Bahrain: Major failures of Al Khalifa led them to imagine a “plot” by teenagers
In flagrant violations of all international norms and conventions, the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty paraded Bahraini detainees on TV screens to “confess their crimes”.
On 22nd December even young people, including teenagers were forced to re-iterate statements prepared by their torturers claiming that they had been “trained” at a camp in Syria, later found to be no more than a house in a residential area, inhabited by people unaware of any of the Al Khalifa claims. Among the paraded hostages are: Mohammad Salman Yousef, Ahmad Yousef Al Sami’, Fathi Makki Jassim, Mohammad Jamil Taher, Ali Jamil Taher, Hassan Ali Fateel, Mohammmad Khalil Ibrahim, Mohammad Abdulla Abdul Hussai, Mohammad Jaffar Isa, Mohammad Hassan Ali and yaseen Ali Mushaime’. A wave of anger has spread throughout the country as images of the severely tortured victims were shown in one of the worst episodes of human rights abuses committed by the Al Khalifa occupiers.
On 21st December a group of lawyers who volunteered to defend the Bahrainis against the Al Khalifa had filed requests for medical examination of the victims, but they have received nothing yet. Hafidh Al Mulla, one of the lawyers said that they had doubted the “confessions” of the Bahrainis that they had been trained to carry out subversive activities aiming at bringing down the dictatorial regime. He confirmed that the lawyers had seen signs of tortures on the hands and feet of the Bahrainis. They had been deprived of sleep and interrogated at odd hours of the night, often after 3 am. The prosecution department noted the concerns of the lawyers but took no action. Three of the Bahrainis aged 22-28 detailed their ordeal under torture. The lawyers also complained that parading the Bahraini victims on TV is a violation of Bahrain’s commitment to the human rights conventions. It is a verdict of guilt outside the due process of law.
It is now clear that the ruling family has, in recent months, been angered by two major developments. The first is the rising tide of anti-Al Khalifa sentiments and protestes inside the country. The first two weeks of December saw a sharp deterioration in the security situation with protests, demonstrations and widespread slogans throughout the country. This is despite the menacing presence of the foreign-staffed riot police and death squads. The second is the sharp increase in the amount of criticism it had been subjected to by international human rights and political bodies, the briefing at the US Congress about the discriminatory policies of the Al Khalifa and the convening of a major seminar at the UK House of Lords to commemorate the Day of the Martyrs. The ruling family’s efforts to enhance its image have achieved little, despite recruiting expensive PR companies in UK and USA to market its political policies.
What added to the anger of the Al Khlaifa is the recent decline of its democracy ranking issued by the Economist magazine. It placed Bahrain at 130 out of 167 countries. Sweden was placed at the top of the Democracy table as No 1, whilst South Korea was given the lowest ranking of 167. Bahrain is among the lowest ranking figures and is placed within the league of countries with “Authoritarian Regimes”. This ranking, alongside the ongoing internal political strife and outside opposition activities, have caused a major psychological problems to the senior figures of the ruling family who had attempted to market their brand of dictatorship wrapped in “democracy” outfits. The UK, for example, has been targeted by the regime’s media with fierce attacks for giving asylum to Bahraini activists. The alleged plot to “overthrow” the regime by 15 teenagers is also an attempt to incite the British authorities against the Bahraini opposition. The past six months have witnessed relentless attacks against UK for not believing the Al Khalifa in their claims. It is a serious defeat for Sheikh Hamad and his clique.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
30th December 2008