Bahrain protesters slam KSA intervention

Anti-government protesters are calling for an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178575.html

Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets across Bahrain, condemning Saudi Arabia's military intervention in their country.

The protest rallies came following reports of the deployment of more Saudi troops to Bahrain to help the Manama regime quash massive anti-government protests.

Saudi troops were first dispatched to the Persian Gulf island nation upon Manama's request in March.

Friday's protest rallies were supposed to be held under the title of “Day of Sacred Defense,” but activists postponed it to next week.

According to activists, on the Day of Sacred Defense, protesters will fight back if they are fired on by police.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the over 40-year rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Since the deployment of Saudi troops in Bahrain, Manama showed itself capable of great brutality in suppressing anti-regime protesters.

Scores of protesters have been killed many others arrested during Manama's violent crackdown on protesters.

Regime forces have also raided dozens of mosques, schools, sacred sites and even graves in persisting efforts to suppress all opposition.

Ex-Bahraini MP dies under detention

Hundreds of Bahrainis protest at the funeral of an activist in Manama on February 16, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178308.html

A former Bahraini lawmaker and member of the country's main opposition group has died in a hospital after being held in custody of the Manama regime.

Jawad Firouz who was a member of al-Wefaq political society, was recently arrested and detained by Bahraini police, local sources said on Thursday.

The development comes after rights group Amnesty International appealed to rulers in Manama on Wednesday to end the arrest of opposition members.

Manama regime has intensified its crackdown on the popular revolution against the decades-long ruling of al-Khalifa dynasty in the small Persian Gulf country, which has been continuing since Mid-February.

On Tuesday, the Bahraini parliament voted to extend the state of emergency for three more months, due to expire on June 15.

Human rights organizations have strongly criticized Saudi-backed Bahrain forces for their heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful protesters.

On March 13, Saudi-led forces were dispatched to the Persian Gulf island at Manama's request to quell countrywide protests.

According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government clampdown on peaceful demonstrations.

Bahrain is home to major military base of the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

Bahraini doctors to stand trial

Medical centers in Bahrain have been attacked by the regime's forces. (file photo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178126.html

A number of Bahraini doctors are scheduled to stand trial in a military court for treating anti-government protesters, despite international pressure on Bahrain to stop the violent crackdown on demonstrators.

According to Bahrain's justice minister, 47 doctors and nurses have been charged with attempting to depose the regime.

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have also detained dozens of medical professionals and accused them of helping the protesters.

But the medical professionals say it is their duty to treat the injured.

Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Earlier on Tuesday, dozens of Iranian doctors congregated outside the Bahraini Embassy in Tehran to voice their support for the anti-regime protesters in Bahrain.

The people of Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

The demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, a constitutional monarchy, and a voice in the government are met.

'UN silence on Bahrain astonishing'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177596.html

Click on link for full video and interview

The United Nations' silence on the atrocities committed by Bahraini regime forces against anti-regime protesters in the Persian Gulf country is astonishing, an observer says.

“That [the crackdown on protesters] is completely against the Geneva Convention[s] in any warfare or any protest situation; so to be breaking the Geneva Convention[s]... and to (be) basically committing genocide, I think it's ... an amazing situation that the UN isn't looking further into these things,” London-based documentary filmmaker David Lawley told Press TV on Saturday.

Lawley went on to give an account of the brutal manner in which the Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces crack down on peaceful anti-government protesters.


“Each little village [in Bahrain] is surrounded by police cars and occasionally, two tanks and at least five or six police cars around each little village. So, in the evenings when there are peaceful protests, all the people in the village go up on the roofs and chant 'God is great' and then the police storm into the villages with these police cars and then the tanks roll through and they disperse the crowd with tear gas and shooting birdshot from guns,” he said.

“The medical teams out there ... are treating children as young as twelve for beatings, and we have seen numerous cases of birdshot in peoples' arms and eyes. Some people have lost their sight,” he noted.

Lawley described the UN's inaction in the face of the Bahraini regime atrocities as an instance of “double standards” and said, “Why are they [the UN authorities] not touching Bahrain when genocide is actually taking place on the streets?”

