Pro Democracy protests in Bahrain | News & Discussions

[Syrian Lion]

Bahraini rights activist Al-Khawaja banned from entering Egypt - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online

 

[Bhairava]

Israel must be laughing its a** off, seeing its rivals shooting at each other.

Congratz to a game well played.

 

[Syrian Lion]

People of Bahrain are determined and they will not give up.

 

[Syrian Lion]

Thousands swamp Bahrain highway in first legal 'Freedom and Democracy' demo in weeks

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded a major highway in Bahrain for the first sanctioned opposition rally in months. They called on the government to release a prominent human rights activist and demanded greater freedom.

The motorway, which links capital city Manama with Shiite villages, was swarming with demonstrators, the crowd extending for at least two miles (three kilometers). Protesters chanted pro-democracy slogans, waved Bahraini flags and called on the government to free Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights activist recently sentenced to three years in prison for supposedly organizing illegal protests.

“We do not forget the prisoners!” was one of the chants.

The mass rally was the first legal protest in over a month. In July, the government imposed a temporary ban on protests, with the interior ministry stating that the curfew was necessary to “restore order.”

It was in that period that Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison for participating in an “illegal assembly” and “calling for a march without prior notification.”

In June, Rajab had received a three-month prison sentence for a tweet that prosecutors say offended the residents of a Sunni-dominated neighborhood of the capital. In the tweet, Rajab alleged that the residents of the neighborhood only supported Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa because of financial incentives.

A judge later overturned the Twitter sentence, but Rajab must still serve his other, lengthier prison term for allegedly holding an illegal march.

Pro-democracy protests in the country have been ongoing since February 2011.
Colin Cavell, a former lecturer at the University of Bahrain, believes the nation's people are resolute in their demands for democracy.

“They’re tired of a single family running the entire country with kangaroo courts, with no justice at all and with disparity among the population,” he told RT.

He also noted that while the US has traditionally propped up autocratic rulers and despotic monarchies to further its regional interests, a new strategy may soon be required.

“The United States wants to retain its hegemonic control not only over Bahrain, but over the entire Persian Gulf monarchs in the entire Middle East in order to keep that crude oil flowing,” he remarked. “However, they realize with the increasing democratic opposition in all of these countries, that they can no longer lean on these autocratic rulers to retain their control.”

Thousands swamp Bahrain highway in first legal 'Freedom and Democracy' demo in weeks (PHOTOS) — RT

 

[Banu Umayyah]

lol I just noticed this thread. Nothing will happen in Bahrain. If anything, we will annex this tiny insignificant island.

 

[Syrian Lion]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.cc9ea1f5c71893e5731fa5f3d4d1ca5b.251


