BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP20th October 2014

In Bahrain, human rights defenders are under attack – but we won’t be deterred

On Tuesday my sister, Zainab Al-Khawaja, who is eight months pregnant, was arrested again, after only recently serving one year in prison. She was attending a court hearing on charges of “destroying government property” after tearing a picture of Bahrain’s king during a protest in 2012.

In court, she took out a picture of the king, and tore it up, declaring: “I am the daughter of a proud and

free man. My mother brought me into this world free, and I will give birth to a free baby boy even if it is inside our prisons. It is my right, and my responsibility as a free person, to protest against oppression and oppressors.”

She was detained on the spot. A new case was immediately initiated at the upper criminal court, which means she faces the possibility of a maximum sentence for “publicly insulting the king”; seven years and a 10,000 Bahraini dinar (approximately £16,500) fine.

Read More

Is the United States Government Finally Losing Patience With Bahrain?

The U.S. State Department today reacted to a decision by a Bahraini judge not to release activist Nabeel Rajab from custody and to adjourn his case until October 29. Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said the U.S. government did

Last week the State Department publicly called for the charges against Rajab to be dropped for the first time. Rajab, one of the region's most prominent

human rights defenders and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was arrested earlier this month after tweeting about Bahrain security forces being incubators for the ideology of ISIS.

The U.S. government's call indicates a shift in position; it has been reluctant to publicly call for similarly trumped-up charges against Rajab to be dropped in the past. Rajab spent two years in prison from mid-2012 to mid-2014 for previous tweets. The State Department's new call -- echoed on Twitter by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power -- is a significant change.

Read More

Bahrain: Rights activist jailed over tweet is denied bail

Jailed Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been denied bail and his hearing has been adjourned until 29 November. The decision came on 19 October, the opening day of his trial. Rajab, a well-known activist who has played a prominent part in Bahrain’s pro-democracy movement,

is facing charges of insulting government institutions through the following tweet:

According to his Twitter account, which has been run by an associate since Rajab’s arrest on 1 October, Sunday’s court session was “monitored” by representatives from “at least nine embassies“, includingthe US, UK and France. Family members were denied entry to the courtroom.

Read More

Five deny Bahrain F1 Grand Prix bomb plot charges

Five men accused of taking part in rigging a car with a homemade explosive outside Bahrain’s Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) headquarters during this year's Formula One race have pleaded not guilty.

Three of the five who appeared in court were charged with rigging a maroon coloured Kia car with the explosive and leaving it near the CID headquarters in Adiya on April 6 this year, according to Gulf Daily News.

The other two were accused of aiding and abetting them.

Read More