inmate Mohammed Ramadan lives with constant excruciating pain in his neck, head and face due to unexplained tumour. His wife has been at pain to talk about his latest phone call to her. She said his voice had changed and when she pressed him about his health, he said that the pain had returned ferociously and that he cannot sleep at night. Mohammed has not received adequate medical treatment to his various ailments.
The mother of political prisoner, Qais Abbas has expressed serious concerns for his safety after he had been moved to an unknown place. He is understood to be under severe pressure to sign an incriminating statement to involve him in a dubious case after an earlier court had acquitted him for lack of evidence.
The khalifi regime has been plundering the country’s wealth at an alarming rate and has resorted to borrow more to finance its dubious needs and projects. The national debt of Bahrain was forecast to continuously increase between 2022 and 2027 by in total 18.8 billion U.S. dollars (+35.83 percent). The national debt is estimated to amount to 71.24 billion U.S. dollars in 2027. By the end of last month the debt had reached BD14.07 billion or US$37.32 billion. The plundering of the country’s wealth was laid bare by the announcement this week of the purchase of Maclaren cars. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund “Mumtalakat” has bought the heritage models in exchange for a £100 million ($123 million) cash injection. Mumtalakat owns nearly 60 per cent of McLaren. The supercar company reported a loss of £203 million in the nine months through to September, compared with a £69 million loss a year ago. Liquidity at the end of the third quarter declined to £87 million — down from £171 million.
The persecution of the jailed people’s leaders has escalated recently. New trials are planned, continued medical negligence and vicious treatment behind bars are among the new regime’s means of targeting these heroes. On 30th November Sheikh Abdul Hadi AlMokhodar was prevented from attending a trial on fictitious charges. Mr Abdul Wahab Hussain was prevented from attending a crucial medical appointment for his eye. Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja was tried on trumpeted charges including breaking a plastic chair.
UN experts have called on Saudi Arabia to abolish the death penalty for drugs-related offences following the recent resumption of executions for such crimes and raise concern for Jordanian national Hussein Abo al-Kheir who is at imminent risk of execution. As the Saudi resume executions after a moratorium announced by its own Human Rights Commission for such crimes in January 2021, Hussein Abo al-Kheir’s life is now at risk. Relatives of death-row inmates fear each day could be the last for their loved ones as the Riyadh picks up the pace of executions. Saudi Arabia has issued death sentences for six other political prisoners ignoring the international outcry against the arbitrary executions in the Arab kingdom, a human rights organization (Sanad) said. It named the vcondemned as: Mohammed Al Tahnoon, Mustafa Abu Shaheen, Abdullah Ghazwi, Zuhair Al Samkhan, Mohammed Al Masbah and Razi al-Shayib. According to the rights group, the fresh death sentences take the number of jailed dissidents who face imminent execution to 59.
The Saudi regime has arrested a senior religious scholar from the city of Medina. Sheikh Kadhem Al Omari was detained from his home. He joined his two sons: Mohammad and Rajaei who had been in detention since last April. Saudi Arabia has sentenced human rights activist Mohammed al-Rabiah to 17 years in prison, extending a previous six-year term he completed in September. This follows the unprecedented 34-year and 45-year sentences against Salma al-Shehab and Noura al-Qahtani over their tweets.
On Friday 2nd December Amnesty International said that Saudi activist Mohammed al-Qahtani had been denied contact with his family since 24 October and his whereabouts are unknown. Al-Qahtani’s wife told the Saudi rights organisation Sanad last week that she had become “concerned” for her husband after he didn’t contact her at the time of his regular, scheduled call. She then contacted the prison to enquire about her husband and was told he had been transferred to another prison but did not disclose which one, Amnesty said. “Amnesty International urges the Saudi Arabian authorities to reveal Mohammed al-Qahtani’s whereabouts, allow him to contact his family, and immediately and unconditionally release him,” the group said.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
7th December 2022
