Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Abuse in Detention

On Friday, we published the first part of Zainab Omran's story of her detention during protests at City Centre Mall in Manama on 23 September. This is the second part of her testimony, as she and 44 other women endure abuse in several police centres:

After three hours [waiting on the road outside City Center Mall] the bus arrived to take us. They kept us in a single row. we were forced to raise our heads to be shown by one of the television broadcasters while we went in the bus.

One of my relatives and I could not believe what was happening and began to laugh when they insulted us. One of the policewomen pointed at me and said: "What is wrong with this girl? Why, she smiles a lot."

The bus accommodated 15 people. We were 21 women in addition to seven policewomen, so they sat on top of some women with children .

Women police officers began to beat us, focusing mainly on the head and the face. We received a tremendous amount of slaps and beatings. The bus was for them a  court where they can step and move on our feet and our bodies.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Celebration in Yemen, A Killing in Qamishli

1945 GMT: One of many "We are All Meshaal Tammo" demonstrations tonight in Syria, commemorating the Kurdish activist who was killed yesterday. In the Bab Amr section of Homs, a large crowd chant "Azadi (Freedom)" and "The Syrian people are one":

1845 GMT: Al Jazeera English shows footage of security forces firing on marchers at the funeral of Kurdish activist Meshaal Tammo. Up to five people were killed, according to activists (see 1610 GMT):

And video of gunfire in the Damascus suburb of Douma after the funeral of Osama Al-Shayfouni:

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Death of Ahmed Jabber Al Qattan

2020 GMT: We close this liveblog with video from a very large protest in Qamishli, Syria, where a leading Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman was killed earlier today. Combined with the beating of a former member of parliament, turned activist, the Syrian opposition is more active tonight than they have been, arguably, since Ramadan.

In Bahrain, the opposition is also energized by a new martyr, as police broke up a funeral procession for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan, and raids are continuing into the night.

In both locations, these new actions by the regimes are likely to have a far-reaching ripple effect on the opposition movements, and they are already becoming fresh symbols for Arab Spring, both inside Bahrain and Syria, and beyond.

1953 GMT: According to multiple sources, the Bahraini opposition did not go "quietly into that good night" after the funeral for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan was broken up by police. Protests, and police raids, have lasted well into the night.

An activist Tweets this video, and according to the voice on the recording, this is the scene in Sitra tonight. Gunfire (or flash grenades, or perhaps tear gas) can be hear, and police vehicles can be seen moving into the vehicle, while protesters honk out a warning to the rhythm of "down down Hamad."

1940 GMT: And now we've finally started to see the first videos from some of the very large protests reported this evening in memory of Meshaal Tammo. This video was taken in Amouda, where thousands reportedly took to the streets when news of the assassination broke:

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Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Detention at City Center Mall

Zainab Omran was one of 45 women detained at City Center Mall on 23 September as marchers tried to reach Pearl Roundabout, the symbolic centre of the protests against the Bahraini regime. This is the first part of her story:

We went out on Friday, Sept. 23. We did not know, "Where do we go?" We wanted to join any march  to have a voice in the event.

One of my sisters suggested that we approach the City Centre becuase the route was still open and we arrived there at 2:30 pm.

We went up having only our phones in our hands and we sat waiting. Glimpsing the faces of many protesters, we exchanged smiles and greetings from a distance.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Detained Doctors, The Decimated Town

2107 GMT: A source in Bahrain forwards us several pictures, reportedly showing a security crackdown in several villages this evening.

According to the report, this is the scene in Daih:

The village of Saar:

2055 GMT: A source forwards us this Facebook Page which shows the body of Ahmed Jabber al-Qattan (may be disturbing to some viewers), a 16 year old boy reportedly killed today by the Bahraini police (see updates below).

One thing to note, if the pictures can be validated, the evidence that birdshot was used is obvious.

2047 GMT: The Bahraini Ministry of Interior sends this tweet (translation):

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Manama Tsunami?

1910 GMT: Earlier we reported that there were protests in Saudi Arabia. Now, Saudi State News SPA is reporting that 14 people were injured, including 11 police officers, during attacks sponsored by foreign governments:

"A group of outlaws and rioters on motorbikes gathered" at a roundabout in the village of Al-Awamia in Al-Qatif province on Monday "carrying petrol bombs," SPA said, citing the Sunni-ruled kingdom's interior ministry.

