Bahrainis call for international intervention after the attacks on Bahrainis
The vicious attack by three members of the Death Squads on Jaffar Kadhem, 32, from the town of Demestan has created an atmosphere of apprehension and fear among the Bahrainis. It was an audacious attack with a clear political message and has been described by those who saw the victim’s horrible injuries as “pure terror”.
Mr Kadhem was on his way to Mr Hassan Mushaime’s house when his car was intercepted by a car with three peoples inside. They dragged him into the car an drove him to a remote corner of the Town of Jidhafs. There they attacked him with their hands, batons and shoes all over his body. He was then dumped at the doorsteps of Mr Mushaime’s house. He was blatantly told: “Let Mushaime help you”, before leaving him for dead. Mr Mushaime’, 61, called some friends who hurried the victim to Al Salmaniya hospital. He had sustained serious injuries to his eyes, face, head and body. The doctors treating him were horrified that such a treatment would be meted on citizens by the agents of the regime.
The latest crime by the Sheikh Hamad’s Death Squads has confirmed the existence of a policy of extermination of public figures who oppose the hereditary dictatorship. There have been several attacks in recent times on activists, in none of them has there been any arrest or investigation.
Following the release of many prisoners last month under international and local pressures, the ruling family wanted the Formula 1 race to pass without embarrassing incidents of political or security nature. As soon as the race finished towards the end of April, the Al Khalifa’s plan was put into action. On 30th April, a young Bahraini was assassinated by the Death Squads. His car was blown to pieces leading to his instant death. Mr Moosa Jaffar was with his close friend, when their car was exploded by a booby-trap bomb. Moosa Jaffar Mull Khalil was at the steering wheel when he was killed; his companion, Ali Abdulla Sa’ad was seriously injured in the blast. He lost both eyes and is still fighting for his life.
Similar crimes had been committed before. Sheikh Abdul Jalil Al Miqdad’s car was being booby-trapped by three members of the Death Squads at the early hours of the morning of 17th January 2009 when he came out of his house unexpectedly. The culprits fled the scene, and the attempt to fit the booby trap was foiled. The equipment fitted to the car was probably a listening device. Last year, Sayyed Ageel Al Sari, an activist young clergy man discovered a similar device fitted to his car. These attacks have continued unabated. The ruling family has kept a tight lip on these crimes.
Their brazen action yesterday against Jaffar Kadhem is seen as a desperate act by an illegal regime that seeks to silence his opponents by any means. It is now widely established that the al Khlaifa are recruiting members of the defunct defence teams of Saddam Hussain. They have been waging a sectarian war against the Bahrainis. Their tactics include creating sectarian confusion with the hope that these would provide a shield against the rising tide of anti-regime activism. At mid-day today, some officials from the Prosecutor’s office visited the victim in an attempt to silence him after his case became one of the most audacious terrorist act in living memory. The criminals did not attempt to hide their heinous act; they wanted the message to be clear and decisive. It was a disastrous failure for the hereditary dictatorship.
The situation has now become so polarised between the ruling family and the people of Bahrain that it is unlikely that the two sides will be able to reconcile. The recent crimes of torture, summary justice in the streets against the Bahrainis and the spate of killings committed by the Death Squads have forced Bahrainis to seek international intervention to protect them against the evils of this hereditary dictatorship.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
8th May 2009