Mar98

March 1998: Crackdown on lawyers society;

UN Commission probes the situation in Bahrain

1 March: The talk of the day in Bahrain is the dissolution of the Bar Society and its replacement with an appointed committee of handpicked individuals. On 28 January, the Labour Minister summoned a group of lawyers and informed them about the Prime Minister’s decision to dissolve the elected executive committee and to replace it with with an appointed one. Several lawyers refused to be dragged into this dictatorial action. However, some of the individuals were appointed as replacements. These were condemned by the honourable Bar members. The appointed individuals include, Mohammed Al-Say(was also appointed as a member of the Consultative Shura Council) and Samir Rajab (member of the Shura Council). The next election that was scheduled for 16 March had been cancelled.

3 March: Amnesty International issued an urgent action on 3 March regarding Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al `Ikri, aged 17 saying he “is being held incommunicado and is at risk of torture or ill-treatment. He was reportedly arrested on 24 February 1998 at his mother’s home in al-Qadam village in Jidd Hafs. His precise whereabouts are unknown. The reasons for his arrest are unclear, but it is believed to be connected with a previous arrest and conviction. Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al-‘Ikri had previously been arrested on 10 April 1995 on charges of throwing a petrol bomb at police personnel. He was convicted on 9 July 1995 and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Juveniles Court. However, his sentence was overturned on appeal and he was released in September 1995. Several weeks after his release the Bahraini authorities tried to rearrest him. Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al-‘Ikri managed to escape and was able to hide. Whilst visiting his mother on24 February 1998 the authorities arrested him again”.a

4 March: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) started its fifty-second session in Geneva, 2-20 March 1998. The government of Bahrain signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1990. However, it refused to submit any of the mandatory reports for assessing its practices in relation to racial policies. CERD considered the communications submitted by non-governmental and human rights organizations regarding the racist policies of the Bahraini government as practiced in the University of Bahrain and in appointments to public offices or organizations controlled by the government. These reports provided documented evidence of the semi-official racial discrimination policies which are contradictory to the obligation of the government as per the UN convention it signed in 1990. The representative of the government of Bahrain requested to be given a “final chance” to respond and to report on the situation in Bahrain. CERD agreed to wait for government’s response by next ?Auugust.

9 March: The Kuwaiti newspaper “Al Watan” stated that the president of the General Union of Kuwaiti Workers, Mr. Ibrahim Al Haroon, had confirmed that the “Arab Labour Union” has submitted a complaint to the “International Labour Organisation” against the government of Bahrain for banning trade unions in the country. Amongst the persons who have taken the initiative to submit the complaint were: the Egyptian Labour Minister Mr. Ahmed Al Amawi and the Syrian Labour Minister Mr. Ali Khalil. A special committee has been formed to follow the Bahraini case.

9 March: A teenager Mohammed Abdul Jabar Ibrahim Salih, 16, was arrested and it is feared that he is being mercilessly tortured in prison. The teenager has been arrested once a week ago among other eight teenagers. The eight teenagers have been identified as: Musa Hassan Al Sudani, Ali Abdula Marhoon, 16, Hussain Ali Al Mushakhs, 16, Salah Mirza Musa,15, Seyed Murtada Mahdi Al Musawi, 12, Jabir Seyed Ibrahim Al Musawi, 14, Hassan Abdul Jabar Mirza Ali, 15, Hussain Abas Al Safar, 14.

10 March: Four people were stopped and beaten by security forces in an arbitrary way. They were visiting a person in Duraz who had been released on 10 March. The four persons are Samih Saleh Mohammed Taqi, 22, his brother Mohammed, 25, Mohammed Ali Ahmad Haider, 18, and Maher Abbas, 17. A 15-year old boy, Seyyed Sadiq Qasim Ahmad, from Duraz, was beaten and arrested. The security forces also raided the house of Seyyed Ahmad Mahfoodh (in Sar) on 10 March and started beating him and his wife as well as their two sons Ali, 19, and Fadhil 17. The sons were then taken to the torture cells, where they received further beating for one whole day, before being released. Haji Ali Abdul Karim, 56, was picked up in Sanabis, beaten severely, and let go on 10 March. He had just had a heart operation and could not survive the beating. He is now in hospital suffering from a deteriorated condition. Not one knows why the security forces are behaving in this manner.

12 March: Discontent is spreading amongst Bahraini intellectuals following the dissolution of the Bahraini Bar Society. The Arab Lawyers Union (ALU) issued a statement in Cairo, dated 12 March, condemning the dissolution of the Bar Society and the appointment of a member of the ruling family, together with some discredited individuals, for the confiscation of the society. The ALU stated that it does not recognize the appointed individuals, and that it decided to freeze the membership of the Bahraini Bar Society, until the restoration of its elected executive committee.

13 March: Mohammed Ali Haidar Sanqur, arrived to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia ( via King’s Fahid causeway), where he disappeared. No one knows his whereabouts. On the other hand, a lady has been detained in the airport for the past three days, she is being denied proper food and a place to sleep and have been treated with cruelty. The lady is the wife of a person by the name Yaser who lives abroad, and who the authorities want to detain.

Another person was prevented from entering his homeland. Salman Ali Al-Obeidan, from Shakhoora, 31, was forcibly deported to Saudi Arabia

14 March: 14 March, Isa Abdul Nabi Al Jamri, was transferred to Salmanya Hospital at 4pm local time, as result of the worsening of his health condition in jail. It is worth mentioning that the prisoners in “Jaw – 2” prison went on a hunger strike two weeks ago protesting about the ill treatment of Mr. Isa Al Jamri.

On 14 March, two Mosques: Al Zahra Mosque (Shahrakan) and Imam Ali Mosque (Dar Kulaib) were raided by security forces and ransacked. They wrecked the mosques’ furniture, smashed their windows and doors and looted BD 500 ($1335) from the donations cllection box.