The group carried out acts causing "insecurity with incitement from a foreign country that aims to undermine the nation's security and stability," SPA quoted a ministry spokesman as saying. "Security forces managed to deal with those traitors at the spot and after they were dispersed, machinegun fire erupted from a nearby neighbourhood

Activists report a much different story. According to them, several elderly men were injured in Awamya, and one man had a heart attack while they arrested his son. Several protesters have reportedly been shot by Saudi security, and afterwards groups of young men responded to the violence by lighting police cars on fire and throwing rocks. They have also provided several videos of those events, reportedly taken last night, and it appears that those men were also met with gunfire, which is clearly audible. Also, in 1 video, a protester appears to have been shot with bird-shot:

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Bahrain Opinion: Creating the Discourse of Fear on Fantasy Island (Hammonda)

One of the critical things the Bahraini government has done since this year’s uprising set off panic that it was nearly game over is to create a discourse challenging the narrative of an oppressed majority demanding democracy and an end to discrimination. The authorities have worked diligently to put the argument in public space that the street protest movement was violent, sought to replace the monarchy with an Iran-allied republic and did not represent the majority of Bahrainis. To do this, a number of measures have been taken such as hiring PR companies, promoting a Sunni-led political party to occupy a nationalist middle ground, and creating a chattering army of Bahrainis and foreigners primed with talking points to influence traditional and online media, often with fake or hidden identities.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Noticing the Political Prisoners

Tonight's demonstration in Tal Refaat in Aleppo Provice in Syria, expressing support for the opposition's National Unity Council

See also Bahrain Feature: The Regime's Public-Relations Army of US and British Consultants
Yemen Feature: Locals "We Have Bigger Problems Than Al Qa'eda"
Sunday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Trying to Stem the Protests

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1947 GMT: An activist, claiming he was speaking from hiding, has said that Syrian troops have detained more than 3,000 people in the past three days in house-to-house sweeps in Rastan,.

The Syrian military reportedly occupied the town of 70,000 in Homs Province after a five-day assault last week. The activist said the detainees were being held at a cement factory, schools, and the Sports Club, a massive four-storey compound.

Syria's state-media said troops moved into Rastan to hunt down "armed terrorists".

Meanwhile, a funeral procession was held for the 21-year-old son of Syria's top Sunni Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun.

Hassoun's son was killed on Sunday in an ambush in northern Syria. The cleric, considered a close supporter of the Assad regime, told hundreds of people attending the funeral at a mosque in Aleppo that dissenters working against Syria from abroad: "Come and say whatever you want here and if anyone rejects [you], I will be with you in the opposition.You want freedom, you want justice then come here and build it with us in Syria."

Hassoun blamed fatwas or religious edicts by unnamed clerics, living abroad, for the death of his son.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Trying to Stem the Protests

A police jeep hits a man in Salmabad in Bahraini and keeps speeding away, the man clinging to the hood

See also Yemen Feature: Locals "We Have Bigger Problems Than Al Qa'eda"
Bahrain Feature: The 20 Doctors' Reply to Their Prison Sentences
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Months of Protests and Violence

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1930 GMT: Five opposition political societies have announced a "human chain" in solidarity with detained medical staff and other political prisoners. The demonstration will begin at 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

1555 GMT: Medical workers have said that people injured in fighting in Libya's besieged city of Sirte are dying on the operating table because fuel for the hospital generator has run out.

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Syria, Bahrain, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Months of Protests and Violence

1905 GMT: A man claiming to be Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman for former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has denied claims that he was captured this week by forces of the National Transitional Council, outside of Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

"This information is a lie and does not reflect reality," the man said in a live telephone interview with Syrian-based Arrai television, an outlet for declarations by Qaddafi and his allies.

On Thursday, NTC field commanders said Ibrahim had been captured as he attempted to flee Sirte in a car. A spokesman for the NTC's Misrata military council said the next day: "We cannot confirm he was arrested."

Meanwhile, the NTC has declared a two-day truce to allow civilians to leave Sirte, as its forces continue to try to take one of Qaddafi's last two strongholds.

And in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the first commercial flight since March --- a jet from Istanbul --- has landed.

Flags representing Turkey and Libya's new leadership flew outside Mitiga International Airport as the plane touched down.

A U.N. Security Council resolution had imposed a no-fly zone in March.

1855 GMT: An EA reader asks if there has been any footage of protests in the Deir Ez Zor area of northeast Syria this weekend --- a couple of answers among many clips, beginning with the Al Arfi neighbourhood:

And claimed footage from Al Quriya today:

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