Witness Bahrain illustrates a story told by activist Zainab al-Akhawaja after a recent phone conversation with her detained father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
Abdulhadi, held in a military hospital, is on Day 74 of his hunger strike.
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 19:31 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran A cameraman films Bahraini police surrounding the body of Salah Habib Abbas Alqattan, apparently slain by security forces --- near the end of the clip, a shot appears to be fired at him
See also Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Friday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protest Here, Protest There, Protest Everywhere?
2228 GMT: We close today's coverage with two contrasting images from Bahrain....
Mohammed Hasan, a "fixer" for foreign journalists covering stories in the kingdom, has been released from detention after he was seized this morning:
But this photograph (Warning: Graphic) appears to confirm that protester Salah Habib Abbas Alqattan was killed by birdshot fired by security forces:
1954 GMT: Breaking news from Bahrain - activist Zainab AlKhawaja has been arrested, apparently while trying to visit her father in the hospital:
It's been confirmed, Zainab Alkhawaja @angryarabiya arrested, lawyer will attempt to go see her now #bahrain #f1 #fia #feb14
— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) April 20, 2012
1908 GMT: This video is destined to be iconic. The UN monitors are set to visit the Idlib town of Kafer Takharim, and the the Syrian military pulled out today so as not to be seen by the observers. As the soldiers evacuate, this young man waves a pre-Baath party flag, the flag of the Syrian opposition, right in the face of Assad's tanks and soldiers.
Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 11:04 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Wednesday's night mass protest in the Damascus suburb of Irbeen
See also Yemen Feature: CIA Seeks Authority to Expand Drone Programme
Morocco Analysis: Why Did the Moroccan Uprising Not Rise?
Syria Feature: Activists to Insurgents "We Want Our Revolution Back"
Bahrain Video Special: Activists Declare "No Formula 1 in A Bloody Kingdom"
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Wednesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Appealing to Damascus
2130 GMT: As reported earlier, many journalists have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1. Earlier this evening, a team from Sky News, intending to cover the humanitarian and political situation in Bahrain, were likewise denied entry. EA understands that the team is now back in Dubai and remain intent on gaining entry into Bahrain to see for themselves the situation on the ground.
The Sky News team was headed by Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay who has been tweeting about the experience and his frustration with the Bahrain authorities:
Sky news denied access to report from f1 in bahrain #Bahrain
— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012
Govt refuses to explain why I can't come in
— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012
We are excluded without redress but have asked to represent all sides
— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012
#Bahrain govt welcomes f1 but not independent journalists who actually understand the complexity of this issue
— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012
I asked to report on the country not the F1 and they know that come on your excellencies grow up
— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012
1959 GMT: Multiple journalists, from news Agencies such as AFP and AP, have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1 race:
Associated Press said two of its Dubai-based journalists were prevented from covering the Grant Prix because they could not receive entry visas, despite being accredited by the FIA.
Meanwhile, cameramen already in Bahrain were required to keep fluorescent orange stickers on their cameras so that they would be easily recognisable to ensure they do not cover any off-track events, such as ongoing protests.
No F1 in Bahrain
Voting began on Wednesday for the "best video" section of the Bahrain International Circuit (IAA/BIC) F1 Social Media Contest, sponsored by the regime's Information Affairs Authority.
With the IAA proclaiming that the entries will promote "unity" as well as entertainment, this seems the ideal moment to highlight a set of videos that may not quite meet the approval of the judges.
Syrian President Assad and his wife Asma at an aid centre in Damascus, collection donations fo residents of Homs
See also Syria Feature: How the Uprising Has Damaged the Scientific Community
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Cease-fire? 55 Dead on Monday
2056 GMT: A major, shocking headline, and a complete turnaround in rhetoric for the Bahraini regime:
The government of Bahrain cannot guarantee the safety of Formula One teams and spectators at this Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix as violence escalates in the Gulf kingdom, according to the British former police officer who is working on security at the track.
