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October 1996: Month of fury and civil resistance defeats the security forces

1 October: At night, clashes were reported in Sanabis, Mani, Daih and Nuaim (a district of Manama). Loud explosions of gas cylinders were heard and car tyres were burnt to diffuse the effect of tear gas. Members of the ruling family continued their savagery by passing arbitrary sentences on 15 citizens, the government-controlled press stated today, 1 October. The citizens are: Hammad Ebraheem Rabeea, 5 years, Hussain Ali Makee 5years, Falah Al-Kofi, 3 years, Essa A.Ali Ahmmed Hassan, 3 years, Ali Ahmmed Qambar, 6 Month, Ali A.Hussain Salman Essa, 5 years, Hussain Jassem Al-Hadad, 5 years, Jaffer Salman Essa Hassan, 5 years, Hisham Mahdi Al-Zuhairy, 5 years, Majed Abbas Mansoor Turaif, 3 years, Shaker Ali hassan Jayyed, 3 years, Adel Jafer Ebrahim Hassan, 3.5 years & fine of BD.300, Ali Jafer Ebrahim Hassan, 2 years, Hussain Ali A’Al-Rabeea, 2 years, the 15th is unknown.

2 October: Some schools witnessed renewed student actions, In Salmanya Boys School, for example, slogans were raised demanding an end to police brutality and restoration of democracy. The military officer put in-charge of the ministry of education ordered direct police deployment against teenagers. He also issued an order to dismiss any primary school pupil (first to third year) whose absence reaches 10%, and for those in the fourth to sixth years to be dismissed if their absence reaches 5%. This order is aimed at pre-empting the anger over the dismissal of more than 40 pupils since last year’s eruption of students demonstrations.

4 October: More protests are taking place in the principal uprising areas on daily basis. In A’ali, Iskan-A’ali, Sanabis and Sitra sounds of explosions were heard with sporadic columns of fire seen in Qafool (near Al-Sadiq mosque), Abo-Saiba’a, Kawara, Tobli, Sitra, Sanbis and A’ali. and other places. The situation was exacerbated by the security forces who are continuing their collective punishment programmes against the residential areas.

7 October: The intelligence department has appointed a Pakistani informer for the control of the grand Al-Sadiq mosque in Qafool (Manama). The elderly person, Mr. Abdulla Al-Ebrik, who was in-charge of the mosque was detained ad harassed for seven days prior to his forced resignation. This insult is exacerbating the situation and the people of Bahrain are not prepared to allow the intelligence department to abuse the holy places.

11 October: A large fire was seen in Daih, with smoke covering a wide area. Two other fires were seen Jedhafs and virtually all villages stretching from Sanabis to Bani Jamra witnessed protest actions. In Bani Jamra, a mass demonstration took to the street demanding the release of the detained leader, Sheikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri. In Duraz, loud explosions of gas cylinders were heard around 8.30 pm local time. Riot police used live ammunition against the demonstrators.

12 October: At night, the residents of Tobli staged further protests against the aggression of the foreign security forces which fired tear gas and rubber bullets inside the houses. The citizens burnt many tyres to diffuse the effect of the smothering gas. Many houses are still empty as the residents could not go back with the residuals of tear gas still emitting. In Sanabis, the security forces attacked the houses and arbitrarily arrested 12 citizens. In the small village of Jannossan, the undisciplined forces attacked the houses and arbitrarily arrested several children including Hussain Hassan Jawad, 13 years old, Mohammed Saeed Abdul Aziz, 15, and Ahmad Abdul Nabi, 14, bringing the total number of those detained from the village to 34.

13 October: The residents of Kazakkan clashed with the security forces which besieged the areas and established check point. On the next day, they attacked several house for the routine ransacking and carrying out of arbitrary arrests.

14 October: Students at Isa Town Girl School demonstrated against the savage policies of the military officer in-charge of the ministry of education.

15 October: Bahrain suffered a set back this week as a result of the government’s arrogance that left no choice for business but to leave the country. Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) and British Airways decided to move to Dubai. Banque Indosuez had dismissed its 35 employees and closed down. There are also news that Bank of America might be considering closing down its off-shore banking unit.

17 October: Load explosions were heard in the Duraz area at around 9.00 pm local time, while protests in Bani Jamra continued with many columns of fire spreading in the north-west of the country. In Sanabis, police attacked a peaceful demonstration at 7:30 pm in the evening. Riot policemen were seen beating and arresting three children aged between 10-14 years on Budaya highway. Clashes, columns of fire and loud explosions continued to be seen and heard in many areas. On 17, 18 and 19 October, clashes with the security force were reported in Karzakkan, Malkeya, Dair, Bani Jamra , Duraz, Sanabis, Sitra, Sar, Bilad al-Qadim. Electricity supply was switched off (18 October) for one hour in Iskan-Sanabis following intensive clashes. Rubber bullets, Stones, pieces of wood cluttered the streets.

