Stories from Quick Reads and Bahrain
Bahrain: Plea to Police to Return MacBook Pro
On Twitter, Bahraini Mohammed Al Maskati, complains: “It's been 443 days since masked police confiscated my MacBook Pro, 2 Hardrives, 3 Blackberry phones, camera AND wifey’s Friend's collection.” Al Maskati was arrested last year after he was threatened with arrest on Twitter.
Bahrain: Free Ebrahim Sharif
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif expresses his views on opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif, who is in jail. “I feel so powerless and so ashamed of what is happening here. Especially when to me, the solution is staring everyone in the face,” he writes.
Bahrain: Twitter User Investigated for Tweet
Bahraini Twitter user Mohammed Hasan (@Safybh) says he was called for questioning by the Bahrain Intelligence Agency yesterday (June 5). “After my tweet appeared on @ajstream I received an order to go to the #Bahrain intelligence agency today #AJStream,” he reports on Twitter. Al Jazeera Stream is a programme on...
Bahrain: Activist Nabeel Rajab Arrested Over Tweets
“My father [Human Rights Defender] Nabeel Rajab is arrested again #Bahrain @NABEELRAJAB,” tweets Adam Nabeel Rajab from Bahrain. The activist is being detained for seven days pending investigation over comments he published on Twitter.
Bahrain: When is a Molotov Cocktail Acceptable?
Marc Owen Jones collects videos allegedly showing Bahrain police forces throwing molotov cocktail (petrol bombs) at protesters and property in this post. Meanwhile, Bahrain has just charged 28 civilians with “attempted murder” for throwing molotov cocktails at policemen.
MENA: Amnesty International's Forecast for 2012
“Repression and state violence is likely to continue to plague the Middle East and North Africa in 2012,” forecasts Amnesty International in an 80-page report. It documents the extreme violence deployed by MENA regimes when resisting the unprecedented calls for fundamental reform heard in the region in 2011, as well as...
Bahrain: Journalist Mazen Mahdi Detained, then Released
Bahraini journalist Mazen Mahdi tweets that he was detained by police today, and later on released. The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Middle East political turmoil and protests is proving to be deadly for journalists.
Bahrain: Message to Netizens
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif shares this message with fellow netizens: “[T]emper your attacks and choose your battles wisely. Refrain from childish attacks on the very bridge who can help your cause. The last thing we want .. is to continue to shout at each other, rather than find the...
Brazil-Bahrain: Tear Gas for Repression “Made in Brazil”
Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff reveals on Twitter that the tear gas devices used for repressing the civilian population of Bahrain is manufactured [pt] in the city of Nova Iguaçu, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and adds he feels ashamed [pt] for his country exporting such weapons.
Bahrain: Fake Twitter Account
Bahraini journalist Reem Khalifa appeals to her followers on Twitter: “Plz my followers make report spam for a fake account @ Reem_Khalifah using my pic, words,articles.”
Bahrain: Free Ebrahim Sharif
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif lends his support to jailed politician Ebrahim Sharif in this post.
Bahrain: “By our silence we also incur a share in the guilt”
“By our silence we also incur a share in the guilt. This is why we have to support Bahrainis in their quest for freedom,” blogger Lina Ben Mhenni writes on A Tunisian Girl, reminding us of a forgotten and savagely repressed part of the Arab Spring.
Bahrain: The Plight of Unfairly Dismissed Employees
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif sheds light on the plight of Bahrainis “unfairly” dismissed from their jobs due to the current unrest in the country.
Global: Tracking Teacher Strikes and Protests
In one week, Teachersolidarity.com has written of teacher strikes and struggles in Puerto Rico, Chile, Kashmir, Orissa, Greece, Bahrain and Washington D.C. The blog is an online companion to the book, The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers and their Unions: Stories for Resistance.
Bahrain: Lost and Disgusted
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif blogs: “Reason, it appears, has disappeared. The benefit of the doubt has no place. Will a dialogue ameliorate these feelings? Will it put the country back on a reconciliatory track? Will we ever think of an inclusive “us” rather than solidify an already created and maintained...
Bahrain: Khobiz United
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif shares a video showing how khobiz – a local bread – unites Bahrainis.
Bahrain: Mobile Phone Paranoia
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif writes about paranoia and mobile phones. Is the worry about mobile phone invading privacy warranted? Read the post to find out more.
The Plights of Pakistani Workers in Bahrain Protests
Faisal Kapadia at Deadpan Thoughts reports on xenophobic attacks on Pakistani workers in Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, by protesters who had laid siege to this complex.
Africa: Revolutions in Middle East and North Africa from an African perspective
A list of blogs, blog posts and newspaper articles discussing revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa from an African perspective.
Bahrain: The second martyr falls
Saudi Twitter user @Al Ahlawy29 posts a series of photos (WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr...
Bahrain: A Mistrial?
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif discusses the trial of 25 Bahrainis, among them blogger Ali Abdulemam, who are “accused of crimes against the state, everything from sedition through to terrorism and incitement against the regime, all of which carry rather heavy sentences.”