Anti-government protests against the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain began in mid-February.

In March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait deployed their troops in crisis-hit Bahrain to reinforce the brutal armed crackdown on Bahraini protesters.

Scores of protesters have been killed and many others have gone missing during the harsh crackdowns.

Most Bahraini media outlets have been blocked and several mosques have been demolished by the Bahraini government.

Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch have also condemned the Bahraini and Saudi regimes for their heavy-handed tactics against the Bahraini population.

Bahrain issues four death sentences

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177116.html

Bahrain's military court has sentenced four anti-government protesters to death, in a move to further crush the ongoing revolutionary movement in the small Persian Gulf country.

This comes while the Manama regime rejects reports by a number of human rights groups on massive rights violations in the country.

According to local sources, Bahraini authorities have raided hospitals, torturing doctors and injuring anti-government protesters in an effort to quell mass protests.

Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders and Physicians for Human Rights have charged Bahraini security officials with systematic attacks on doctors and patients.

Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured or disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces and riot police" in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Since mid-February, thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain, home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet major military base, have poured into the streets calling for an end to Al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for over forty years.

On March 13, Saudi-led forces were dispatched to the Persian Gulf island at Manama's request to quell countrywide protests.

According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government clampdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

1041 protesters arrested in Bahrain

Bahraini anti-government protesters march in Manama on February 22.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176860.html

Bahraini forces have detained 1041 anti-government protesters, including 64 women, since the beginning of the revolution, Bahrain Human Rights Center says.

On Tuesday, people in the city of A'ali rallied in support of the detainees.

As part of a crackdown on opposition protests, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have raided hospitals and schools destroying dozens of mosques and holy sites.

Also on Tuesday, a woman was injured in the northwestern village of Bani Jamrah. She was among a group of women protesters, who were trying to prevent the destruction of a religious site.

Elsewhere, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces abducted two female students in Bilad al-Qadim, and four female medics in Isa Town.

At a parliamentary session on Tuesday, a group of lawmakers thanked Saudi Arabia for its invasion of Bahrain and supporting it in quelling opposition protests.

Saudi Arabia, which dispatched 1,500 troops to Bahrain, has already come under fire for its brutal crackdown on Bahraini opposition protesters.

People in Bahrain have poured to the streets since February 14 to protest against the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Scores of protesters have also been killed and many others gone missing during the harsh crackdown in the Persian Gulf state.

Bahrain violates Geneva Convention

Doctors form a human chain at Salmaniya Hospital fearing an attack by riot police in Manama (File photo).

Sources: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176585.html

Reports reveal that Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have been treating anti-government protesters in divergence with the Geneva Convention.

On Sunday, the forces launched a second raid in less than a week on an all-girls' school in the north of the country in line with the violent crackdown on the popular revolution the government is facing, a Press TV correspondent reported from Bahrain.

According to eyewitnesses, the Saudi-backed forces took away several teachers during the Sunday attack on a secondary school, located in the Hamad town in northern Bahrain.

Moreover the girls, who refused to attend a festival of the Al Khalifah family at the school, were taken out in the playground and beaten in front of other school children by the security personnel who had stormed the school, the Press TV correspondent added.

Earlier, it was revealed that Bahraini police had arrested over 35 doctors. They are still missing and their whereabouts are not known. They were picked up from the streets because they were treating the injured protesters. This all while the Geneva Convention guarantees medical care to people wounded in conflict.

Besides, all hospitals have been surrounded by roadblocks to prevent those injured from entering.

Rights groups say government forces have even raided hospitals and tortured doctors and patients as part of their efforts to suppress protests.

'Bahrain follows Israeli genocidal lead'

Imam Jawad mosque demolished in Nuwaidrat in Bahrain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176407.html

The Manama regime is following an Israeli pattern in committing genocide against the Bahraini people, a political analyst says.

“The ruling regime [in Bahrain] is using a Zionist technique just like the Zionists want to get rid of the Palestinians. The Khalifa wants to get rid of the Shias, which is unfortunate,” Nada Hashwi told Press TV.