19 October: The undisciplined foreign security forces attacked several mosques in Sanabis. Similarly, they attacked two mosques in Mani, one of them was Sheikh Rashid Mosque, ransacked their content and smashed copies of the Holy Quran. On the same day, Bilad al-Qadim witnessed clashes with security forces and many columns of fire were seen till after mid-night. Complementing the attacks on mosques, the new committee of Awqaf (religious trust) summoned the elderly person in-charge of Al-Anwari Mosque in Daih and threatened him of grave consequences if he refusedAl-Sadiq mosque), Abo-Saiba’a, Kawara, Tobli, Sitra, Sanbis and A’ali. and other places. The situation was exacerbated by the security forces who are continuing their collective punishment programmes against the residential areas.

7 October: The intelligence department has appointed a Pakistani informer for the control of the grand Al-Sadiq mosque in Qafool (Manama). The eldecurity courts are presided by members of the ruling family and staffed by non-Bahraini judges. These court are used for passing arbitrarily and politically-motivated sentences against the citizens of the country without allowing proper defense. These courts do not allow for appeal against any verdict. The continuation of these courts will ensure that the struggle for democracy and justice continues until Bahrain is free from all these outdated and hatred-based systems.

20 October: Newspapers reported that a big blaze on 20 October (at night) in “Savola” oil plant in Sitra slightly injured five persons and caused a loss of about ten million dinars. The fire spread to a nearby factory belonging to Omega chemical industries. Reuters stated “Savola Bahrain is 60 percent owned by the Jeddah-based Savola Company of Saudi Arabia, the main supplier of cooking oil in the kingdom”. The government’s controlled paper “Gulf Daily News” said on 22 October that “security officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire in Savola cooking oil plant”.

21 October: Dr. Faeq Al-Helli, the brother-in-law of the information minister, had his house raided by the security forces. The attack was a warning to Dr. Al-Helli to prevent him from expressing any views that are different from those approved by the interior ministry. Two lecturers resigned from the University of Bahrain, Dr. Nazar Al-Bahrana, and Dr. Al-Alawi (female) resigned as a result of the dictatorship of the military officer installed as president last year. A lady from Mahooz was arrested two weeks ago and is still in detention.

22 October: A US bank , CoreStates Bank N.A., announced that it is opening a representative office in Dubai instead of Bahrain. The office will serve as CoreStates’ marketing and relationship management hub for the entire Middle East region. Thomas Kirker, regional manager stated “Dubai is considered the commercial and financial center of the Middle East because of its strategic geographic location and the stability of its government”. This statement comes after Moody, the credit rating agency, rated Bahrain down for its political instability. In the past month, four business unites were known to have moved out. The government is refusing to calm down the situation and has created a volatile environment that is causing the loss of business. The security forces were stunned by the response of the people all over the country to the call of the opposition for switching-off the lights of houses on the night of 22 October. All uprising areas witnessed more than 90% compliance with other areas affected by the action. The security forces summoned several bakeries and Samosa shop-owners for reprimanding. The owners said “if we opened the shops no one would buy from us anyway”. Tyres were burning as well in almost all uprising areas. These tyres were the only source of light on the 22 October (night) and continued until the next day. The widely-observed strike is the talk of the day in Bahrain and is considered the strongest sign of defiance to the policy of intimidation adopted by the security forces against the citizens of the country.

23 October: A fire was seen near Bab al-Bahrain in the heart of the capital. In the past few days, black Toyota jeeps with black-uniformed army commandos pointing their guns from the windows are becoming common features of Manama, the capital.

24 October: The foeign security forces attacked Markh village and arrested many children and youths.

25 October: For the first time, a mass demonstration took to the streets of Nabih Saleh Island. Bilad al-Qadim witnessed clashes with riot police dressed in civilian cloths.

26 October: Columns of fire and loud explosion continued in many areas such as Sanabis and Daih.

27 October: Bahrain is preparing itself for the worst to come as a result of the decision by the Cassation Court (27 October) in relation to the death sentence against three innocents citizens.

28 October: Hani Hassan Ali Ma’ayoof, a 14-year old boy from Aali was arrested on 14 October by the security forces. The boy was subjected to sever torturing for ten days until he suffered renal failure. The family of Hani was summoned by the intelligence department on 24 October and was ordered to take their son away. Since then, Hani is suffering in Salmanya Hospital and his critical condition may end in his death. Following the arrest of two lecturers from the Bahrain Training Institute, more than 200 security forces raided the institute on 28 October accompanied by the jailed lecturers Dr. Mirza Ali (40 years old) and Mr. Ali Al-Jabal (37 years old). The students witnessed clear signs of torture on the faces of their lecturers and decided to go on strike in protest against these atrocities.