16 March: Abbas Farhod, one of the detained citizens, had been transferred to the hospital suffering from a mental breakdown as a result of the torture he suffered in detention. Mr. Farhod had his fingers’ nails pulled out and his teeth broken. Another prisoner in Qarin Prison, Isa Abdul Nabi Mahfoodh Al-Jamri, is suffering from mental breakdown as a result of the torture and solitary confinement he had suffered. The authorities are exacerbating his condition by placing him in a solitary cell.

Mr. Hassan Mushaima’a, one of the leading pro-democracy campaigners, is still suffering from ill-treatment and solitary confinement with his health continuing to deteriorate under the harsh conditions.

16 March: An unholy deal has been struck between the ruling families in Bahrain and Kuwait to sacrifice the dispossessed Bahrainis working in Kuwait. After cancellations and adjournment of trials for several times, a Kuwaiti court sentenced six Bahrainis on 16 March. Hussain Jassim Al-Hayki and Mohammed Mirza Ashor were sentenced to three years prison and hard labour as well as deportation after completion of sentence. Mohammed Habib Mansoor was sentenced to three years in absentia. Three other Bahrainis were sentenced to three months prison sentences. The six were also ordered to pay fines ranging from 200 to 2000 Kuwaiti dinars. The Bahrainis were accused of distributing pamphlets and video taps critical of the Bahraini regime.

When in March last year, the Kuwaiti government arrested the youths; it was the Bahraini foreign minister that appeared to be a happy person demanding the toughest punishment. The Bahraini newspapers never hesitated to author stories about a “master plan” by this dispossessed and small number of youths for “toppling all the governments in the Gulf!”. The Kuwaiti authorities had collaborated with their counterparts in Bahrain for harassing and ill-treating Bahraini workers in Kuwait. The Bahraini people stood behind their fellow Kuwaitis during the occupation of Kuwait. However, after the liberation of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti authorities succumbed to the Bahraini ruling family by agreeing to intimidate the Bahraini workers; many were sacked, and others had their salaries capped. A person was handed to the torture chamber in Bahrain without any legal provisions and others were turned away at the borders. This unholy deal was a convenient one for the Kuwaitis. One day after sentencing the six Bahrainis, the Al-Khalifa government started “shouting” for the release of Kuwaiti prisoners in Iraq, while ignoring Bahraini prisoners in Kuwait.

17 March: The Ministry of Information confiscated around 200 books from bookshops exhibition. Exhibitors were banned from displaying books, which refer to democracy, freedom and civil society. Amongst the books banned were: “Civil Society in the Arab World”, “Dynamics of Democracy & Change in the Arab World”, “Democracy and Human Rights”, “Democracy without Democrats”, etc.

18 March: 70 lawyers filed a case in the past few days in the “Third High Civil Court” against the government’s decision to dissolve the elected executive committee of the Bar Society. The Justice Minister acted swiftly by confirming his cousin “Khalifa bin Rashid Al-Khalifa” as the presiding judge for the court sessionthat will deal with this case. Khalifa bin Rashid had sentenced hundreds of citizens in the past three years in speedy “state security” unfair trails. His appointment for presiding over the court in this case is indicative of the intentions of the ruling family to continue using the judiciary as a means of revenge against the citizens.

The security forces arrested Mr. Hassan Ali Imran, 26, from Bani Jamra last week. Later, on the same day, the security forces raided the house of Mr. Hussain Hassan Fatil, and since he was away, they arrested his brother, Ali, in his place.

19 March: The 54th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights started on 16 March and will continue until 24 April. The situation in Bahrain is due for discussion in line with the resolution issued by the UN Human Rights Sub-Commission on 21 August 1997. The Bahraini governmental delegation has been increased with additional “security” staff. The foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, arrived at the start of the session and held a meeting with the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Ms. Mary Robinson. He also delivered an unexpected statement at the session on 19 March. The case of Bahrain has reached its highest level of international attention since the eruption of pro-democracy demonstrations in 1994. In his statement, the foreign minister attempted to defend his government by saying that human rights meant freeing human being “from the pains of poverty, hunger and disease”. He went to say that human rights are abused in other places such as Palestine under the Israelis and in Kosovo. He said that his government is protecting human rights by ensuring “a society which is economically, socially, and culturally developed, within an environment of real, sustainable development”. Nowhere in his statement he ever mentioned political and constitutional rights, not single word about the banning of free association, such as the Bar Society, no word about the overcrowded prisons and no word about the abuse of human rights by means of the State Security Law, Court and organs. He did say that his government had signed the Convention Against Torture on 21 February 1998, but ignored the call by the UN Sub-Commission resolution calling ohis government to ratify the two treaties for political, civil, economic and cultural rights.

The government of Bahrain sent 13 persons to he UN Commission together with the foreign minister and Mr. David Jump, the new British “advisor” to the Interior Ministry.

The case of Bahrain will continue to be a hot issue in the session. The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) distributed a written intervention to all delegates in the session. The FIDH statement summarized the main violations of human rights in Bahrain which include torture and ill treatment, arbitrary arrests, unfair trials and illegal sentencing of citizens by unconstitutional courts, discrimination against the citizens, excessive force used by police, banning freedom of expression, ill treatment and torture of children, and religious intolerance. The FIDH submitted detailed evidence to corroborate these violations and called on the international community to intervene and put an end to the deteriorating human rights situation on Bahrain.

20 March: Appauling news have emerged from Al-Qarin prison during the detainees hunger strike. The strike started on 20 February and lasted for six days, during which, the detainees have been subjected to gross violations and torture. Among the cruel methods used to humiliate the prisoners were: beating, hanging the detainees from their arms and legs, randomly cutting their hair and placing them in solitary cells. Those known to have been subjected to severe torture were: Sheikh Hussain Al Akraf, Seyed Musa Seyed Mahdi, Mahdi Abas Sahwan, Ali Al Ikri, Ibrahim Jasim, and Abdul Hussain Al Mutghawi. On the other hand, similar violations have occurred in the Dry-dock prison.