“It is like a déjà vu to me with how the Israeli-Zionist state is behaving in Palestine with the destruction of homes, mosques and killing of people,” she further pointed out.

Hashwi argued that the Manama regime is “trying so hard to bring it (popular uprising) into a sectarian war, but until now it has not happened.”

She lashed out at Washington's silence over massive rights violations in Bahrain, saying that is because the Manama regime is a key US “ally” in the Persian Gulf region.

“The US gets paid enough to keep its mouth shut regarding the genocide, tortures and killings that have been happening,” she further explained.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

Since mid-February, thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain have poured into the streets, calling for an end to Al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for almost forty years.

On March 13, Saudi-led forces were dispatched to the Persian Gulf island at Manama's request to quell countrywide protests.

According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government clampdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

'Bahraini forces torture patients'

Injured Bahraini demonstrators are seen at a hospital in Manama after being assaulted by riot police

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176099.html

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have tortured anti-government protesters in hospitals, indicates an investigation by the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).

The group said in a Friday report that Bahrain's security forces stole ambulances and posed as medics to round up injured protesters during a crackdown on the unarmed protesters.

The group alleged "systematic and targeted attacks against medical personnel, as a result of their efforts to provide unbiased care for wounded protesters." The organization has documented 32 medical professionals under arrest.

The PHR also noted that torture, beating, verbal abuse, humiliation, and threats of rape and killing were among techniques used against the injured protesters.

Military checkpoints and soldiers at the country’s main hospital have terrified staff and patients, some of whom have been tortured, according to Richard Sollom, author of the PHR report.

Earlier on Thursday, another report revealed that Manama has arrested dozens of Bahraini doctors.

The regime has intensified an intimidation campaign against medical staff over treating the victims of the deadly Saudi-led crackdown on protesters.

In March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait deployed their troops in Bahrain to reinforce the brutal armed clampdown against mass protests.

Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing during the harsh crackdown in Bahrain.

Report: 28 mosques razed in Bahrain

A report says 28 mosques and 50 mourning halls have been razed in Bahrain since Feb

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/176088.html

About 28 mosques and 50 mourning halls have been demolished in Bahrain since the beginning of anti-regime protests in February, a report says.

Activists told Press TV on Friday that the mosques were destroyed during the anti-government protests. Some of the mosques were located in Karzakan, Salmabad, Bu Quwah, and A'ali.

Bahraini people have poured to the streets since February 14 to protest against the Al Khalifa dynasty.

The 'Qur'an Friday' rallies have been planned in the Persian Gulf state on April 22 to condemn the deadly Saudi-backed crackdown on the opposition.

In March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait deployed their troops in Bahrain to reinforce the brutal armed clampdown against the mass protests.

Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing during the harsh Saudi-backed crackdown in Bahrain.

Head of Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab said the Manama regime should be held accountable for the ongoing crimes against the protesters.

Despite the Saudi military presence in Bahrain, the government of Bahrain is ultimately responsible for suppressions and persecutions, Rajab said in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday.

The Saudis have committed a lot of crimes, including crimes against humanity, in Bahrain, but the Bahraini government that invited the Saudis to Bahrain is mainly responsible, he added.

Leading Bahraini activist to stand trial

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175939.html

A leading Bahraini human rights activist is going to stand trial in a Bahraini regime's military court on charges of “inciting unrest” in the crisis-stricken country.

Human rights activist Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja, who was arrested after a violent raid on his home, called his family earlier to let them know that he will go on trial on Thursday.

According to al-Khawaja's family members and other human rights activists, masked armed men burst into al-Khawaja's home on April 9, and arrested him as well as two of his sons-in-law.

His sons-in-law are to appear before a military court as well. However, no charges have been announced against them.

Meanwhile, al-Khawaja's daughter, Zainab, ended her seven-day hunger strike after she was hospitalized due to poor health condition and low pulse. She had gone on hunger strike in protest to the Bahraini regime's move of arresting her father, uncle, husband and brothers-in-law.

In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Monday, Zainab al-Khawaja blamed the United States for turning a blind eye to the Saudi-backed crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain.

The Human Rights Watch reports that more than 400 opposition activists and protesters have been arrested in Bahrain in recent weeks.

