Crackdown Continues in Bahrain

Teenager Killed, Activist Sentenced to Three years in Jail

Sumaya Rajab, the wife of Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab, wants President Obama to pressure her government to release her husband. Last week, a Bahraini court sentenced Rajab to three years in jail for “inciting” anti-government protests.

 “I appeal to you to use your influence on the government of Bahrain and on the Security Council of the United Nations to help guarantee my husband’s safety and release from prison and to help support the struggle for freedom, democracy and justice for the Bahraini people,” she wrote in an open letter to the American president. “The government of Bahrain is considered a close ally for the United States; it is an autocratic monarchy with a political system dominated by the ruling Al-Khalifa family.”

Rajab was already in jail serving a three-month sentence for anti-government updates on Twitter. He was later acquitted in the Twitter case, but remains in jail no the other cases. His lawyer said the three-year sentence was especially harsh. His wife Sumaya said they would keep fighting for his freedom.

She has yet to receive an answer to her letter. Activists said that Bahrain, where about 100 protestors have been killed since the Arab Spring began some 18-months ago, has been forgotten by the world. They say that the presence of the American Fifth Fleet and the close ties between the US and Bahrain have caused Washington to ignore Bahrain’s calls for democracy.

Activists say demonstrations continue daily. Last week, a 16-year old protestor, Hussam Al-Haddad, was killed during a protest rally. The government alleged that he threw Molotov cocktails at police, while activists said security forces fired birdshot at him. “We do not believe that he threw Molotov cocktails but even if he did, the government can fire tear gas, not birdshot, at close range,” Said Yousef Al-Mohafda, a spokesman for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, told The Media Line. “Protests continue every day and will continue until we get our rights.”

Al-Mohafda said that on Monday, a woman who was in her eighth month of pregnancy miscarried after troops fired tear gas into her home. He tweeted a graphic picture of the child to tens of thousands of followers. Al-Mohafda said the Center has documented dozens of similar cases of miscarriages after toxic gas had been fired.

Unlike in Egypt, Yemen, or Libya, in Bahrain the Al-Khalifa family remains firmly ensconced in power. Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa has been in power for 42 years. “For more than nine months, the government has promised the international community that it would carry out reforms for more democracy,” Khalil Al-Marzouk, a former member of parliament representing Al-Wefaq, the largest party, told The Media Line that, “the repression is continuing.”

Al-Marzouk resigned from parliament last year to protest the government’s continuing repression. He said that there have been some improvements “on paper,” but they have yet to be carried out. For example, the government published a new code of conduct for police after growing criticism of police behavior during demonstrations. Yet, on the ground, “nothing has changed,” Al-Marzouk insisted.

Bahrainis say they are not receiving as much support as they had hoped for from the rest of the Arab world. On Sunday, Egypt refused to allow leading Bahraini activist Maryam Al-Khawaja, the spokeswoman for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to enter the country. Al-Khawaja lives in Denmark and was on her way to South Africa. She said officials first stamped her passport but then changed their mind after seeing that she was a Bahraini activist.

Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights says that even from jail, he will continue to fight for the right of Bahrainis to demonstrate against the government.