On hunger Strike: Young Bahraini detainees and death row Saudi prisoner
Native Bahrainis have marked the ten-day Ashura commemorations with massive processions, highly-charged slogans and determination to pursue the line of Imam Hussain, the central figure of the event. For centuries the natives marked the advent in their own ways, but since the khalifis occupied the country, these events have been marred with confrontations, detentions and abuse by the regime. Its intimidation continued this year but the Bahrainis were resolute in challenging the khalifi authority. Scores of citizens were summoned, detained and threatened. One senior religious scholar was summoned for interrogation.
Against the backdrop of commemorating Ashura and as part of the religious persecution campaign by the khalifi regime, a senior religious figure was summoned by the regime’s security officials. He had delivered a speech on the eve of the 10th Muharram (last Friday night) in which he expressed opinions on historical facts which are rejected by the regime. Yesterday, Sheikh Mahmood Al Aali voluntarily attended the torture centre and was subjected to intensive interrogation about his ideas. He was later released but it is not clear yet if he was charged. The khalifi regime adopts policies derived from the Umayyad legacy and does not tolerated serious criticism of those vicious dictators who killed Imam Hussain, Prophet Mohammed’s grandson.
Underaged political prisoners in Bahraini jails have started a hunger strike. They are protesting their imprisonment as well as the abuse they are being subjected to. They include: Mohammed Ali Adel, Hussain Saeed Abdul Karim, Sayed Ahmed Majeed, Firas Hussain, Fadel Mohammed Amin and Ali Mahmood Mohammed. The conditions at the Dry Dock prison where these juveniles are held are not fit for human habitation. This is in addition to the flawed trials of these young Bahraini natives. Many calls have been made to the khalifi jailers to set them free.
Saud al-Faraj, a 42-year-old Saudi businessman and father has launched a hunger strike after he was denied access to a public prosecutor, as his legal options to avoid execution run out. He was convicted in 2022 of participating in demonstrations in Qatif, a Shia Muslim majority province in the east of the kingdom – as well as running a terrorist cell and killing police officers. Faraj has long denied the charges, saying that his confession was a result of torture, which saw him moved in a wheelchair in and out of the prison hospital between interrogation sessions, and held in solitary confinement for 21 months, among other allegations. The Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal upheld his death sentence in January, and his case is now before the Supreme Court where Faraj faces his last chance to avoid execution through the court system. At least 64 people currently face execution in Saudi Arabia, including nine who were minors when they were charged, rights groups said.
The governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have made lucrative offers to Israeli doctors who are considering relocating over Israel’s controversial judicial reforms. Both the UAE and Bahrain were among the first Arab states to sign a US-brokered deal with Israel in 2020 and normalise ties.
Five years ago yesterday, Samar Badawi, Amal al-Harbi and Nassima al-Sadah were arrested for advocating for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Though they were subsequently freed, they have been subjected to a travel ban. Activists have called for this ban to be lifted so that they see the outside world after several years of incarceration in Saudi jails. As part of her conditional release, Badawi and her colleagues face a five-year long travel ban, as well as restrictions on speaking publicly about her experience. The three are human rights defenders who have been targeted repeatedly by the Saudi authorities for their peaceful activism. Samar has advocated for women’s rights, civil and political rights, and the release of her brother, Raif Badawi, as well as her ex-husband, Waleed Abu Al Khair who remain behind bars.
Saudi authorities have detained five family members of 15-year-old U.S. citizen Rakan Nader Aldossari and are prosecuting them in the country’s terrorism court. Their prosecution appears to be entirely in retaliation for Aldossari’s commercial lawsuit against the Saudi government. Saudi security forces detained four of the five Aldossari family members on May 11, 2023, including Rakan Aldossari’s two uncles, Dr. Salman Turki Aldossari and Sultan Turki Aldossari; one aunt; and his grandfather’s wife, Muneerah Mohammed al-Qahtani, a Kuwaiti citizen in Riyadh’s al-Malaz prison. Earlier, on April 9, security forces had detained another one of Aldossari’s uncles, Nayef Turki Aldossari. According to family members, they are held in poor conditions, some in cold cells with no blankets or proper beds. Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director said: “The very least the Biden administration can do is protect U.S. citizens and their family members from such gross acts of extraterritorial repression.”
Bahrain Freedom Movement
2nd August 2023