The Bahraini Education Ministry has also formed a committee tasked with taking action against school officials who have taken part in anti-government protests and strikes.

The University of Bahrain has started dismissing 200 students, academics and other university workers.

Meanwhile, the Bahraini opposition has called for mass rallies on Friday, dubbed “Day of Wrath and Outrage.”

The anti-government protesters have been calling for political reforms since February 14, and are demanding an end to the rule of the Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa dynasty.

'Bahrain king puts $42bn in Swiss bank'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175953.html

The king of Bahrain has transferred billions of dollars to some Swiss bank accounts amid mounting anti-government protests in the Middle Eastern country, a political observer reveals.

“King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has moved 42 billion dollars into Swiss banks,” Ralph Schoenman, political observer and the author of The Hidden History of Zionism told Press TV on Wednesday.

This is “an indication of their apprehension about their (the ruling family's) ultimate fate,” he further explained.

“The truth of the matter is that these country-selling regimes are the creations of the US ... [and it is the] political power of the imperialism that sustains these regimes,” Schoenman argued.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

Since mid-February, thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain have poured into the streets, calling for an end to al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for almost 40 years.

On March 13, Saudi-led forces were dispatched to the Persian Gulf island at Manama's request to quell countrywide protests.

According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government clampdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

'US to blame for Bahrain crackdown'

Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175509.html

A Bahraini activist, who is on hunger strike, has criticized the US administration for turning a blind eye to the Saudi-backed crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain.

“On the one hand, the American administration always tries to show the world they represent democracy, but on the other hand they're giving the green light to the Bahraini dictatorship to do whatever they want to the Bahraini people and that is very, very, shameful,” human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja told Press TV from Manama on Monday.

“It's not just words, freedom and human rights and justice are not just words. You cannot claim to be behind change and freedom and then in Bahrain support dictators with all you have and stay silent over all of human rights abuses,” she added.

On Sunday, al-Khawaja was taken to hospital after seven days of hunger strike following the arrest of her father, uncle, husband and brothers-in-law.

The 27-year-old had her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja -- a prominent Bahraini opposition figure -- and her husband Mohammed al-Masqati violently being taken away by the forces.

The family members and human rights activists said that masked officers burst into al-Khawaja's home on April 9 and assaulted her father and husband.

People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.

Bahraini forces have cracked down on the anti-regime protesters with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops. Many people have gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.

Saudi-backed troops shoot Bahrainis

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174958.html

Bahraini forces backed by Saudi troops have opened fire on anti-government protesters in the northwestern village of Bani Jamrah, dispersing the protesters by force.

Witnesses say Bani Jamrah is now surrounded by military tanks and all entrances to the village are closed. There were no immediate reports of injuries, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Bahraini security forces have also attacked a crowd of anti-government protesters in Karzakan as they were heading to the village's cemetery following the Friday Prayers.

Anti-government protest rallies were also held in Diraz village and the town of A'ali where hundreds of protesters attended the funeral procession of Allama Sayyad Alawi al-Ghureifi.

Amid the chaos, the Manama regime has demolished more mosques and arrested hundreds of opposition figures and political activists to stifle the popular revolution.

Since the beginning of anti-government protests in Bahrain in mid-February, scores of protesters have been killed and many others have gone missing. Their bodies are frequently found days after.

According to the opposition, over 800 opposition activists have been arrested.

The protesters are demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Bahraini security forces with the assistance of Saudi and UAE troops are brutally cracking down on demonstrators.

Protesters, however, say they will continue their street demonstrations until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.

'Saudis violate rights to stay in power'

A protester holds up a poster of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah during a demonstration in Baghdad's Sadr city on March 16, 2011, to show solidarity with the Bahraini people

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174730.html

The ruling family in Saudi Arabia commits serious human rights violations as it is the only way for the royals to hold on to power, says a political analyst.

“The only way they can stay in power is the fact that they rule by the sword. It is the only way to keep these regimes intact and in place,” Hesham Tillawi, the host of Current Issues TV and Radio told press TV on Wednesday.