21 March: Haj Abdulla Fakhro, and elderly person, had been reasserted last week, three hours after being freed by a court. Interior Ministry officers raided his house in the middle of a reception held for his release from his latest one-moth detention period and rearrested him in accordance with the provisions of the State Security Law. Haj Abdulla was arrested earlier in February after attending a lecture in Al-Fateh Mosque during which he asked questions relating to the political situation in Bahrain, in the presence of the Justice Minister

22 March: More than 5000 citizens signed a petition that was submitted to the Amir calling on him to order a halt to attacks carried out by the security forces against mosques and sacred places. The latest mosque to be attacked and ransacked is Al-Sadiq Mosque in Nabih Saleh, whose contents, books and copies of Quran were smashed on 22 March.

The security forces raided several houses in Manama on 22 March and arrested the following teenagers: Mohsin Khaleel, Mohammed Khudor, Abd Ali Al Khunaizi, as well as two brothers Ammar and Ali Abbass Al Arradi. From Karzakkan, the following were arrested last week: Hasan Mohammed Khatem, 18, Mohammed Abdul HassKhatam, 22, Mohammed Jasim Al-Bazzaz, 20, and Hassan Mohammed Al-Shakhori, 20. A 15-year old boy from Duraz (Seyyed Sadiq Qasim Ahmad) was arrested on 16 March, and tortured for four days.

24 March: The government is persisting with its decision to evict an entire family from its residence. Haji Abdulla Jasim Ahmad (home address: 810 Road 1614, Hamad Town 1216) has been summoned several times by the officer, Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al-Khalifa, a member of the ruling. He is due for another session of interrogation and threats sessions on 24 March with the same officer. This is a dangerous form of collective punishment. Haji Abdulla had purchased the house from the government’s Housing Bank with a loan, and he had not defaulted on any of his mortgage or bills’ payments. The officer told the family that they must evacuate the house because they are not a “deserving” family whose son is in jail for political reasons. It is believed that the Al-Khalifa want to institutionalize this form of collective punishment to set a precedent and stage a wave of confiscations.

25 March: The security forces attacked the students in Sheikh Abdul Aziz Secondary School and arrested Ahmad Makki, Saeed Jaffer Al-Unaisi, Ali Ahmad Al-Motawwa, Ali Hassan Al-Qallaf, Najib Abdulla Omran, Ali Ibrahim Ahmad. Uprising areas across the country declared their peaceful protest by turning off lighting and closing shops on 25 March starting at 7.30 pm. Many areas plunged into total darkness including Dair, Arad, Samahij, Sanabis, Daih, Mussalla, Bilad al-Qadim, Sehla, Duraz, Bani Jamra, Karzakkan, Demestan, Malkeya, Dar Kulaib, Sitra, Ekr, Nuweidrat, and other places. The people are marking the second anniversary of the murder by the government of Isa Qambar (26 March 96) and Hamid Qasim (26 March 95). Loud sounds of exploding gas cylinders were heard across the country.

On 25 March, at dawn, the security forces raided the house of one of the girls (in Sitra) that are to appear before the State Security Court due on 28 March. Haji Abdul Nabi Abdul Wahab Rabea, 50 years old, was intimdated in front of his family. The security forces smashed the contents of his house, beaten him and arrested him. One of the daughters, Rabab, attempted to protect her father, but she was also beaten and taken prisoner. Mar. Rabea’s other daughter, Layla, 17, is due to appear before the State Security Court on 28 March. Mr, Rabea’s son, Ali, 18, is in detention for a year without trial or charges. The arrest of father and sister is an arbitrary action aimed at intimidating the citizens. The opposition calls on the international community to intervene and put an end to the continuing abuse of human rights.

More than 600 detainees in the Dry Dock Prison Camp have been banned from receiving family visits following a series of strikes that spread in a number of prisons. Scores of prisoners in Jaw and Al-Qarin prisons, who had completed their terms, are still in jail. These are going on strikes intermittently and are facing harsh treatment, such as placement in solitary cells.

The security forces attacked Sanabis cemetery and desecrated graves of martyrs. Two occasions fall on 26 March and these will be remembered. Firstly, in 1995,a young person aged 17, Hammed Qassim, was shot dead in Duraz. A year later, Isa Qamber was murdered after an unfair trail that lacked all basic provisions of fairness.

28 March: The residents of Sitra denounced the atrocities of the security forces and the savage treatment of the women of Sitra, four of whom were brought before the State Security Court on Saturday 28 March. The girls are Layla Abdul Nabi Rabea, 17, Amal Ahmad Rabea, 20, Maryam Ahmad Ali Balwayye, 21, and Ahlam Seyyed Mahdi Hassan Al-Setri, 20. The trial second “quickie” session will be on Saturday 4 April. These girls had been snatched from a house in Sitra-Qeryya last year (26 March 1997). They were held in incommunicado detention for 20 days and were then released after payment of 100 dinar ($267) each.

The father of the first person, Haji Abdul Nabi Rabea, 50 years old, together with her sister Rabab, had been arrested on 25 March after a dawn raid that ended with the destruction of their house’s contents, torture in the house and arrest of the father and the sister. Rabab, is a mother of two children Mohammed, 8, and Abdulla, 18 months. She is now being held in Isa Town Detention (Torture) Centre . She was brought with her father for interrogation and torture on 28 March in Nabih Saleh Police Station. The notorious torturer Naser Al-Messallam, is torturing the entire family. This torturer also summoned the husband of Rabab, who is a handicapped person, and interrogated him in front of his detained wife and father-in-law.

28 March: The pro-democracy leader, Mr. Mohammed Jabir Sabah, had been summoned again by Abdul Aziz Atteyat-Allah Al-Khalifa (so-called Governor of Manama) on 28 March. Mr. Sabah, is being questioned about a new article he wishes to send to Al-Quds newspaper in London. The torturer, Abdul Aziz Atteyat-Allah Al-Khalifa is threatening the pro-democracy leader and has warned of grave consequences if Mr. Sabah continues to express his views. Mr. Sabah, is undergoing a critical kidney problem, and the people blame any deterioration of his health on the government.