A Bahrain court on Tuesday upheld jail terms against 13 leading opposition figures, including seven facing life in prison, over charges of plotting to overthrow the Gulf monarchy, lawyers said.
The opposition swiftly condemned the "vindictive" rulings and accused the court of staging "mock trials," the United States expressed its concern, while London-based Amnesty International denounced the ruling as "outrageous."
The defendants, who played leading roles in month-long protests last year demanding democratic reforms, did not turn up in the appeals court, the lawyers said.
The 13 activists were being retried in a civil court after they were convicted by a special semi-military court, along with seven others who remain at large, of plotting to topple the Sunni ruling family.
Another defendant was acquitted.
The prosecution had dropped charges against all defendants "related to the freedom of expression" which were considered illegal by the National Safety Court set up to try people who took part in the uprising.
Among those sentenced is activist Abdulhadi Khawaja who in June ended a 110-day hunger strike.
Also sentenced were Hasan Musheime and Abdel Jalil al-Sankis, both leaders of the banned Shiite movement, Haq, as well as Sunni leftist Ibrahim Sharif, who heads the secular Waed group.
"Today's ruling is a clear proof of the fake justice in Bahrain," said the main opposition groups in a statement.
"Those are politically motivated verdicts that have no judicial value, because they have been based on a vindictive methodology," they said.
"There is no state in Bahrain. It is a tyrannical authority, and an oppressive government that tries to look like a (political) system while hiding security apparatuses that terrorise the people to silence its demands for democracy."
The main Shiite formation, Al-Wefaq, said it was a "black day for justice in Bahrain."
"Those wrongful rulings will only strengthen the determination of the people to continue their revolution to the end," the group's leader, Ali Salman, wrote on his Twitter page.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell urged Bahrain to keep to its commitment to respect the rights of detainees to a fair trial and access to attorneys.
"It is important that verdicts are based on credible evidence and that judicial proceedings are conducted in full accordance with Bahraini law and Bahrain's international legal obligations," he said in a statement.
"We call on the government of Bahrain to investigate all reports of torture, including those made by the defendants, as it has pledged to do, and to hold accountable those found responsible."
Amnesty lashed out at the verdicts, saying they must be "overturned and the activists immediately and unconditionally released."
"Today's court decision is another blow to justice and it shows once more that the Bahraini authorities are not on the path of reform but seem rather driven by vindictiveness", said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Sahraoui said Bahrain's human rights record will be up for scrutiny at the UN Human Rights Council in September.
In June last year, the specially formed tribunal handed down lengthy jail terms against the 21 mostly Shiite activists after convicting them of plotting to overthrow the regime.
Ten months later, Bahrain's highest appeals court ordered a retrial.
Bahrain came under strong criticism from international human rights organisations over last year's crackdown on the Shiite-led protests.
An international panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe the government's clampdown found out that excessive force and torture had been used against protesters and detainees.
The Sunni-ruled kingdom, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, has continued to witness sporadic Shiite-led demonstrations, mostly outside the capital, since it crushed the protest movement in March last year.

 

[Syrian Lion]

Bahraini Activists Document Crackdown on Protest - NYTimes.com

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

It couldn't be more simple and clear, Bahraini regime is the only legitimate regime to rule Bahrain and will always be, while the illegitimate Syrian one will be kicked out soon. Deal with it.

 

[Syrian Lion]

It couldn't be more simple and clear, Bahraini regime is the only legitimate regime to rule Bahrain and will always be, while the illegitimate Syrian one will be kicked out soon. Deal with it.

I didn't even mention Syria at all.... but Syria is your nightmare, because you are racist, who are you to decide regarding Bahrain or Syria??

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

 

[Syrian Lion]

Police crackdown on Bahraini activists (PHOTOS, VIDEOS) — RT

 

[Takaavar]

Bahraini opposition activist shot, injured during protest in Sitra

 

[Serpentine]

I hope,soon we see the rotten king of Bahrain with his supporters,hanged in pearl square of Manama.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

I hope,soon we see the rotten king of Bahrain with his supporters,hanged in pearl square of Manama.

That will not happen, because we will never let it happen, and no one will come for their rescue.

Bahraini opposition activist shot, injured during protest in Sitra

Throwing Molotov and using guns against unarmed police is called terrorism. I hope Jordanian Darak are doing their job pretty well:

 

[Serpentine]

That will not happen, because we will never let it happen, and no one will come for their rescue.



Throwing Molotov and using guns against unarmed police is called terrorism. I hope Jordanian Darak are doing their job pretty well:

I wonder how miserable a human being can be.So thrwoing molotoves is terrorism in Bahrain,but those savage terrorists in Syria who behead people and attack army are peaceful protesters.
No BlackEagle,you can't do anything,you have done all you could do in Syria,but still we see 400/500 terrorists are being killed by Syrian army everyday,hopefully,more of them will be killed in coming days.

Killing unarmed protesters in Bahrain is not something to be proud of,but killing one salafi terrorist in Syria serves the whole humanity.


PS: DARAK in Persian language means the deepest spots in hell,I just wanted to say the name fits them at best,I couldn't stop laughing when you mentioned them.