30 October: The call for strike by school students (30 October) was widely observe in schools around the country with most schools reported to be vacant. The miliatry officer installed as minister of education ordered the Bahrain Training Institue (BTI) and some other schools to hang a poster stating that student reported absent on 30 October will face disciplinary actions. Following the strike by BTI students, the two lecturers (Dr. Mirza Ali and Mr. Ali Al-Jabal) who had been arrested were freed . Both lecturers bore signs of torture and faced a humullating treatement. Clashes were reported near Bilad al-Qadim School. Riot police deployed rubber bullets and tear gas damaging several private cars during the action. The residential areas observed the call for commemerating the first anniversary of the hunger strike staged by Sheik Al-Jamri and his collegues. At around 7.00 pm (30 October), shops started closing down and families switched-off their homes’ lights. Riot police were deployed all around the country with a stronger presence in Manama, the capital. Columns of fire were seen and gas-cylinders explosions were heard in Bani Jamra, Duraz, Daih, Sanabis, Bori and Dair, amongst others. Lorries packed with riot police encircled Nabih Saleh Island, the scene of recent clashes.

31 October: Anticipating the call by the opposition for a mass gathering in Hoora Cemetery of Manama, the security forces encircled the area from the early hours of the morning . At around 4.40 pm, people started pouring into the cemetery penetrating the check points. A huge crowd of more than 500 people started chanting pro-democracy slogans and called for an end to the crisis through civilzed ways. The foreign forces pointed their machine-guns and prepared for an assault. The crowd then moved outside the Cemetery, in respect of the martyrs, and clashed wit the security forces in the outside. Several were injured and arrested. The clashes continued until 6.30 pm affecting the traffic stretching to the American Hospital. From there, a large group of women marched to Makharqa district chanting the demands of the opposition. On the other side of Manama, Qafool, riot police had already positioned six jeeps loaded with foreign forces pointing their machine guns at anyone attempting to enter the grand Al-Sadiq mosque. At around 7.00 pm in the evening, lights in residential areas were switched-off with shops closing down at the same time. The intelligence department phoned the owners of restaurants and shops in an attempt to force them to open, but failed miserably.

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UN Committee condemns the Al-Khalifa government

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had earlier adopted Decion No 23/1996 concerning Bahrain. Concluding a three-page report dated 17 September, the Working Group stated “The detention of Shaikh Abd al-Amir Mansour al-Jamri, Shaikh Hassan Sultan, Shaikh Hussain el-Deihi, Shaikh Ali bin Ahmed al-Jedhafsi, Shaikh Ali Ashour, Seyyed Ibrahim Adnan al-Alawi, Hassan Meshma’a, Salah Abdulla Ahmed al-Khawaja and Abdel Wahab Hussein is declared to be arbitrary being in contravention of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and falling within Category III of the principles applicable in the consideration of cases submitted to the working group”.

The Chairman of the UK Parlimaentary Human Rights Group raise the case of Bahrian in the British House of Lord on 29 October. Lord Avebury stated “The UN working group on arbitrary detention was considering a visit to Bahrain but has had to defer the project because of lack of money. The International Red Cross was also meant to be going there in October, according to the Minister, Mr. Jeremy Hanley, who was in Bahrain earlier this year, but it (ICRC) says that it has not yet received an invitation. One would like to know what other UN centre work has had to be postponed or cancelled and whether our own Government are pressing for improvememts if the funding arrangements”.

The government was attempting to use the ICRC as an alibi for its abuse of human rights by lying to the outside world and stating that they concluded an understanding with the committee. This is far from reality.

BAHRAIN: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL APPEALS AGAINST IMMINENT EXECUTIONS AFTER UNFAIR TRIAL

29 OCTOBER 1996

Amnesty International is urgently calling on the Amir of Bahrain, Shaikh ‘Issa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, to commute the death sentences of three men who could be executed at any moment.

The Court of Cassation, meeting in a brief session on 27 October, reportedly ruled that it had no jurisdiction to review the State Security Court’s verdict of 1 July which sentenced to death ‘Ali Ahmad Abd al-‘Usfur, aged 31, employee in the Ministry of Agriculture; Youssef Hussein ‘Abd al-Baqi, aged 31, teacher, and Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim al-Kattan, aged 30, an employee in an aluminium company. The sentences will now pass to the Amir for ratification. The three men were convicted of carrying out a firebomb attack on an Asian restaurant on 14 March 1996, in which seven Bangladeshi nationals were killed.

“We sympathise with the victims of crime and their families — and acknowledge the right of the Bahraini Government to bring the perpetrators to justice — the death penalty has never been shown to deter crimes more effectively than any other punishment but merely brutalises all those involved,” Amnesty International said today.

The three men were tried by the State Security Court whose procedures fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Amnesty International is concerned that their convictions may have been based on confessions extracted under torture. The State Security Court procedures provide for no right of appeal, however, under Bahraini law, death sentences by ordinary courts are automatically referred to the Court of Cassation.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life, and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

On 26 March 1996, ‘Issa Ahmad Hassan Qambar was executed in the first execution in Bahrain for nearly 20 years. He had been convicted of murdering a police sergeant.