On 28 March, the security forces attacked Sanabis and arrested Salman Mahdi Al-Habbash, 16. In Jablat Habshi, they arrested: Maitham Salman, 19, Salman, Abdul Aziz, 20, Majid Abdul Aziz, 18, Salman Abdul Hadi, 18, Mohammed, 25. From Bani Jamra: Shakir Jaffer Zaid, 24, Hussain bin Khayr, 24, Hussain Atteya, 23. From Malkeya: Seyyed Mohammed Jawad, Jaffer Hussain, and Sayed Ali.

In a obvious challenge to criticism by the international community for the systematic state terrorism and human rights violations, the regime’s repressive apparatus has launched a sudden devious assauon the house of Seyed Abdul Nabi, from Sarr, terrorised his family and arrested his three sons. The assailants conducted their assault in the first hour of Monday 30 March, where they first besieged the house with ten secret police cars and five police vehicles, then ransacked the house and arrested Mr. Abdul Nabi’s sons. They are: Seyed Ridah, 28, (worker in Department of water), Seyed Mohammed, 25, (University student), Seyed Hussain, 15, (student) . Seyed Ridah and Seyed Mohammed have beenreleased after 24 hours of brutal torture, while their teenage brother is still under-arrest and is subjected to unbearable torture.

Later on the same day, 30 March, the security forces raided a number of houses in Sarr, and smashed and destroyed their belongings. Amongst them were the house of Haj Hassan Ali Al Kalini. The following were Known to have been arrested during these raids: Seyed Mohammed, Mohammed Abdula, Adnan Abdul Jalil, Hassan Maki Khalaf, 15, Seyed Alawi Seyed Majid, 16, Hisham Mohammed Hassan, 16, Seyed Jalal Seyed Alawi, 24, Seyed Sami Seyed Alawi, 17, Seyed Abdul Qani Hassan Mansoor, 28. Also police(torture) centre has summoned Mr. Jalal Al Qasab, from Sarr.

————————————–

SAS trains Natiaonal Guard

* Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

“Whether they have undertaken any police or molitary training in bahrain, under the Foreign and Commenwealth Military Training Assistance Scheme, or otherwise”

* HM Government answered in the House of Lords on 2 March 1998. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean said:

“Her Majesty’s Government has undertaken no police or military training in Bahrain under the Foreign and Commenwealth Military Training Assistance Scheme. No police training in Bahrain has been provided under any other scheme.

The Ministry of Defence has provided military training in Bahrain. In the last year, the Bahrain Defence Force has received dril training and the Bahraini National Guard has been trained in the protection of key installations”.

* “AMAZING GAFFE AS SAS ACCUSED OF LINKS TO BAHRAIN TORTURE”

The Big Issue in Scotland, Issue No. 159 (26 Feb – 4 Mar 1998)

“It looks like Ian Henderson won’t be the only Briton accused of having Bahraini blood on his hands. The Big Issue can reveal that SAS have been accused of training the Bahrain National Guard. The Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM) claims to have intelligence, which shows that the guards , whose only purpose is to control civil disturbances, will be equipped and trained by Britain, with security experts provided by the UK. It is thought the Guard, set up to quell ‘Internal security problems’, will be trained by SAS officers, who will use their experience in fighting the IRA as a model for Bahraini troops to deal with their own dissidents. If our special forces train the National Guard then Britain will be directly linked to the repression of a people fighting for democracy.

Both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office refused to comment on the claims, saying any matter relating to British special forces was classified and not open for discussion. In a badly-timed gaffe, an MoD spokesman said: “We can’t say anything about the SAS, so they could by training the Hitler Youth or the Girl Guides for all we care.”

Human rights campaigner Lord Avebury condemned the MoD for its “flippancy”, saying: “People are dying in Bahrain and this development leaves a black smear on Britain’s conscience. The Government doesn’t seem to care that people’s lives are at stakes.”

The Bahraini ambassador to Britain, Abdulaziz Mubarak al-Khalifa, confirmed British forces were training the National Guard but refused to say which regiment was involved”.

* Al-Quds (London-based Arabic daily) said on 2 January 1998:

“Bahrain has around 12,000 military personnel equipped and trained by the US Additionally, Bahrain has 9,000 security men. The NG will firstly contain 500-600 soldiers to be trained on individual and light equipment. These forces will be used as a commandos unit against internal insurgencies and to undertake responsibility for sensitive operations, such as the protection of the ruling family, guarding airport, critical locations, etc.

The NG will be increased to 1500 people and will borrow equipment from the regular army as may be needed. Contrary to the policy adopted for the army, the NG will be equipped and trained by Britain.

—————————

Home Thought: The Sun Rise

Out of the suburbs of Bahrain emerged as an amazing cyclopean of out -bursts of wave-like crowds of people gushing out of the alleies and corners in roaring sounds that were traveling through the air in a speed that have broken the silence barrier which was unwillingly superimposed on them through successive periods of colossal repression. These were decades of a mixture of sometimes uncalculated and mostly calculated repressive schemes to subdue the growing revolt for the emancipation of human feelings and rights. An overwhelminh human feeling has set off its journey through the valley of horror and abuse which the regime has masterminded. Tones of tormented voices have echoed throughout the world arena delivering an unabated message to the world community of the astounding reality of the misery that foamed over the surface of the society.

A foggy atmosphere composed of the smoke of tear gas has taken over the sea breeze of the island. Hundreds of foreign security men breathing heavily with extraordinary attacked the people flexing their muscles.

The mask of an ugly regime has been uncovered. It is time for the sun to shine.