Tillawi pointed out that the Western media ignore such rights violations and fail to incorporate these issues into their agenda.

“Why doesn't Anderson Cooper get on CNN and cry about those people in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It's because it does not fit into their agenda,” Tillawi explained.

Tillawi further pointed out that the regime in Riyadh is not representative of Saudi Arabian people because they were brought into power by the British government.

“That was done by the British. People forget about history and where all these Arab countries [regimes] came from. Saudi Arabia is not an exception,” the analyst noted.

Commenting on the uprisings in the Arab world, he said they [the uprisings] have been instigated by the United States and its Western allies to throw the whole area, including Saudi Arabia, into chaos.

“The United States and the Western powers are creating this whole thing; thereafter, they will end up harvesting the fruits,” Tillawi added.

On Wednesday, anti-government protesters once again took to the streets in Saudi Arabia to condemn the kingdom's military intervention in crisis-hit Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia deployed around 1,000 troops to Bahrain in efforts to help the long-time ruling al-Khalifa family crush the anti-regime protests.

Last month, a Saudi-based human rights group said that authorities arrested 100 protesters for taking part in or organizing anti-government demonstrations.

Human Rights First Society has also revealed that some of the detainees were subjected to both physical and mental torture.

Bahraini protester dies under torture

Opposition groups say more than 400 people have been arrested since Bahrain began a crackdown on anti-government protesters on February 14, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174534.html

The situation in Bahrain continues to deteriorate as another Bahraini citizen, Abdul Kareem al-Fakhrawi, has succumbed to death while in police custody.

Fakhrawi, a prominent Bahraini businessman, lost his life on Tuesday due to severe torture while in prison, DPA reported, quoting the opposition al-Wefaq group.

He is the fourth Bahraini, tortured to death, since anti-government protests began in the country in mid-February.

The 49-year-old businessman disappeared on or around April 4, when he went to file a police report against policemen who had earlier raided his home, the report says.

Fakhrawi had been a potential parliamentary candidate in Bahrain's 2006 elections.

The circumstances surrounding his disappearance, detention, and death remain unclear but according to sources his brother identified the body at a local morgue.

The Bahrain interior ministry has not commented on the incident.

Fakhrawi owned the Fakhrawi bookshop chain and was an investor in the independent daily al-Wasat.

The newspaper was being investigated by the government for allegedly publishing false information at the height of the anti-government protests last month -- a claim refuted by the editors.

His death comes just a day after Bahrain buried blogger Zakria Rashid al-Asherri, 40, killed while in police custody.

Bahraini regime's brutal crackdown on protests has left dozens of people dead and hundreds of others injured.

People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the al-Khalifa dynasty.

Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground, until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy, as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.

Bahraini forces have severely suppressed the anti-regime protests with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops. Many people have gone missing on top of those slain since the beginning of the revolution.

In recent days Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) among other rights groups had criticized the Bahraini government crackdown.

Bahrain to try independent journalists

File photo shows the funeral of a victim of government-sanctioned crackdown in the village of Sa'ar to the west of the capital, Manama.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174330.html

Bahrain intends to try three former editors-in-chief of a leading independent newspaper for their coverage of the popular revolution against the kingdom's royal family.

Bahraini authorities banned the publication of Al Wasat -- Bahrain's most popular opposition newspaper -- earlier in the month. They then forced the daily to fire its chief editor Mansur al-Jamri so it would be allowed to reprint.

The former opposition activist is now forced to attend trial alongside two of his former workmates on charges of "unethical" reporting of the government protests, the Associated Press reported.

The editors are accused of "publishing fabricated news," "harming public safety" and "damaging national interests."

Bahraini people, emboldened by the popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, have been demanding an end to the two-century-plus rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty since February 14.

Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution during government-sanctioned crackdown.

Bahraini forces have reinforced their violent armed attacks on the protesters with the help of troops dispatched from neighboring Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

The much-condemned military intervention has been led by Saudi Arabia.

Iran MP offers military use in Bahrain

Head of the Islamic Revolution Faction of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Ruhollah Hosseinian

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174197.html

Amid a Saudi-backed brutal clampdown on Bahraini anti-government protesters, an Iranian lawmaker has proposed that the Islamic Republic should dispatch its military forces to the Persian Gulf state.

