Bahrain: royal commission undermined on first day working day
The anti-regime demonstrations took new dimensions yesterday when the youth took to the streets in various places. After the Friday prayers hundreds of youth staged their protest in Duraz, Bani Jamra, Barbar, Sitra, Al Ekr and other towns.
They were viciously attacked by the regime’s forces. Many of the demonstrators have sustained serious injuries but were unable to get to the hospital for fear of kidnapping and further torture. Children and women were savagely beaten. Tear and chemical gases were extensively used causing extreme forms of nausea and pain. Makeshift clinics were busy treating the wounded.
A case against more than fifty members of the Al Khalifa regime has been lodged at the International Court at the Hague. The international writ has been sponsored by 14 international human rights bodies. Nine international lawyers had prepared its contents ensuring its compliance with the rules and requirements of the court. Among the delegation which presented the case to the Prosecutor’s office were Haytham Manna’, Dr Loa’i Deeb, Mr Abdul Hameed Dashti, a Kuwaiti lawyer and Dr Fouad Al Ibrahim.
The delegation met the ICC Prosecutor, Moreno Ocampo and discussed the case with his staff. Several media channels were present at the entrance of the Court. There is mounting pressure on the ICC to act against senior members of the regime including the dictator, Hamad, himself.
It has been confirmed that Ali Al Sadeq, 20, from Sanabis was killed by members of the Death Squads operated by the “royal” court”. He was detained on 16th March after the vicious attack by the Saudi and Al Khalifa forces on the Pearl Square. He was kidnapped and subjected to horrific forms of torture. His body was mutilated by sharp tools and electric devices. His arms and wrists show that he had been hung and beaten all over his body.
His family were warned not to speak about their son. It is only now that the story has begun to leak out.
Another young Bahraini, Jaffar Salman Makki, from Sitra, has lost one of his eyes after being hit with a shotgun. His shrapnel-riddled face and body were evidence to the barbarity of the Al Khalifa and Al Saud occupiers. His widowed wife and two daughters have been badly shaken by this crime. There are at least fifty Baharainis who lost at least one eye as a result of that .
The dictator has refused to investigate these crimes by independent bodies. Instead, he has appointed a group of experts under his command to undertake partial investigation into the events of February and March of this year. Their mandate has excluded the major crimes committed in the following months which were probably more serious than the crimes in the two months.
There are many confirmed reports that documents have been intentionally destroyed by the regime’s officials to hide any credible evidence of the atrocities committed against the people. Hamad’s inquiry, headed by Sharif Bissiouni, has failed its first test today for their noticeable absence from the areas where excessive force was used to repress demonstrators. They should have made the effort to witness those atrocities. Several human rights experts have expressed outrage at the way the royal commission had been formed. The UN Human Rights Commission is urged to dispatch its own independent investigation committee to Bahrain to present a credible testimony to the regime’s atrocities. The dictator himself is implicated directly in issuing orders for the major attacks on Barhainis.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
22nd July 2011