————————–

Gulf State’s British tortchief moved

The Independent,5 March 98, Robert Fisk

“Officially, Ian Henderson has lost his job. According to the Bahrainis, the former British Special Branch officer and “hero’ of the Mau Mau war in Kenya has been replaced as head of the island’s Special Intelligence Service by Sheikh Khaled bin-Mohamed bin-Salman al-Khalifa, a member of the emirate’s ruling family. But opposition groups, whose members have storture in the cells of Mr Henderson’s SIS headquarters in Bahrain, have their doubts about the announcement. For almost 10 years, Bahraini dissidents, especillay Shia opposition members demanding a return to parliamentray rule, have claimed Mr Henderson, a Scot largely credited with breaking the Mau Mau’s intelliegence service, has been in charge of the island torture chambers. Thheir allegation is true. His interpreter -after three decades in Bahrain he cannot speak Arabic- is a Jordanian army officer who has personally whipped interrogation victims.

The New York-based human Rights Watch has reported that the toe-nails of prisoners have been torn out. Electricity has also been used on Shia protesters brought to Mr Henderson’s offices, although witnesses say the Briton has himself never inflicted torture.

In Britain, Bahraini opponents of the regime have been demanding Mr Henderson be brought to trial in London for rights abuses, a call supported by a number of Labour MPs. British foreign secretaries have disclaimed any responsibility for his activities – Mr Henderson’s victims have sometimes been deported to London and forbidden form returning to their country of birth, even though they hold full Bahraini passports.  There are rumours in Bahrain that Mr Henderson has cancer and has been given a golden handshake by the al-Khalifa family to buy property for his retirement in the US. But Bahraini opposition still wonder if the announcement is true. Asking for anonymity, one Bahraini critic said yesterday that even if Mr Henderson has been fform his job as SIS head, he may still hold a position within the al-Khalifa’s personal security service. “We are told he is being replaced by Khaled Mohammed-but the sheikh is not an interlligence man, just a traffic official,” the Bahraini said ” I suspect this is just a blind to ease the criticism form London.” His suspicions can only be re-inforced by a statement form the Bahraini government that Mr Henderson will be kept on as an “adviser” to the intererior ministry. 

Britain appointed him to his post in Bahrian prior to the emirate’s independence in 1971. The US has never uttered a word of protest about his presence on the island-not least because of Bahrain’s role as headquarters to the US 5th Fleet in the Gulf. 

Mansour al-Jamri, a spokesman for the “Bahrain Freedom Movement” in London , said it made little difference whether Mr Henderson or Sheikh Khaled ran the security services so long as Bahrainis continued to be impreisoned and tortured. ” If we see the number of..victims decrease ..that will be a positive sign”. Mr al-Jamri’s father, Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, has been in jail on the island since January of 1996. Violent protests have decreased in recent months -a reason, perhaps, for Mr Henderson’s departure from the SIS.

————————

SUNDAY MAIL, 8 MARCH 1998 (Issue No, 4176)

Jailed threat to scots terror boss

No hiding place for Bahrain barbarian

This scot is accused of some of most horrific crimes known to h. As security chief Ian Henderson ruled in the Gulf state of Bahrain, his men allegedly:

· RANSACKED whole villages and jailed preachers.

· INFLICTED sadistic sex torture on men and women.

· SNATCHED kids as young as seven, returning them dead in body bags.

· USED electric drills to maim prisoners and drill into their skulls.

Hellish torture cells earned Henderson, 69, the nickname ” The Bahrain Barbarian”. But he may soon be staring at the four walls of his own cell if he carries out his plan to slip back quietly into Scotland.

Henderson has been ousted as head of Bahrain’s State Investigation Service. But any thoughts he may harbour of coming home to retirement have been dashed due to a sickening catalogue of allegations against his organisation.

MP George Galloway, member for Hillhead, Glasgow, has demanded swift retribution against Hendersonif he sets foot in Scotland. And human rights campaigner Lord Avebury is calling on the Attorney General to take action against him under section 132 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Lord Avebury said: ” Since Britain signed the UN convention against torture, it means we must prosecute alleged offenders, our own citizens or not, and whether or not the offences were out with our jurisdiction. ” He is liable for prosecution”. ” there may be difficulty proving he had tortured anyone personally. ” However under the Nuremberg principle, heads of an organisation are responsible for the actions of subordinates. ” Hermann Goering was not accused of murdering Jews perso, but he led the organisation that was responsible – just like Henderson.

” Britons would hang their heads in shame if they knew what his organisation has done. ” we never contemplate the possibility that a British citizen should oversee these atrocities and tortures. ” Some of the worst examples include the imprisonment and torture of hundreds of children.”

And Mr. Galloway said: ” Henderson must face justice. We have a duty to take action against a man whose offices have overseen the most hideous tortures.”

Henderson, born in Aberdeenshire, was replace by a member of the ruling Al Khalifa family last week.

Amnesty International has produced a damning, detailed report against the Bahrain State Investigation Service, claiming the scale of its atrocities had risen to an unprecedented level.

Even though Henderson has stepped down, the Bahrain Freedom Movement don’t believe things are going to change dramatically. Dr Sayeed Shehabi, who fled to Britain, said last night: ” No one will be safe until all his henchmen are gone. ” He may have stepped down from his position, he leaves behind a regime which continues to torture, maim and imprison innocent men, women and children”.

Henderson won medals extracting confessions from Mau Mau rebels in British- ruled Kenya in the late 1950s.After a career in the police, he became head of the Kenyan Special Branch, where he was known for his ability to ” extract” information from rebels tribesmen. His repitation got him deported in 1964, the minute Kenya won her independence. Balding Henderson and his wife Marie moved to Bahrain, a British protectorate, where he became head of Special Brach in 1966.

Last night, a Bahrain Embassy spokesman said: ” We have no information on Ian Henderson’s future plans.”

