Bahrain Timeline: The Regime's Path of Repression from 23 September to Today
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 8:00Police arrest Said Yousuf Almuhafda of the Bahrain Center of Human Rights on Friday
See also Bahrain Special: Growing Concerns Amid Questions Over Bombs and A Tide of Repression
On 19 September, at the United Nations Human Rights Council, officials of the Bahrain Government made much of their purported commitment to human rights. The subsequent weeks tell a different story:
23 September 2012: Pro-government newspaper AlWatan publishes pictures of the activists and opposition figures who attended the UN Human Rights Council UPR in Geneva, with their faces circled in red. The paper accused them of being on a "mission to defame and ruin the reputation of Bahrain". The red circling recalled the period at the height of last years violence where Bahrain state television broadcast images of opposition activists with their faces similarly circled in red, seen by many as inciting violence against them.
27 September 2012: Two unnamed policemen are acquitted on charges of murdering Isa Abdulhasan Ali Hussain (60) and Ali Ahmed Abdulla Moumen (22). Both men were killed on 17 February 2011, known as Bloody Thursday. A third policeman was given a seven-year sentence for killing Hani Abdulaziz Abdulla Jumaa (32) on 19 March 2011. The third policeman is reportedly still out of prison, appealing the verdict. All three deaths were investigated by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. The report attributed the deaths to "the use of excessive force by police officers".
29 September 2012: 17-year-old Ali Hussain Neama is killed in Saddad by security forces firing birdshot pellets, after a peaceful protest was attacked by police. The death certificate cites shotgun injuries to his back as the cause of death.
1 October 2012: Sentences against six medics --- arrested, abused, and imprisoned last year after treating injured protesters --- are upheld.
2 October 2012: The six medics, considered prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, are arrested from their homes in dawn raids and taken to prison.
2 October 2012: 22-year-old political prisoner Mohammed Mushaima dies from sickle cell anemia. BCHR claim his death was "due to lack of adequate health care". He was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment last year, despite his lawyers producing documents "proving that he was in the hospital at the time of his alleged crime", according to the BCHR.
5 October 2012: President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab is refused permission to attend the mourning ceremonies for his mother, who had died the previous morning. Nabeel was permitted to attend the funeral on 4 October, but the government revoked his permission to attend subsequent ceremonies, claiming that he "violated the terms of his release" by making public statements about the human rights violations in Bahrain.
12 October 2012: There are "dozens" of arrests after security forces attack a peaceful protest in the capital Manama. Amongst those arrested are two 15-year-old children, Dana Jaffar and Ali Adel. Dana was held in detention for 7 days. Ali was ordered to 30 days in detention on 14 October.
12-13 October 2012: A Sky News crew in Bahrain filming the protests in Bahrain report that they were "arrested three times in two days". The crew had previous tried to report from Bahrain in April 2012, but were denied entry at the airport.
14 October 2012: Sheikh Ali Salman, General Secretary of AlWefaq opposition society, is summoned for questioning by the Ministry of Interior following a trip to Egypt.
15 October 2012: Stephanie David of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)is refused entry to Bahrain at the airpor, to attend Nabeel Rajab's appeal hearing.
16 October 2012: Nabeel Rajab's appeal is adjourned to 8 November. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders describe the proceedings as having "blatantly violate[d] the rights of the defence". The judge refuses a request to call international witnesses on the grounds that this would not be "relevant".
16 October 2012: Mohammed AlMaskati, President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), is arrested on charges charges related to participating in protests. He was held overnight and released.
17 October 2012: Four citizens are arrested and charged with "defaming" King Hamad on Twitter. Last week, one of them was sentenced to six-months. The other three cases are still pending.
19 October 2012: A policeman dies from injuries reportedly sustained in a bomb blast the previous evening in AlEker. The government released footage they said shows the blast, however reports in pro-regime newspapers claimed that the Interior Minister later said the death was caused by an iron rod projectile. Security forces imposed a lockdown on AlEker which lasted several days. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights reported arbitrary arrests and beatings by security forces.
21 October 2012: Opposition societies call for an end to the "collective punishment" against residents of AlEker and demand an independent investigation into events there.
21 October 2012: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights issue an "urgent appeal" for medical supplies and food for the besieged village of AlEker. Leading human rights activists Said Yousif Almuhafda, Zainab AlKhawaja and Naji Fateel are arrested whilst walking on the pavement to AlEker, carrying symbolic supplies.
21 October 2012: Guilty verdicts against two former Bahrain Teachers’ Association leaders are upheld on appeal. Despite a high-profile campaign by Amnesty International and other international organisations, Mahdi Abu Dheeb was sentenced to five years and Jalila al-Salman to six months, for calling for a strike. Both claim they were tortured after their arrest last year.
22 October 2012: A policewoman was acquitted on charges of torturing France 24 journalist Nazeeha Saeed in May 2011. The policewoman had previously been found guilty before a military court and fined 200 Bahraini Dinars. Reporters Without Borders called the acquittal, "a verdict that illustrates the Bahrain’s judicial system’s lack of independence".
26 October 2012: Jawad Al-Shaikh, whose 14-year old son was shot and killed by security forces last year, was arrested in Manama at a peaceful protest. Public Prosecution ordered for him to be detained for 15 days for investigation on charges of "illegal gathering".
26 October 2012: State media reports that a policeman died from burns sustained in an incident in Karzakan on 22 April.
28 October 2012: The Bahrain government describes "freedom of expression" as a "catchphrase" used by human rights activsts.
29 October 2012: The Interior Minister orders a ban on all rallies and demonstrations.
31 October 2012: Bahrain Center for Human Rights releases a report which "Holds the King Responsible for the Spread of the Culture of Impunity" which has resulted in a lack of official accountability for tens of deaths and count victims of torture.
1 November 2012: A man charged with "defaming" King Hamad on Twitter is sentenced to six months in prison.
1 November 2011: The Prime Minister, visiting the Interior Minister, described the pro-democracy movement as "saboteurs who exploited democracy as a dagger in the midline of the nation", in contrast to "the loyal Bahraini people who have proven their solid stance and cohesion with their leadership". He also announced "that anyone who rejects or ignores the call of reason should have to hearken to the voice of the law and justice".
2 November 2012: Hussain Jawad, Chairman of the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights (EBOHR), receives a police summons to come in for questioning on 8 November.
2 November 2012: Said Yousif Almuhafda, acting Vice President and Head of Monitoring of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights is arrested in Duraz. He had been monitoring a protest and was documenting a shotgun injury reportedly caused by security forces. Authorities announced that he will be held for 7 days for investigation on charges relating to "illegal gathering" in Duraz. During his interrogation, Almuhafda was reportedly questioned about his speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in September.
4 November 2012: NGO Physicians Without Human Rights is denied entry to Bahrain. Two weeks before, the Minister for Human Rights said that "the doors of the Kingdom were open for all ... human rights organisations". Earlier this year, the organisation had written reports on the "Weaponization of Tear Gas" in Bahrain and the "Militarization of Bahrain’s public health system".
5 November 2012: According to the Ministry of Interior, home made bombs cause 5 separate explosions in the capital Manama, killing two migrant workers and injuring a third.
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