Thursday
May172012
Bahrain Live Coverage: Playing the Iran Card
tagged 
Bahrain, Huda Nonoo, Iran
Bahrain, Huda Nonoo, Iran Entries in Bahrain (677)
Wednesday
May162012
Bahrain Live Coverage: The Tortured Neurosurgeon
Democracy Now! with neurosurgeon Nabeel Hameed on his time in detention and the situation in the Kingdom (see 0740 GMT)
See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Conflict Renewed
Bahrain Live Coverage: Why Did Saudis Pour Cold Water on "Union"?
2005 GMT: Nabeel Rajab, the detained head of the Bahrain Human Rights Center, appeared in court today and rejected the claim that he used Twitter to incite riots and violence against policemen:
>The charge against me is vindictive and is due to my rights activism. I only practiced my right to free expression. I did not commit a crime. The decision to arrest me and put me on trial was a political decision.
The judge adjourned the trial to Sunday. He ordered Rajab, who was arrested at Bahrain International Airport on 5 May, to remain in detention.
Tuesday
May152012
Bahrain Live Coverage: Why Did Saudis Pour Cold Water on "Union"?
See also Bahrain Live Coverage: "Union" with Saudi Arabia?
1930 GMT: A march on Monday night rejecting union with Saudi Arabia:
1540 GMT: In another sign of the authorities' intent to crack down on expression in social media, Parliament has been considering legislation "to curb misuse of electronic means of communication as well as punish perpetrators using the platform to incite violence in the Kingdom".
The MPs are considering the formation of a committee with jurisdiction over offences allegedly committed via electronic and social media.
Monday
May142012
Bahrain Live Coverage: "Union" with Saudi Arabia?
Saudi King Abdullah and Bahraini King Hamad, 18 April 2010
See also Bahrain Live Coverage: Challenging the US Arms Sale
1652 GMT: The lawyer of detained Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, on Day 96 of a hunger strike, is reported that the human rights activist has been moved from military hospital back to Jau Prison.
Alkhawaja's wife reported, after a two-hour visit on Sunday, that Alkhawaja was taking water and juice.
1650 GMT: An interesting turn in the Saudi Arabia-Bahrain "union" story, as the Saudi Foreign Minister appears to quash the idea at today's Gulf Co-operation Council meeting in Riyadh --- from Andrew Hammond of Reuters:
as plain as could be said - saud al-faisal: 'there was no step to have a special relationship between #bahrain and #saudi'. the fuss is over
— Andrew Hammond (@Hammonda1) May 14, 2012
union idea seems to have been majorly squashed at this meeting, not even clear declaration of intent for next summit. #saudi #bahrain
— Andrew Hammond (@Hammonda1) May 14, 2012
Sunday
May132012
Bahrain Live Coverage: Challenging the US Arms Sale
See also Bahrain Feature: A Very British System of Repression
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Pause in the Conflict?
Saturday's Bahrain Live Coverage: Marches and US Arms Sales
Cartoon: Carlos Latuff1914 GMT: The wife of detained human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is Day 95 of his hunger strike, has seen him for two hours today.
Khadija Almousawi said her husband appears in better condition, but he is still only taking water and juice.
Sunday
May132012
Bahrain Feature: A Very British System of Repression (Curtis)
British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes Bahrain's King Hamad in London, 12 December 2011
Bahrain, along with Syria, has become a symbol of the failure of the Arab Spring to deliver real democracy and freedom across the Arab world. The media in Britain portray a rigid, oppressive almost feudal elite who are stubbornly holding out against the inevitable wave of modern freedoms and political justice.
But what is hardly ever mentioned in the press and TV reports is that this very system of oppression, the rock against which the dreams of democracy are being dashed, was largely created by the British. That, throughout most of the twentieth century, British advisers to the Bahraini royal family, backed up by British military might, were central figures in the creation of a ruthless system that imprisoned and sometimes tortured any Bahraini citizen who even dared to suggest the idea of democracy.
The same British advisers also worked with the rulers of Bahrain to exercise a cynical technique of divide and rule --- setting Shia against Sunni in a very successful attempt to keep Bahrain locked in an old, decaying and corrupt system of tribal and religious rivalries. The deliberate aim was to stop democracy ever emerging.
The Bahrainis know this, practically everyone else in the Arab world knows this --- the only people who seem to have forgotten are the British themselves.
So I thought I would tell the story of Britain's involvement in the government and the security of Bahrain over the past 90 years. Especially as the present King of Bahrain is coming to have lunch with the Queen on May 18th.
Saturday
May122012
Bahrain Live Coverage: Marches and US Arms Sales
Friday's opposition march in Karzakan, calling for the release of political prisoners such as human rights activist Nabeel Rajab
See also Bahrain Analysis: "Washington's Knight" --- The Crown Prince Gets US Weapons
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Uneasy Frontline
Friday's Bahrain Live Coverage: Recognising an Independent Journalist
1725 GMT: Mohamed Al Jishi, the lawyer for detained human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, reports on the status of his client after an unexpected court hearing today:
@Hammonda1 He is detained under defamation accusations and the case in court is illegal gathering.
— Mohamed Al Jishi (@Mohamed_AlJishi) May 11, 2012
Nabeel Rajab will be detained for a week under his new accusation. #FreeNabeel #bahrain #
— Mohamed Al Jishi (@Mohamed_AlJishi) May 12, 2012
Saturday
May122012
Bahrain Analysis: "Washington's Knight" --- The Crown Prince Gets US Weapons
Crown Prince Salman and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
This was not the King receiving the US gesture of the arms sale; this was not the Minister of Defence, who had publicly declared that the Obama Administration is trying to undermine the regime.
This was the Crown Prince, the man repeatedly framed as the "moderate" among hard-liners, being anointed with the weapons. This is Washington's knight to bring stability and "reform", whatever that word means.
Friday
May112012
Bahrain Live Coverage: Recognising an Independent Journalist
Flashback to Wednesday when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of "human rights" during the visit by Crown Prince Salman --- Today, Washington followed up further meetings with Salman by renewing arms sales to the Kingdom
See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Uncertainties After the Damascus Bombs
Thursday's Bahrain Live Coverage: "Almost Broken, But Not Entirely So"
2019 GMT: Amid clashes including tear gas to disperse marchers, police approach youth in Karzakan:
Thursday
May102012
Bahrain Live Coverage: "Almost Broken, But Not Entirely So"
2145 GMT: A Bahraini defense lawyer says the court hearing of 20 medics, sentenced last year to prison terms of between five and 15 years by a military tribunal, ended in an adjournment for a month.
1955 GMT: Catching up after an academic day away....
After talks in Washington with Crown Prince Salman, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Bahrain to take further steps to address human rights issues.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the pair discussed Manama's efforts to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry: "Clinton noted the steps already taken to implement the recommendations, but expressed that much work remains to fully address ongoing human rights issues, including individual cases. She encouraged the Bahraini government to champion a clear process -- in both word and action -- that leads to meaningful institutional and political reforms that take into account the interests and aspirations of all Bahrainis."
Nuland added, "Clinton affirmed the long-standing commitment of the United States to a strong partnership with both the people and the government of Bahrain."