———————–

The Big Issue in Scotland

Issue No: 159 (26 Feb – 4 mar 1998)

How We Toppled A Tyrant

SPECIAL REPORT BY NEIL MACKAY

Manama was suddenly plunged into total darkness. As a show of solidarity, Bahrain’s pro-democracy campaigners had doused the lights in their homes and on their streets in unison. The secret police patrolled the pitch-black capital looking for dissidents, their torches picking over the gloom. The spotlights, circling walls, illuminated a poster. The lettering was English, not Arabic. It was a page of the Big Issue in Scotland, smuggled into the country and pasted up by protestors. The headline read: “No blood on my hands”.

Beneath a picture of a dapper middle-aged man with a public school tie was a story, which had become a symbol of hope for Bahrainis fighting against their country’s autocratic rulers. For the first time, that article –which went on to win two awards – had called to account the head of Bahrain’s intelligence service, Scottish colonel Ian Henderson. He stands accused of directing torture, murder and repression.

The secretive director of intelligence had never spoken of his role before. Bahraini dissidents in exile in Bahrain and the Gulf kingdom saw the interview – in which Henderson effectively admitted his troops carried out torture – as the first victory in a long was to have the Scot brought to book.

Now that the war seems to be over. This week The Big Issue in Scotland can reveal that the 71-year-old has been removed as head of the ‘torture squad’. He is to be replaced by a young member of the ruling family.

Bahrain’s pro-democracy groups claim international pressure led by The Big Issue in Scotland resulted in Hunderson’s removal – but State propaganda maintains otherwise, Bahrain’s ambassador, himself a member of the Royal family, contacted The Big Issue and insisted Henderson had merelyretired.

Leading human rights campaigners contend Bahrain, keen to be seen as a ‘good guy’ by the West, took the first opportunity they could to get rid of their aging secret policeman.

The Big Issue in Scotland, which campaigned for over a year to have Henderson removed, has received huge acclaim as a key player ending hid reign of terror. Mansoor al-Jamri, leader of the Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM), said: “The Big Issue’s campaign has been humanistic, brave and pioneering.

“You have led those who aspire to a fairer, kinder world. You have fulfilled the role of true journalists in fighting evil and crusading for good”.

The exiled dissident, now living in London, added: “The Big Issue has carried a banner of justice and a torch of truth for the last year. The people of Bahrain will be forever in your debt.”

Locals call Henderson, a former colonial special branch agent, “the butcher of Bahrain”. The Scot fought in the bloody Kenyan independence war, and was later deported for his role in the conflict. He worked for Rhodesian security and apartheid South Africa before moving to Bahrain over 30 years ago.

The majority of Bahrainis are Shi’ite Muslims. They have been discriminated against by the ruling Sunni Muslims since independence in 1971. Dissidents want rulers, who have destroyed all democracy, to restore parliament following its 1975 suspension and lift the staggering violence; arrest, torture, detention without trial (even for children), forced exile and murder.

When The Big Issue interviewed Henderson, he admitted that “vigorous interrogation” was common, but denied directing torture.

But victims we have spoken to described their horrific treatment at the hands of Henderson’s men. Zaki Khalifa, now seeking British political asylum, was trussed up, hung by his arms, beaten and kept standing for 72 hours. He was just 17 when he endured the 29-day ordeal. Now permanently disabled form the abuse, he recalls one chilling face-to-face encounter with Henderson. “I told him that I had told the guards everything I knew. He just looked at me with cold emotionless eyes and said, ‘Do you think you can ever go home?’ I thought then, I was going to die. I just prayed that my end would be quick.”

Many other dissidents have died under torture. When quizzed by The Big Issue, Henderson said: “Torture is a much abused term, Arabs have a different way of looking at things.”

The most sickening case against Bahrain is that of Saeed al-Eskafi. The 16-year-old was arrested after a street campaign and died under interrogation. His body had been burned with and iron and he had been sexually assaulted.

The rape of prisoners is not uncommon. Bahrain is run like a feudal sheikdom. Its 500,000 population are completely under the power of the emir, Sheikh Isa Bin Salman al-Khalifa –although many ex-patriot Britons live in opulent luxury. Until now Henderson has been described as the power behind the throne.

BFM leader Mansoor al-Jamri, whose father is the jailed leader of the dissidmovement, said Henderson had become a “liability” in Bahrain, bringing too much attention to the country’s abysmal human rights record.

It is though that a token gesture on human rights, like the departure of Henderson, will keep the eyes of the West away from the regime’s abuses.

With rumours now circulating of Henderson’s plans to retire to the UK or America, there are calls for his prosecution. In his interview with The Big Issue Henderson said he dreamed of retiring to Scotland. And he poured scorn on calls for his arrest, saying: “That would be a very big mistake. They wouldn’t have a legal let to stand on.”

But a US Government source said: “Henderson sounds like a very bad character. The Government wouldn’t want him to set foot on US soil.”

Henderson’s escape routes from Bahrain seem cut off. His past is catching up with him.

Britain’s leading human rights campaigner, Lord Avebury, said: “The Big Issue should take every credit. While horror after horror was unfolding in Bahrain, no one cared by The Big Issue. It led the way in calling for action.”

The end of Henderson’s regime has added new momentum to the BFM’s struggle. “We have won a battle, but we still have to fight the war,” says Mansoor al-Jamri. “Henderson has gone, but the regime he controlled will remain the same. At the end of the day we have only replaced one evil with a new evil.” END

————————-

 Subject: OMCT:BHR1303/CHILD CONCERN/BAHRAIN

CHILD CONCERN

BHR 130398.CC

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bahrain.

Brief description of the situation:

The Bahrain Human Rights Organization (BHRO), a member of the network, has expressed its graconcern for the physical and psychological integrity of at least (50) minors, allegedly detained in a further wave of arrests during the months of January and February. The minors identified in this new list are in addition to other cases issued by OMCT. Please refer also to adult arrests in BHR 130398.

According to the information, all of these minors have been detained incommunicado, mostly without valid charges. A full list is available from the International Secretariat of OMCT.

