A recent report, Breaking the Silence: Bahraini Women Political Prisoners Expose Systemic Abuses, outlines the cases of nine former and current female prisoners in Bahrain throughout the process of their arrests and trials, as well as the conditions of their detentions, Al Jazeera reported.

The report was formally launched last month, and was the subject of a Washington, DC, event on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

The report, conducted by the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) found that the women were arrested without search warrants and were subjected to physical, psychological and sexual assaults during interrogation. Coerced confessions were used as evidence to convict them.

The 138-page report found that six of the women were convicted under terrorism-related charges. Bridget Quitter, Legal Officer at ADHRB said the women were targeted as part of a concerted state effort to crack down on free speech.

“These women were targeted for their opinions or those of their relatives,” Quitter said during the panel event in Washington, DC.

“And they were subjected to rights violations from the moment of their arrest, through their interrogation and torture, unfair trials and detention in conditions which fail to meet international standards,” Quitter said.

Of the nine women, three – Hajer Mansoor, Medina Alia and Zakeya AlBarboori – are still detained in Isa Town women’s prison, where, according to the report, they continue to be subjected to punitive measures, including lack of access to medical care. The other six women have been released after serving prison sentences.

The rights groups called on Al-Khalifa arresting female activists to release the three remaining female prisoners and urged the US to halt arms sales and security cooperation with the regime.

“The responses we obtained demonstrated that Bahrain has created a system which whitewashes and conceals human rights abuses,” Quitter said.

“The ill-treatment and torture, coercive interrogation tactics, unfair trial, substandard conditions of detention are not merely coincidental, but part of a systematic repression of the Bahraini population.”

The post Rights Groups condemn Al-Khalifa arresting Female Activists appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Bahrain Criticizes Qatari Emir for Not Attending Riyadh Summit appeared first on Iran News Daily.

During the protests on Sunday night, the Al Khalifa regime forces attacked peaceful demonstrators in Diraz, west of Manama, Bahraini opposition media reported.

The protesters condemned the recent arrest and imprisonment of three Bahraini sisters on political grounds.

They also described Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa’s move to resign after the end of the parliament and municipal council elections as a sham.

In a cabinet session on Sunday, the Bahraini premier announced that the resignation of the cabinet had been submitted to the Bahraini king.

General elections in Bahrain were held across the Persian Gulf country on November 24 as two main opposition groups, the Al-Wefaq and Waad, were barred from fielding candidates, prompting renewed calls for a boycott.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.

Since 1980s, the ruling Al Khalifa regime has been trying to change the Kingdom’s demographic structure which largely consists of Shiites.

The post Bahrainis Continue Anti-Regime Protests appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Daghagh, who previously served as the representative of prominent cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim in Iran,  told Mehr News Agency (MNA) correspondent that the Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Bahrain was a ‘farce’ as the Al-Khalifa regime had threatened the people to turn out to vote otherwise they would face big problems living in the country.

He said that the people of Bahrain boycotted the polls because the situation in Bahrain had got worse than ever, adding that the elections would not be real unless the Bahraini authorities reach a real agreement with the people.

“The opposition groups boycotted the elections with the hope of a reaching rule of law and a national reconciliation. But the ruling system seeks to establish a parliament through which they can implement their plans and programs and carry out all of their actions in the name of the Bahraini people,” he said, stressing “the Bahraini opposition and the people of this country will never accept this.”

With regard to human rights situation in his country, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Daghagh said “the prisoners in Bahrain are in a terrible condition. Al-Khalifa regime’s forces are escalating crackdown on the people… A former Bahraini MP who had asked a question on boycotting the elections in a tweet on his Twitter account is in jail now. Everyone in the country who speaks out against injustice is put behind bars.”

The Bahraini cleric said that some parts of the society turned out to vote in the elections because they were under immense pressures from the authorities.

With regard to the silence of the international community against the Al-Khalifa regime’s actions, he said that the international community with the United States at the top are supporting the Saudi kingdom and Al-Khalifa regime and their call for respecting human rights is just words and no actions as they only care about their own interests.

He said that Al-Khalifa regime is the Western countries’ strategic ally and they will not cut their support for it unless their interests require them to do so.

With respect to attempts by Arab countries, especially Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel, Al-Daghagh said “we condemn the process of normalizing relations and the so-called the Deal of the Century…Palestine is our number-one issue. Any country seeking to normalize relations with Israel is a traitor because Israel is an illegitimate government and a cancerous tumor that colonists created in the Arab world…. Anyone who participates in this process will be thrown into the dustbin of history.”

He touched upon Iran’s role in supporting the resistance movement, saying “Iran does a lot in support of religious and press freedom. It tries to send the message of our oppressed people to the world, and this is done through television networks and media programs.”

The post Al-Khalifa regime threatened people to vote in elections: Bahraini cleric appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Cleric Slams Al Khalifa Regime’s Crackdown on Political Dissidents appeared first on Iran News Daily.