According to John Yates, the British law enforcement official who has been hired by the regime to revamp the Bahraini police, there was a possibility that security at the Formula 1 race could be compromised...
And the Bahraini police could resort to using live ammunition if necessary:
"The police will have all the options you would expect. If the opposition started firing live ammunition, the police would respond with live," he said, adding: "But I don't think that's likely."
This is a complete reversal for Yates, who once said that Bahrain was safer than London.
Yates insisted that the government continues to reform, and though security forces have sometimes overstepped their boundaries, those incidents were limited and being investigated. He denied that police were preemptively attacking villages.
The Ministry of Interior also released a statement today saying that rioters and vandals were arrested after having committed crimes.
However, as we saw today, police responded to the presence of protesters by challenging the crowds with riot police, and only showed restraint when they saw the media. Even with media present, the police still attacked. Other videos, taken over many months, show police randomly patrolling villages, looking for protesters to challenge, sparking reprisal attacks against the police. There does appear to be a pattern of police provocation, and the journalists in Bahrain have seen that with their own eyes.
Of course, there have also been incidents where protesters have used force against police. After 14 months of uprisings, however, and many months of John Yates, the situation has hardly gotten better.
In fact, it seems to be getting worse.
Last night's protest in Ma'arat Numan in Idlib Province in Syria
1854 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Houla in Homs Province in Syria today:
And a rally in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh:
A policeman challenges activist Zainab Alkhawaja, shortly before her arrest, 15 December 2011
Amnesty International, in a 58-page report, documents how the regime, despite the King's proclamation of "sweeping and broad" reforms, has failed to make significant changes since the November 2011 report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. The organisation outlines a series of political, legal, and social measures which must be implemented for any notions of fairness, justice, and rights to take hold.
The Conclusions and Recommendations:
Important recommendations contained in the BICI [Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry] report have yet to be fully implemented.
These include recommendations dealing with accountability for the human rights violations carried out in connection with anti-government protests in 2011. The reported investigations of allegations of torture and unlawful killings by the security forces have been shrouded in secrecy. So far only nine low-ranking policemen have been put on trial. The new investigative body, placed under the PPO, lacks independence, impartiality and effectiveness. Scores of prisoners, tried unfairly in military courts and sentenced to long-term prison sentences, have not been released although they were convicted solely for leading and participating in antigovernment protests without using or advocating violence. Police brutality continues unabated with daily excessive use of force to deal with demonstrators. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment continue to reach Amnesty International.
Last week, shocking CCTV footage surfaced of a raid on a Bahrain supermarket, owned by the Jawad Group, a long-time target of harassment by loyalist groups.
A mob of young men streamed into the shop, smashing and stealing with impunity. Police eventually arrived on the scene, but rather than react with tear gas and mass arrests, they appeared to support the looters or, at a minimum, are acquiesce in their actions.
There is something surreal and comedic about the footage, to the point where one wonders it might actually have happened. This perhaps was the inspiration for "Cam 3", the latest short film by Bahrana Drama:
1959 GMT: Before today started in Syria, the UN Human Rights investigators had already expressed concern that the violence escalated significantly before the deadline for the ceasefire had arrived.
"The commission is also concerned by reports of new arrests, especially in Hama and Aleppo."
With news that the wholesale shelling of Homs continued, activists reported that Assad's air force was conducting attacks against Idlib and Saraqeb, and that at least 50 people have been killed today, I wonder how long the the UN monitors can keep a straight face when saying that things have gotten better since the ceasefire.
1948 GMT: Activist Zainab AlKhawaja reports that she may be receiving preferential treatment by Bahraini police because she is so high-profile, but there may be a case filed against her for taking pictures of tonight's protests:
The last thing I heard was "you must go to the police station, there's a case against u" apparently for taking pics #bahrain
— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) April 16, 2012
Walking back to my car there was nobody on the streets but riot police started shooting lots of teargas #bahrain
— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) April 16, 2012