The information suggests that the minors were arrested during street demonstrations or from their homes and that were carried out using violence including beating, causing damage to property and provoking fear amongst other residents.

The reason behind these arrests appear to be to discourage anti-regime activities such as participation in demonstrations or gatherings, painting graffiti, burning tires, and distributing pamphlets.

In its resolution adopted August 18, 1997, The United National Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities noted that ” a serious deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain including discrimination against the indigenous Shi’a Population, Extra judicial killings, persistent use of torture in Bahraini prison as well as the abuse of women and children who aredetained, and arbitrary detention without access by detainees to legal advice”

Given the circumstances of their arrest and the consistent pattern and number of grave violations of human rights in Bahrain there are grave fears for the security of these minors.

A great number of the persons arrested within the context of anti regime activities, have not been brought to trial. Should they gain access to a trial there are serious concerns over their procedural rights.

Action requested:

i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all the minors detained;

ii order the immediate release of the minors arrested in the absence of valid legal charges, or if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;

iii. end the use of arbitrary detention and torture of minors by the authorities;

iv. open a full impartial inquiry into the events, identify all those responsible and bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/oradministrative sanctions provided by legislation;

v. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws andinternational standards.

Addresses:

His Highness Shaikh ‘Issa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Office of His Highness the Amir, P.O. Box 555, The Amiri Court, Rifa’a Palace,Bahrain. Fax : + 973 668884. Telex : 8666 Qasar BN; 8500 Qasar BN

His Excellency Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister, P.O. Box 1000, al-Manama, Bahrain. Telex : 9336 PROM BN or 7889 PMPO BN

His Excellency Shaikh Muhammad Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior, P.O. Box 13, al-Manama, Bahrain. Fax : + 973 276765 or 290526. Telex : 9572 PSMKT BN OR 8333 ALAMAN BN

Geneva 13th March 1998

Please inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code number of

this appeal in your reply

The World Organisation Against Torture

Case Postale 119

37-39 Rue de Vermont

CH1211 Geneva 20 CIC

Switzerland

Fax 4122 733 1051

Ph 4122 733 3140

OMCT is: l’Organisation Mondiale contre la Tortur, The World Organisation Against Torture

OMCT@IPROLINK.CH

http://www.omct.org/

————————-

Bahrain: Lawyers demand the restoration of the “Bar Society”

In response to the government’s dictatorial decision of 28 February that resulted in the dissolution of the Bar Society, the hnourable Bahraini lawyers decided to file a case against the Labour Ministry which violated the Bahraini constitution as well as the unconstitutional laws issued by the Labour Ministry itself for governing clubs and societies.

The security forces launched a campaign, in the past days, to wipeout graffiti from the walls of towns and villages in what seems to be an attempt to impress some visiting delegations. However, pro-democracy slogans re-appear almost instantly, as the people believe that this is their last place to express their views. The recent move to wipeout graffiti is believed to have been initiated in anticipation of a possible visit by a delegation of some sort to the country.

The ten-day hunger strike in Jaw prison has come to a halt. The detainees received promises from the prison administration to honour their demands. However, from an historical perpective, the prison department does not honour any promises. The opposition calls on human rights organizations to intervene in the worsening situation. Amongst the demands were the stopping of periodic torture and abuse of detainees, improvement of health conditions and allowing for regular family visits. On the other hand, another hunger strike was also reported in “Jaw 2” prison. The detainees started their strike lastweek protesting about the ill treatment of a fellow prisoner. The prisoner, Isa Al Jamri, had been experiencing severe psychological distress as a result of torture. The strikers firstly requested the prison authorities to provide care for Mr. Al Jamri, but their request was turned down and Mr. Al Jamri ended up in a solitary cell, which led to the worsening of his condition.

Mr. Mohammed Ali Haidar Sanqur, who was arrested upon his arrival to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia (via King’s Fahad causeway), has been forced out of the country on 10 March. The exile destination is unknown. Bahrain is the only country in the world that forcibly exiles its citizens in this manner.

A number of children and youths that had been arrested by the authorities were assembled along with old used cars in Barbar. They were forced by the security forces to burn the cars while being videotaped. The citizens were stunned to see their children being forced to conduct such an act. It is believed that this hasty move relates to the anguish of the regime to gather as many “falsified” evidence in order to evade criticismfrom human rights organizations.

The next session in the trial of 16 persons in Bahrain is due on 14 March. It is worth mentioning that several persons have been unlawfully sentenced of the same charges over a year ago. On the other hand, the trial of six Bahraini citizens in Kuwait is due on 16 March. The six persons have been accused a year ago of distributing of leaflets about Bahrain in Kuwait.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

13 March 1998

——————–

Bolton Evening News

Monday, March 9, 1998

Torture man’s nightmare in Arahellhole

A Bolton torture victim is trying to win compensation for his nightmare ordeal in a Middle East jail.

Computer programmer Yasser Al Sayegh has accused security services of degrading treatment and barbaric practices to force him to confess to owning pro-democracy leaflets while he was working in Bahrain.

 Mr. Sayegh, a British passport owner, says he was beaten, burned with cigarettes, tied up by his wrists for long periods of time and subjected to a painful form of torture known as falaqa when prisoners are hung over a stick by their knees while their feet are whipped and hit with a metal bar.

 When he continued to deny being involved in political groups, he says he was thrown in a tiny cell and held in appalling conditions without access to lawyers, embassy officials or family and friends in Bahrain or Bolton.

 Forced

He says a hunger strike forced his captors to allow one phone call to his son in Bolton and monthly visits by his family.

 The agony only ended six months later when Lord Avebury intervened and he was freed without charge and ordered back to Britain.

 Now civil right groups, Bolton MP Ruth Kelly and over 1000 local supporters have asked Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to take up his fight.

 They want the Bahraini government to officially clear Mr. Sayegh’s name and pay him compensation.

 The 31-year-old said: “They have taken away my future. I still suffer from my injuries and have flashbacks and nightmares.

