Bahrain: ill-treatment and torture threaten the lives of leaders – Bahrain Freedom Movement

Fears for the lives of the opposition leaders jailed for their opinion and political demands have grown in the past two weeks after reports of criminal behavior by the Al Saud and Al Khalifa security forces were reported.

 The case of Hassan Mushaima, the ledear of Haq Movement, has been of special concern due to lack of treatment to his cancer ailment. Last year he was treated at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and was completely cleared of cancer. This was concluded by his doctor after a PET scan confirmed that all traces of cancer had disappeared. However, the ill-treatment he received after his arrest last March and the lack of proper medical care had led to serious concerns about his condition. He had been given three doses while blindfolded the nature of which is not known. His condition deteriorated for a while and his real condition now is unknown. International human rights bodies are urged to take the cases of Bahraini detainees seriously, especially those of Mr Hassan Mushaima and Mr Abdul Wahab Hussain who also has been ill-treated despite his serious illness in the nervous system.The anger of the people has been expressed by demonstrators in the past few days. Last night the people of Dair demonstrated in the streets raising slogans that called for regime change and the downfall of the dictator, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. They were attacked by the Al Saud and Al Khalifa riot police and chemical weapons (in the form of tear gas canisters) were extensively used against them. One chemical device was thrown inside the house of a local family with the clear aim to kill its occupants. There are now several video clips showing these forces attacking homes of Bahrainis. At least seven citizens were killed by these chemical weapons. Despite repeated calls to the UK and USA to stop supplying the Al Saud and Al Khalifa regimes with lethal weapons, there has been little response from either. However, calls have repeatedly been made by news media to stop arms sales to those two regimes who have proven themselves to be brutal, ruthless and inhumane.It has now been reported by several news media, such as the Agence France Press and the Wall Street Journal that the US has frozen an arms deal with Bahrain. In its yesterday’s edition the paper said:  “The Obama administration won’t proceed with a planned arms sale to Bahrain until it reviews the monarchy’s progress investigating alleged human rights abuses and implementing reforms, the State Department told Congress in a letter”. It further added: “The State Department notified Congress last month of plans to sell $53 million in arms to Bahrain, including more than 40 armored Humvees and 300 missiles. Last week, several prominent U.S. senators criticized the deal and asked the State Department to put any sales on hold.”Meanwhile two teachers have been arrested for despite their release last month. Amnesty International has issued a statement expressing concern at the way those two teachers were treated.  Amnesty International said that “it feared both Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb may be imprisoned solely on account of their legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, in which case they should be released immediately and unconditionally and their convictions should be quashed. “She has told us how she was previously ill-treated and verbally abused after she was arrested in the middle of the night by armed officials following popular protests in Bahrain last March. This latest action by the security forces inevitably raises renewed concerns about her safety in detention.”The Bahraini people have now called on the organisers of the Bahrain Air Show scheduled for January 2012, to abandon the idea of holding the event in Bahrain. The organisers; Farnborough International, have been urged not to go ahead with organizing this even for several reasons. The first is that the country is unstable; it has serious human rights crimes committed by senior members of the regime. The second is that the regime has lost its legitimacy and is no longer representative of Bahraini people. The third is that by inviting the Saudi troops to occupy the island, the Al Khalifa had forefeited the sovereignty over the islands and are thus considered null and void.Bahrain Freedom Movement

20th October 2001