2nd August 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

The minimum penalty for an attempted bombing is 10 years behind bars.

Bahrain boosts penalties for 'terror acts'

Bahrain's King Hamad has decreed tougher penalties for "terror acts", according to the ofcial BNA news agency. Under a new law, suspects convicted of bomb attacks will be sentenced to life imprisonment or to death in cases of casualties, BNA said on Thursday.

The crimes previously carried unspecied jail terms. The Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab country has been the scene of a Shia-led uprisingsince 2011. Suspects found guilty of "raising money for a terrorist organisation" willbe handed jail terms ranging 10 years to life. Read More anti-government protests. The blogger, Mohamed Hassan, has also worked as an assistant to foreign journalists visiting Bahrain. Earlier this week, the Bahraini regime backed a proposal to ban demonstrations in the capital Manama and impose penalties including revoking citizenship on protesters convicted of violence. Read More police vehicles, the sweeping arrests of bloggers, vivid images of scarred victims at court rooms and the silence of the world community is deafening. Among the particularly worrying signs are what appears to be connivance by certain Western governments in Alkhalifa repressive policies and the continued embracing of ofcials accused of crimes against humanity. Read More

Bahrain enacts tougher terrorism laws in crackdown on opposition

Bahrain's King Hamad has toughened penalties in antiterrorism laws before planned anti-government protests this month, approving proposals that have alarmed human rights groups which fear a crackdown on the demonstrations. King Hamad, whose alKhalifa dynasty has ruled the US-allied Gulf state

since 1783, has struggled to contain unrest that has persisted since the initial repression of prodemocracy protests in early 2011. A protest movement in Bahrain has called for rallies on August 14. At an extraordinary session of parliament on Sunday, lawmakers agreed to recommendations including stripping those who commit or call for "terrorist crimes" of their nationality and preventing any protests in the capital Manama. Read More was detained by masked security ofcials this week. The organization said authorities "have harassed and detained" him repeatedly since early last year. Bahraini authorities this week passed legislation meant to crack down on terrorism in the country. Measures were also enacted to restrict protests in Manama, the nation's capital. Human rights groups say the government is working to silence its critics. Read More

Bahraini Blogger Arrested amid Crackdown on AntiGovernment Protests

A prominent blogger has been arrested in Bahrain days after the ruling monarchy vowed to intensify a crackdown on

Freedom in Bahrain questioned

An advocacy group defending journalists said it was concerned about that status of a Bahraini reporter held at an undisclosed location in the country. Sherif Mansour, regional coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Bahraini freelance correspondent Mohamed Hassan allegedly

Bahrain: Deafening world silence as Alkhalifa arrests bloggers, persecute people

AThe atmosphere in the country is sombre as the dynastic Alkhalifa regime intensies its repression and imposes wide ranging human rights abuses. With clear footage of security ofcers throwing under-age boys from rooftops into

Bahraini Governments Deceptive Twitter Tactics Target Dissent

The Bahraini government has reportedly resorted to some drastic measures in its effort to silence dissent. Citing a recent report from Bahrain Watch, the Foreign Policy blog describes how the government there tricks Twitter users into clicking links that reveal their IP address, thus identifying them for prosecution. From Foreign Policy: Heres how it works. Dozens of shell accounts

many designed to impersonate top gures within the Bahraini opposition have tweeted links to anonymous Twitter users who comment on Bahrain. The links include spyware that reveals the users IP address, which the government can use to identify the name and street address of the person behind the account. From there, its simple police work: The government can raid the house and build a case against those living there, usually on charges of insulting the king. In total, Bahrain Watch found that more than 120 accounts were targeted by the government in this way. Read More Egypt are all the Brotherhood enthusiasts in the region - Qatar, Turkey, Hamas, Tunisia. This reverses key political trends in the region. The Saudis emerge on top here, facilitating John Kerry's diplomacy on Palestine. European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, obtained from Gen. Abdul Fattah el Sissi the permission to meet Morsi who is conned in a secret location. Read More

violence, said the Gulf Daily News report.

Bahrain's tough antiterror laws backed

Top Bahrain community gures yesterday backed urgently passed laws that could see people convicted of carrying out fatal bomb attacks given the death penalty, said a report. The punishment was included in two decrees issued by His Majesty King Hamad on Wednesday in an attempt to reduce growing levels of street

They state anyone convicted of causing injury as a result of bombings or attempting to carry them out will also be jailed for no less than 10 years. People caught collecting money for terrorist acts face a minimum 10-year sentence and up to life in prison and nes ranging from BD100,000 to BD500,000. Read More The Foreign Ministry here said that one such act "led to the death of a policeman on July 6, which is deplored." "We reafrm our condemnation of violence now matter where it comes from, as well as (our condemnation) of terrorism," the Foreign Ministry added. Paris called for "the pursuit of national dialogue which must favour an easing of tensions and allow for a solution to be found that answers the aspiration of all Bahrainis." Read More

Bahrain key if SaudiIran lock is to be opened

President Mohammad Morsi has barely been ousted and, lo and behold, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is already on track. It was important that Morsi vacated the scene for the process to be salvaged because the Muslim Brotherhood had rm links with Hamas with whom talks were unthinkable. So the losers along with the Brothers in

France condemns violence, deplores killing of Bahraini policeman

The French government on Friday said it had noted the series of acts of violence in Bahrain these past weeks, which include attacks against political gures and forces of law and order and Paris condemned all such acts.