 “I cannot get a job but I have to provide for my son. This is the most important thing. I want him to a future and I do not want him to think I was in prison because I was some sort of criminal. It is difficult for him to understand because this sort of thing does not happen in Britain.”

 One day he was on the phone, he said, when a colleague threw a political leaflet into the bin at the

 Bahrain bank where he was working and he received the blame.

 He says bosses sacked him and he was later picked up at his parent’s home by the security forces who tortured him over five days in an effort to force a confession of political involvement.

 Mr Sayegh says he always denied the charges and was freed after five days. Days later he was picked up again and told further political leaflets had been found in a cupboard in work.

 The 31-year-old argued he had not been back to the bank but says he was tortured again for about two weeks and then imprisoned without trial or medical treatment for six months.

 After a campaign by family, friends and civil rights camaigners in Britain, he was freed in May last year and returned to Bolton to be near his seven-year-old son.

 Executed

 He said: “I will never forget Lord Avebury. Without him I could have been executed or left in prison. He never lost faith in my innocence and did a great job.”

 A spokesman for MP Ruth Kelly, who recently handed in a 1000 name petition to Robin Cook’s department, said: “She was horrified to hear about Mr Al-Sayegh’s case and has written to the Foreign Office asking them to intervene.

 “She has promised to do all she can to ensure that Mr Al-Sayegh receives compensation from the Bahraini authorities for his treatment”.

 Mr Sayegh is still receiving psychiatric and medical help to overcome the painful ordeal and blot out the memories of the atrocities he witnessed.

 After his release Mr Sayegh was ordered to leave Bahrain and says, even if he was allowed he is too scared of the oppressive regime to visit his elderly parents.

 —————————

Amnesty International, Ugent Action

3 March 1998

UA 65/98 Fear of Torture/Incommunicado Detention

BAHRAIN Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al `Ikri, aged 17

Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al-‘Ikri is being held incommunicado and is at risk of torture or ill-treatment. He was reportedly arrested on 24 February 1998 at his mother’s home in al-Qadam village in Jidd Hafs. His precise whereabouts are unknown. The reasons for his arrest are unclear, but it is believed to be connected with a previous arrest and conviction.

Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al-‘Ikri had previously been arrested on 10 April 1995 on charges of throwing a petrol bomb at police personnel. He was convicted on 9 July 1995 and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Juveniles Court. However, his sentence was overturned on appeal and he was released in September 1995. Several weeks after his release the Bahraini authorities tried to rearrest him. Muhammad `Ali Muhammad al-‘Ikri managed to escape and was able to hide. Whilst visiting his mother on 24 February 1998 the authorities arrested him again.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Scores of minors have been among those arrested by security forces in connection with mass protests in Bahrain calling for the restoration of the National Assembly and the release of political prisoners. In many cases juvenile defendants are denied their fundamental rights during pre-trial detention, having been held incommunicado and denaccess to their faand defence counsel. Charges brought against them under the Penal Code have included arson attacks on public property andinhabited private property, rioting, participation in illegal gathering, and incitement of hatred towards the government. Sentences passed by the Juveniles Court have been, in the opinion of some defence lawyers, unnecessarily harsh, a number of children having been handed the maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.

—————-

Bahrain: A major trial sunder iron curtain; Bar Society dissolved; Children tortured

One of the biggest trials held by the State Security Court started on Saturday 28 February under an iron curtain. The government imposed a total blackout on news of this trial and families were prevented from reaching anywhere near the courtrooms. Sixteen people who had been arrested in 1996 and who had been tortured severely including the pulling out of their finger and toenails are facing charges of causing fires in hotels and possessing homemade explosives. The trial is one of the worst to have been conducted. The 16 are charged with offences, which the government had claimed to capture some citizens long time ago. Many citizens had their photographs printed in newspapers stating that they had carried the same offences and had been sentenced to long terms with arbitrary fines reaching irrational levels. These 16 people were expected to face a trial last year, but torture marks on their bodies were so obvious and severe that the government waited until now. The State Security Court intends to hold two other “quickie” sessions before passing very harsh sentence. The Bahraini government is assuming that by imposing an iron curtain on the news it would be able to get away with horrendous acts of injustice.

The sixteen persons are Ali Darwish, 28, Engineer; Seyed Mohammed, 27, Programmer; Mohammed Ali, 25, Teacher; Seyyed Fadhil Shubbar, 29, Teacher; Ali Salman, 30, Teacher; Seyyed Saeed Al-Majid, 30, Employee; Abdulla, 35, Employee; Farhad Khorshid, 30, Employee;, Yousif Habib, 28, Em; Mohsin Al-Sheikh, 35, Manager; Ali Al-Mestani, 30, Employee; Jamil Jawahiri, 27, Shop-owner; Ismael Khalil, 21, Fisherman; brother of Ismael Khalil, 25; Mahdi Saleh, 23, Employee; Ali Masha-Allah, 24, Employee.

An extremely dangerous development is the move by the government on 28 February to dissolve the Bar Society as punishment for inviting the pro-democracy leader, Dr. Monira Fakhro to speak in a seminar held last January. This is a dangerous development, which will completely change the local political situation. The Bar Society has defended itself from all types of government’s pressure, and this attack is meant to be a punishment for all dignified personalities.

On 27 February, the security forces attacked a gathering intended for a marriage ceremony in Bani Jamra, and arrested the following children: Jaffer Mohammed Taher Habib, 14, Yasin Mohammed Radh, 11, Jaffer Abdul Nabi Isa Kadhem, 10, Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Haroon, 10, Mohammed Ali Matrook, 14, and Salman Ali Matrook. The children were taken to the torture centre in Budaya and received sever beating. Yasin Mohammed Radhi (11-year old orphan) went into a comma because of torture. At about 1.00 am (28 February), the 10 and 11-year old children were released, but the torturers detained the other children for further beating.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

2 March 1998

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089