AI Asks UK To Stop Arming Saudis As Alkhalifa Sentence Natives To Death
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Amnesty International has warned that recent comments from UK’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond about investigating whether weapons supplied by the UK to Saudi Arabia have been used to commit war crimes and other breaches of international humanitarian law in the conflict in Yemen are “grossly misleading”. Speaking on the BBC Newsnight programme on 10th November, Mr Hammond said that there need to be “proper investigations” into whether weapons supplied to Saudi Arabia have been misused in Yemen, adding that “we need to work with the Saudis to establish that international humanitarian law has been complied with.” Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said: “Philip Hammond’s remarks about ‘investigations’ over Saudi war crimes in Yemen are grossly inadequate. “We need an independent investigation into whether UK arms supplied to Saudi Arabia have been used to commit appalling attacks on civilians in Yemen. Amnesty is specifically calling on the UK to: Suspend all transfers to members of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition which are carrying out attacks in Yemen, of general purpose bombs, including but not only those bombs which Amnesty has found evidence of use in a manner which violates or facilitates the violation of international humanitarian law in the conflict: in particular bombs from the MK (Mark) 80 series, specifically MK 82, MK 83, MK 84 and Suspend the transfer to members of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition which are carrying out airstrikes in Yemen of fighter jets, combat helicopters and associated parts and components.
The confirmation this week by Bahrain’s tribal rule of the death sentences on two innocent native Bahrainis has shocked the human rights world and presented new urge to remove Alkhalifa killers from power. Mohammad Ramadhan and Hussain Ali Moosa had appealed against their earlier death sentence and produced damning evidence of torture, but the Alkhalifa kangaroo court of Cassation ignored the torture claim and confirmed the death sentence. At least seven native Bahrainis are on death row awaiting final approval by the dictator, Hamad. On Sunday 15th November Mohammad bin Ali Alkhalifa, a senior figure of the ruling tribe, imposed life sentence on 12 native Bahrainis and ordered the revocation of their nationality. This brings the total of native Bahrainis whose nationality had been revoked by the Alkhalifa occupiers to around 200.
Meanwhile detention of Bahrainis has continued. This morning Hajj Zakariya Sabah, from Qurayyah Town, was arrested at the Bahrain-Saudi causeway. Also Sayed Abdullah Shamsan, from Karranah Town was detained with help from foreign mercenaries. Yesterday Ahmad AlAsfoor , a young activist from Sitra was arrested in a raid on Sheikh Mo’mon’s Mosque. On 11th November Sadiq Hamza was detained at Abu Khamis Mosque in Barhama Town and taken to Al-Ma’aridh torture centre. Majid Al Qattan, from Nabih Saleh was arrested at the Bahrain-Saudi causeway. Two young sons from the family of Haji Mahdi Haidar, of AlQurayya, were arrested on 11th November to bring the total number of family members detained to 14; three sons and 11 grandsons. None of his children or grandchildren has remained outside prison. The trial of Zainab AlKhawaja for attempting to visit her imprisoned father was yesterday adjourned to 2nd February 2016. She refused to attend the show trial after the judiciary had become mouthpiece to announce the political decisions of the dictator. Three youths from Samaheej town have been given hefty prison sentences. Hussain AbdAli was sentenced to three years; Hassan Awn and Mohammad AlHaddad to five years. Ali Hani AlEskafi, from AlNa’aim District has been sentenced to three years and $2000.
Three photo journalists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for doing their job. Mustafa Rabi’e and Ahmad Zain AlDin were given ten years and Hussam Suroor three years. The three have confirmed on record at the trial that they had been tortured. A young native Bahraini woman has been given jail term because she did not bow to a foreign policeman’s instructions while visiting her nephew. Sawsan Ma’yoouf has been sentenced to six months in prison. She will be accompanied by her baby in the torture cells. The nephew, Hassan Essa Ma’yoof, has been given additional 20 years jail to his 42 years jail sentence. This will make his sentence of 62 years one of the longest in the world for any political activist.
Carshalton and Wallington’s MP, Tom Brake has called for Britain to act in Bahrain, as Amnesty International slams the British government for ‘overlooking human rights for commercial benefit’. The EDM proposed by Mr Brake calls for the government to pressure Bahrain to release its prisoners of conscience, including opposing political leaders. While the proposed bill has just 17 signatures so far, Mr Brake argues the government has a moral obligation to act in Bahrain.
