MP charged with racist language against Bahraini, three Saudis beheaded
A Conservative MP has been charged with racially aggravated abuse in an encounter with Bahraini protesters. Bob Stewart, 73, the Member of Parliament for Beckenham, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 5 July in connection with an incident in Belgravia, London on 14 December. He is facing charges of “using threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour”. Two charges have been brought, one a racially aggravated offence and one not, “to allow the court discretion on the racial element”. Police said in December they would investigate after footage appeared to show an encounter with a protester outside an event hosted by the Bahraini embassy. In the footage, Mr Stewart appeared to tell Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who had been tortured in the Gulf state: “Go away, I hate you. You make a lot of fuss, go back to Bahrain.” Despite these serious allegations the Conservative Party failed to withdraw the whip from Mr Stewart.
In a new move to restrict public freedoms, the Islamic Affairs and Waqf at Bahrain’s Ministry of Justice has warned the prayer leaders and religious scholars against any sermon on political issues and criticism of normalization of relations with Israeli regime. The bureau has issued a statement to announce that the mosques across the country are under constant observation to ensure compliance with orders from the royal court. The statement also added that the role of orators and prayer leaders are restricted to purely religious matters.
Bahraini photojournalist Sayed Baqer Al-Kamel has been interrogated by police. The reasons for the interrogation haven’t been disclosed. Political prisoners. Journalists are under constant pressure to tow the line of the khalifis and their roles are continuously curtailed.
A petition to the officials of the Jau Prison has been signed by 55 Bahraini inmates calling for improvement of the dire conditions of the jail. Their demands include: proper medical care for the prisoners, reducing the call charges to their families, providing adequate news media to enable them to follow the news, increasing the time of the daily outing and exposure to the sun, providing the necessary sanitation materials, increasing the monthly family visit from half an hour to one hour, allowing the prisoners to mark their religious anniversaries, ending the collective punishment for individual mishaps, and providing facilities for personal education and studies. The petition was signed by inmates from wings 1 and 2 of Jau prison. Political prisoner Sayed Ali Al Abbar has been denied medical treatment. He suffers chronic pain in his stomach and is in need for immediate treatment.
On Sunday 4th June the Saudi regime beheaded three more people from the Eastern Province. Hussain bin Ali Al Mhaishi, Fadel bin Zaki AlNsaif and Zakriya bin Hassan AlMhashi were falsely accused of membership of a terrorist group and possessing arms. They were severely tortured and forced to sign false confessions. This brings to nine the number of executions in the past ten days. Last week two Bahrainis were beheaded: Sadeq Thamer and Jaffar Sultan were condemned to death on false charges. The week before four Saudis from the Eastern Province were beheaded: Mohammed Al Bader, Mohammed Mwais, Hassan Al Muhanna and Haidar Muwais. The families of the martyrs have been asking for their bodies to give them decent burial, but the Saudis refused the request.
There is unprecedented alarm that Saudi Arabia is preparing to execute more political prisoners including minors who are currently on death row. Reprieve, the international NGO campaigning against the capital punishment issued an appeal to stop these executions. It said: Six lives are in danger right now in Saudi Arabia including Salman Alodah, Hassan al-Maliki, Abdullah al-Howaiti, Abdullah al-Derazi and Youssef al-Manasif. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) tries to rebrand his leadership as progressive; as he continues to lie to the international community about not executing child defendants; and as he invites sports stars to Saudi Arabia to wash his reputation. Both Salman Alodah and Hassan al-Maliki’s arrest, detention and charges violate their most basic human rights. Abdullah al-Howaiti, Abdullah al-Derazi and Youssef al-Manasif are child defendants on death row because of alleged crimes committed when they were just children. All three boys were tortured into “confessing” and those “confessions” convicted them.
The Saudi Specialised Criminal Court (SSC) has sentenced Fatima Al Shawarbi to 30 years and six months in jail, followed by a travel ban for a similar period. Her main crime is writing under an anonymous name about the political prisoners, women rights and unemployment. She also talked about the forced displacement of AlHuwaitat tribe from their town to make room for the NEON project.
The Saudi authorities have warned Snapchat users that ‘insulting’ the regime is a criminal offense. Users of the social media app have faced legal consequences for posts – some private – that are critical of Saudi authorities.
An Amnesty International briefing “The Human Rights Situation in the UAE ahead of COP28” identifies key human rights risks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that threaten the success of COP28, including the suppression of the right to freedom of expression and a closure of civic space, the danger of digital espionage and monitoring, and the host country’s opposition to the rapid phasing out of fossil fuels.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
7 June 2023
