Jail terms for Bahraini pro-Ghaza activists, Saudi HR activists persecuted
Yesterday the Bahraini opposition in UK held a seminar/Press Conference to mark the 13th anniversary of the Saudi-Emirati incursion into Bahrain. On 14th March 2011, one month after the eruption of the Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout Revolution, forces from both countries crossed the Saudi-Bahraini causeway and took active part in attacking the protesters at the Pearl Roundabout and in other towns. Several people were killed. The seminar was held at the UK Parliament and addressed by several people including Sinn Fein MP Mickey Brady who represents Newry and Armagh in Northern Ireland. Other speakers include Yahya Al Assiri, a Saudi opposition figure, Insiya Raja, human rights researcher with BIRD and Jawad Fairooz, Chairman of Salaam for Human Rights. Several others participated in the roundtable discussion including Stephen Bell from the Stop the War Coalition, Ali Al Fayez, a Bahraini activist and Dr James Thring.
On 12th March the khalifi regime imposed prison sentences of three months on six native Bahrainis for participating in protests in support of the people of Palestine. The six were detained on 11th November: Hussain Al Jaziri, Hussain Abd Ali Marhoon, Mohammed Hani Mohammed Naseeb, Murtada Al Samahiji, Moosa Jaffar Ashoor Al Sheghl and Yousuf Ahmed. They joined the demonstration in Karzakkan to condemn the killing of the people of Gaza. They were snatched by the torturers from the court soon after the khalifi judge announced his political decision. Many native Bahrainis have been arrested for their pro-Palestine stands.
Political prisoners at the notorious Jau Prison have refused to take their meals in protest at the regime’s refusal to implement the articles of agreement between the two sides. These articles were drafted after the prisoners engaged in a mass hunger strike they called: We have rights. The prison officials have reneged on their agreement to extend the daily outing period to one and a half hours and to allow them to participate in mass prayers.
The khalifa misuse of national funds has been, once again, exposed by the failure of their attempt to rescue the faltering McLaren. The khalifi owners of McLaren have hired bankers to find a buyer for their stake in the British car maker after investors were forced to pump it with £1.5bn in funding to prop it up in the wake of the pandemic. Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund with a 50pc holding in McLaren Group, is said to have drafted in advisers at JP Morgan following an order from dictator Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to stem losses. It follows repeated cash calls on investors from the company, known for its supercars, the Sunday Times reported. Mumtalakat has owned a major stake in McLaren since 2007. It was forced to help fund a £300m emergency cash infusion to the car maker in 2020 as its finances were devastated by the Covid pandemic.
The prison officials at Jau have provoked the inmates by moving four political prisoners to the isolation section. The prisoners at Bloc 7 started a sit in in the alleyways in protest against this move.
For the fifth consecutive months, Bahrainis have continued their protests and demonstrations in support of the people of Gaza. The main protest took place in Duraz on Friday with participants expressing their willingness to provide Gaza with food aid. They condemned the khalifi support of the occupiers of Palestine, considering it a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. Meanwhile, the daily protest in Sanabis town by the mothers of political prisoners has continued despite continuous intimidation and threats by the regime’s agents. They are calling for the release of their loved ones from the khalifi cells.
Several young Saudi men remain at risk of execution for alleged crimes committed as children. Alqst in collaboration with Global Citizen have launched a petition calling on Saudi Arabia’s authorities to quash the death sentences immediately.
Malik al-Dowaish, son of Sulaiman al-Dowaish who has been forcibly disappeared since 2016, will face a new trial after Ramadan. Malik was arrested in July 2022 in reprisal for his advocacy for his father, and later sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Yesterday marked six years since the Saudi authorities arrested and forcibly disappeared humanitarian aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan. Subsequently they sentenced him to 20 years in prison for peaceful social media activity. He continues to be disappeared and denied any family contact. In 2013 years ago, Saudi authorities arrested human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani for his peaceful activism. His 10-year prison sentence expired in November 2022, yet he remains forcibly disappeared, without any contact with his family.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
13th March 2024