http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/24/10208133.html

04/28/2008 08:10 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief

Adel Marzooq was deeply anguished, but the veteran columnist felt he had to write the painful truth: Bahrain is no longer the postcard image that he had known since his birth.

His homeland, regarded as one of the most peaceful places on earth, is turning into two antagonistic countries at the hands of its own sons and daughters stubbornly engaged in callous and immoral hostility over sectarian ideologies.

Country/Topic: Bahrain
Date: 29 April 2008
Source: Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)
Person(s):
Target(s): other
Type(s) of violation(s): threatened
Urgency: Threat
(BCHR/IFEX) - A high Bahraini security officer informed Karbabad Matam, an events venue in Manama, that it was not allowed to hold a public conference scheduled for 25 April 2008. The security officer stated that, if necessary, the Security Special Forces (SSF) would intervene by force to prevent the event from taking place. The organisers of the event told BCHR that these threats were made by the head of the Exhibition police station on 24 April.

THE OBSERVATORY FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (FIDH-OMCT)

PRESS RELEASE

BAHRAIN: Hearing in the trial of seven human rights defenders

International Mission of Judicial Observation

Geneva-Paris, April 23, 2008. On April 16, 2008, the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), sent an international mission of judicial observation in the framework of the trial of seven human rights defenders, which was held before the High Criminal Court of Bahrain.

Hamida Ghafour, Foreign Correspondent

Last Updated: April 21. 2008 3:45PM UAE / April 21. 2008 11:45AM GMT

MANAMA // Behind the mosque in Karzakkan town, six young men stood in the shadows looking anxiously over their shoulders. A demonstration planned for the afternoon was cancelled when police officers armed with tear gas canisters and rubber bullet arrived. The youth were now looking somewhere to hide while the authorities searched the town for them.

“If they catch us, they will beat us,” said Habib Mohammed Habib, 20. “They already have my brother.”

Bahrain: Court-Appointed Medical Examiners Confirm Torture
Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Updating information on the unfair trials of a group of 15 activists, including 11 human rights defenders .

SEVERAL Bahrainis arrested last December were beaten in custody, according to court-appointed medical examiners. The doctors' report, submitted as 15 Bahrainis appeared in the High Criminal Court amid tight security on April 16th, was immediately disputed by the Public Prosecution.

Judge refused release of detainees and postponed case until May 11th

At about 10am yesterday, the heading judge of the Higher Criminal Court, Shaikh Mohamed Al-Khalifa, postponed the prosecution of the December incident detainees to May 11th (Blaze of the patrol vehicle and alleged missing weapon).

A Second Crackdown on Activists in Four Months:
Detainees, Including Minors, are under serious risk of Torture and Unfair Trials

17 April 2008

Amounting Unrest and Violations in Bahrain

A Second Crackdown on Activists in Four Months:
Detainees, Including Minors, are under serious risk of Torture and Unfair Trials

17 April 2008

April 7, 2008

The government has done little to institutionalize in law protection of basic rights in the aftermath of the important reforms decreed by the king, Shaikh Hamad bin `Isa Al Khalifa in 2001-02. New laws have been adopted containing provisions that undermine freedom of assembly, association and expression. The Human Rights Council, in its review of Bahrain�s human rights record, should assess this legislation and recommend steps to bring existing legislation, especially in the areas of freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and accountability for grave crimes such as torture, into compliance with international human rights standards.

http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article5400

Monday Recommendations to the Government of Bahrain on the occasion of the 1st Universal Periodic Review Session, April 20087 April 2008

Recommendations to the Government of Bahrain on the occasion of the 1st Universal Periodic Review Session, April 2008

Issued by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in Bahrain, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS)

1.Equality and non-discrimination

Nabli Rajab 7 April 08 - For the first session of the UPR organised by the UN Human Rights Council, activists from Bahrain have not been able to meet the delegations that will examine their country’s human rights record. They have been replaced by “false NGOs” sent by their government. Interview with Nabil Rajab, vice president for the Centre of Human Rights in Bahrain.