“I believe that the Iranian government should not be reluctant to prepare the country's military forces at a time that Saudi Arabia has dispatched its troops to Bahrain,” Khabar Online quoted Head of the Islamic Revolution Faction of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Ruhollah Hosseinian as saying on Sunday.

He added that the Iranian government should prevent Saudi Arabia from imposing a military occupation on another regional country.

The lawmaker emphasized that Iran's Foreign Ministry should have taken a firm international stance on the Saudi military invasion of Bahrain and the violent massacre of the Bahraini people.

“Iran's Foreign Ministry should have made greater efforts and should have filed international lawsuits against the Saudi government and asked for the assistance of the Organization of the Islamic Conference regarding the massacre of the Bahraini people,” Hosseinian said.

He noted that the Bahraini civilians are currently under enormous pressure but world powers are heedless of events in the Persian Gulf country “just because they are Shia Muslims.”

Since February 14, Manama has been conducting a brutal crackdown on protesters who want an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

In March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait deployed their troops to Bahrain to reinforce the armed clampdowns.

According to the state-funded BBC, the harsh crackdown has so far left over 30 people dead.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the Bahraini and Saudi regimes for the heavy-handed tactics against civilians in the Persian Gulf state.

'Bahrain-Mossad ties uncovered'

Bahraini security forces

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173756.html

According to a document released by Wikileakes, Bahraini security forces are secretly cooperating with Israel's notorious intelligence service, Mossad.

The leaked cables suggest that Manama has established intelligence and security ties with Tel Aviv with the full backing of the country's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The cables report private talks between the then US ambassador, William Monroe, and the Bahraini king in Manama on February 15, 2005.

"He [the king] revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (Mossad) and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas," said Monroe's report back to Washington, adding that the Bahraini King boasted of such ties with Israel.

According to Wikileaks, King Hamad has also issued an order not to refer to the Israeli regime as the Zionist regime in official documents.

The revelation came as Bahraini security forces are brutally cracking down the anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf island.

The Wikileaksrevelation is considered confirmation of earlier evidence indicating close ties between Bahraini security authorities and Israel.

According to Bahraini opposition, the Manama regime removes the internal organs of those killed in anti-government protests similar to what Israelis do to Palestinians.

“The bodies of the youths, who are being taken out of hospitals and killed, are being returned to their families with their organs missing,” Ralph Schoenman, the author of The Hidden History of Zionism told Press TV.

“That's a replica of what the Israeli armed forces were doing in Gaza and other place with Palestinian prisoners - marketing their organs,” he added.

No Arab country with the exception of Egypt and Jordan has diplomatic relations with Israel. Bahrain does not recognize Israel and traditionally supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Over 500 activists detained in Bahrain

Leader of the Shia Haq movement Hassan Mushaimaa was arrested days after arriving in Bahrain from Britain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173776.html

The Bahraini Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has announced that the number of detained opposition activists in the Persian Gulf state has exceeded 500.

According to BCHR, 17 women are also among the detainees and 18 other activists are reportedly missing, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Since the beginning of the uprising in Bahrain dozens of anti-government protesters have been killed and many others have gone missing. The bodies of the missing are frequently found days after.

The head of BCHR, Nabeel Rajab, says now one in every 1,000 Bahraini is in detention for political reasons.

Witnesses say regime forces are conducting house to house searches to detain opposition activists.

Six opposition leaders have also been arrested and the Manama government has so far refused to provide any information on their fate.

The opposition leaders, five Shia and one Sunni, were rounded up on March 17.

Among the opposition leaders is Hassan Mushaima, the head of the Haq party, who returned to Bahrain from Britain in mid-February after Manama dropped charges against him.

His family members say Saudi troops were among Bahraini forces taking part in the arrest operation.

Reports coming from Bahrain suggest that regime forces backed by Saudi troops have intensified their crackdown on opposition figures and anti-government protesters.

Witnesses say Bahraini forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters in several cities and villages and that pro-regime thugs have been sent to different villages to suppress protests.