Categories : News

SMC Statement on Barcelona Attack

Terrorism is a curse of our times that distresses the hearts of all upstanding human beings who inhabit our world. The cruelty of these assassins, has yet again, brought terror and trepidation to all, world over.The Barcelona attack appears to be yet another manifestation of the intolerant and bigoted ideology of considering one self superior than another.

Saudi Arabia’s hidden war

The Saudis have now destroyed the last building in the heart of a Shia town in the east – the centre of growing unrest which the authorities are blaming on ‘terrorist’ groups. Meanwhile dozens of people have died in the clashes and thousands are being displaced as their homes are…

Death sentences of Shiites point to limits of Saudi reforms

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince hopes to transform the kingdom and modernize society, but the planned execution of 14 Shiite protesters charged with violence against security forces suggests the government’s handling of sectarian tensions and unrest remains unchanged.

Awamiya: Inside the devastated Saudi Shia town – BBC News

The town of Awamiya has been devastated by fighting between government forces and Shia militants.

See this video also on Youtube.

For more, see analysis by ADHRB.

Saudi Arabia: Security Forces Seal Off Eastern Town

(Beirut) – Saudi security forces have surrounded and sealed off the predominantly Shia town of Awamiya in July 2017 as they confronted an armed group hiding in a historic neighborhood slated for demolition, Human Rights Watch said today.

العوامية: “كُثبان الوهابية” تجتاح السور

بعد 90 يوماً من الحصار، اجتاحت القوات السعودية حيّ المسوّرة التاريخي في العوامية لتسوّيه في الأرض. التشفي والانتقام كانا حاضرين في الهجوم الهمجي الذي ذهب ضحيته أكثر من 30 مواطناً “يقدَّر عمر بناء المسوّرة بأكثر من ثلاثة قرون، أما بيوتها فيراوح عددها من 160 إلى 180 بيتاً، جميعها مبنية بالطين والحجارة، وتتميز بتلاصقها الشديد، وبتصميماتها المراعية لظروف المناخ والبيئة، وبطراز معمارها العربي الأصيل، الذي يتمثّل في مجموعة العقود والنقوش والزخارف والأقواس الإسلامية التي تزين أفنيتها وجدرانها الداخلية.

Saudi Arabia: 14 Shia at Risk of Imminent Execution

Fourteen members of the Saudi Shia community are at imminent risk of execution after Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court in mid-July 2017 upheld their death sentences from an unfair trial for protest-related crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. Courts convicted the 14 based on confessions they had repudiated in court, saying that they were coerced.

See denunciations of local Shia by governor of Eastern Province.

Video Exposes Saudi Special Forces’ Sectarian Doctrine

August 8, 2017 By IGA staff Washington – A video of Saudi Special Forces have exposed the western trained and equipped forces’ sectarian doctrine. The video taken today by a Saudi solider inside the besieged Shia city of Awamya showed him hurling secretin insults at Shia inhabitants and their faith inside a bombed out historical Shia mosque.

UK and the Gulf:

Security, political and moral impasse

To mark the Independence Day

Bahrain Opposition Bloc in UK Cordially invites you to a

Seminar and Press briefing

Time: 11.00 Monday 14th August 2017

Place: Diskus Room, UNITE, the Union, 128 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8TN

Speakers

Andy Murray (Unite)

Ben Petlar (Reprieve)

Jawad Fairooz (Salaam & Former Bahraini MP)

Isla Woodcock (Civil rights activist)

Megha Ramesh (BIRD)

Dr Saeed Shehabi (BFM)

In mid August 1971 British forces were withdrawn from the Gulf region after decades of unchallenged control. Several Sheikhdoms, including Bahrain, gained their “independence”. The British legacy in those new entities has been marred by dictatorship, bleak record of human rights and abandonment of basic values and principles of modern statehood.

The Bahraini people still live the terrifying nightmare of that brutal legacy. Isn’t it time for UK to change its policy in the Gulf, embrace democracy and human rights and end the destructive policy of appeasements of dictators?

Topics

Andrew Murray will discuss the UK’s relationship with Bahrain ​and the Gulf​ and its impacts on human rights​ and political challenges​

Ben Pitler will address the controversial role the UK’s assistance to Bahrain has played in these events​, including public order training​ and the country’s first executions in six years in January

Jawad Fairooz will speak about his direct experiences as a former MP and member of the opposition, and the current political crisis facing Bahrain.

Isla Woodcock will discuss her experiences protesting at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and discuss the controversial royal relationship that event exposed.

Megha Ramesh will discuss the reprisals against women in Bahrain and the unprecedented risks they face from authorities willing to employ torture and sexual violence to suppress women voices.

Saeed Shehabi will present a historical overview of Bahrain’s politics and the UK’s involvement and provide an insight into the roots of the current political and human rights crisis in Bahrain.

For more information please contact Ali Al Fayez on 07965666644