Coup Crackdown: Turkey Shuts Down 1,000+ Private Schools

Turkey’s purge of Gülen supporters continued on Saturday with the closure of hundreds of private schools, charities and other institutions suspects of links with the US-based cleric. Ankara declared a state of emergency after a failed military coup.

Death in Egypt: Dozens Feared Killed in Crackdown on Morsi Supporters

Security forces in Egypt have unleashed a wave of violence to crush protest camps in Cairo set up by supporters of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood claim around 600 people have been killed in the ensuing clashes, something the government denies.For more details RT speaks to Bel Trew who's in the Egyptian capital.

Turkey PM Erdogan Warns Protesters 'It's Over'
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on protesters to leave Istanbul's Taksim square, warning that his patience is running thin.

Read the Telegraph article here | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Iran Cracks Down On Underground 'Illegal' Churches
THE JERUSALEM POST: Iranian media reports blame "Zionist propaganda" for targeting vulnerable Muslims, converting them to Christianity.

Iranian security forces in Shiraz dismantled a network of four underground 'house churches' on Sunday night, and arrested their leaders, according to reports in Iran's media.

A Monday report by the Persian-language service Fars News, which is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), described the churches as a 'network of criminals' which exploited vulnerable people.

"Most people attracted to these networks come from weak and vulnerable segments of society, who have psychological, emotional and economic problems," the report said, echoing a recent warning by a prominent Qom cleric. » | Joanna Paraszczuk | Monday, October 15, 2012

Necklace Ban for Men as Tehran's 'Moral Police' Enforce Dress Code

THE GUARDIAN: More than 70,000 trained forces sent out to streets as part of effort to combat 'western cultural invasion'

Iranian men have been banned from wearing necklaces in the latest crackdown by the Islamic regime on "un-Islamic" clothing and haircuts.

Thousands of special forces have been deployed in Tehran's streets, participating in the regime's "moral security plan" in which loose-fitting headscarves, tight overcoats and shortened trousers that expose skin will not be tolerated for women, while men are warned against glamorous hairstyles and wearing a necklace.

The new plan comes shortly after the Iranian parliament proposed a bill to criminalise dog ownership, on the grounds that it "poses a cultural problem, a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the west".

The Irna state news agency said the trend was aimed at combating "the western cultural invasion" with help from more than 70,000 trained forces, known as "moral police", who are sent out to the streets in the capital and other cities.

With the summer heat sweeping across the country, many people, especially the young, push the boundaries and run the risk of being fined, or even arrested, for wearing "bad hijab" clothing. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Bahrain Police Tear Gas Unarmed Protesters
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Video purported to show Bahrain security forces firing tear gas at unarmed civilians has been posted online.


Read the short article here

Mass Sackings in Bahrain Crackdown
The International Labour Organisation says that over 2,000 mainly Shia workers have either been sacked or suspended from their jobs following a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
In the fourth part of Al Jazeera's exclusive series on Bahrain, our correspondent Charles Stratford reports on the mass sackings from Manama

Mosque Stormed in Deraa
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin updates us from Damascus

Bahrain Cracks Down Abroad
Bahrain's authorities have cancelled the scholarships of several students who have demonstrated against the government in Britain. 



Students in the UK now face the prospect of having to return home at the end of the summer, once they are unable to pay tuition fees for the next academic year. 



The Bahraini Embassy in London says the decisions are not final and affect a relatively small number of students, but Bahraini opposition groups in the UK say they know of at least 35 students who have been affected and expect many more to come forward.



Charlie Angela reports

Bahrain Steps Up Campaign against 'Professional' Classes
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain's embattled government has pressed ahead with its campaign against middle-class professionals it suspects of taking part in anti-regime protests, announcing the suspension of more than 100 civil servants.

A statement said the 111 people at the ministry for education would also be referred for legal action and quoted the education minister, Majid bin Ali al-Nuaimi, as saying it followed an investigation into "flagrant violations" of rules concerning schools.

The education ministry did not give details of how many of the employees suspended were teachers, but made clear the action was a response to a strike call by the Bahraini Teachers' Association.

"The association called for the strike for political reasons in a bid to cripple schools", Mr al-Nuaimi said.

Bahrain, a key western ally, has conducted a wide-ranging campaign against opposition groups and political parties since using the army, along with reinforcements from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to clear protesters from the streets. At least 30 people are thought to have been killed.

Among those detained have been doctors who treated the wounded, while opposition newspaper editors have also been told they will be prosecuted for their coverage of the unrest. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, April 17, 2011

Bahrain Told to Respect Students' Right to Protest by UK Government
THE GUARDIAN: Foreign Office issues call following Bahraini targetting of participants in peaceful protest outside BBC in Manchester

The government has called on Bahrain to respect the right to peaceful protest. The move follows claims that families of students studying in Britain, who were photographed attending a peaceful protest in Manchester in solidarity with the country's pro-democracy movement, had been targeted.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the actions of Bahraini citizens living in the UK campaigning against the regime and said they had a right to voice their concerns without intimidation or retaliation. "We have made clear to the Bahraini government that, unless these individuals commit a criminal offence in the UK, they will be free to carry out their activities in line with UK laws."

Students told the Guardian the Bahraini authorities had stripped government-funded scholarships from those who attended the event outside the BBC building last month and told parents to order their children home.

Students said they had "strong and well-founded" fears they and their families could suffer beatings and torture following Bahrain's crackdown on the protests 3,000 miles away and they were likely to be arrested on their return. » | Matthew Taylor | Sunday, April 17, 2011

Leading Bahrain Activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja Arrested
BBC: Security forces in Bahrain have arrested and beaten one of the country's leading human rights activists, his daughter says.

The activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was seized in the middle of the night and taken away with his two sons-in-law.

It is the latest in a series of violent night-time arrests of opposition activists, say human rights workers.

The Bahraini government accuses them of inciting unrest and trying to divide the Sunni and Shia Muslim communities.

Mr al-Khawaja's daughter says in the very early hours of Saturday morning up to 20 armed and masked policemen broke down the door of their apartment and began attacking her father.

Maryam al-Khawaja says he offered no resistance but that the men beat him unconscious and dragged him downstairs, leaving a trail of blood.

She said the family have no idea where he has been taken, what he is accused of, or how long he will be held. » | Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent, Bahrain | Saturday, April 09, 2011

BBC: Police brutality turns Bahrain into 'island of fear': The BBC has obtained images of alleged police brutality against peaceful protesters in the Bahraini capital Manama, where fears of a systematic crackdown on pro-democracy activists are growing. » | Bill Law, Crossing Continents, BBC News | Thursday, April 07, 2011

Saudi Arabia: There Has Been ‘No Crackdown’ in Bahrain
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – ALEX SPILLIUS: I just attended an eye-opening roundtable discussion with several members of Saudi Arabia’s Majlis al-Shura, the advisory council to King Abdullah, at the New America Foundation here in Washington.

It was a great chance to assess the Saudi government’s take on the change sweeping the Arab world, and where it is positioning itself. It was hard to conclude that its location is currently on the wrong side of history.

The level of denial about Bahrain, which is the kingdom’s key concern in the region, was startling. One delegate said there was “no major crackdown” in Bahrain, despite the fact that the security forces opened fire in Manama’s Pearl Roundabout, You-Tube footage can be seen of protestors being shot at point blank range, the main opposition newspaper has just been shut down amid the emergency rule imposed a month ago. Not forgetting that Gulf Co-operation Council forces agreed to a cry for help from Bahrain’s royal family, resulting in the Saudi-led intervention of 1,000 troops. Continue reading and comment » | Alex Spillius | Friday, April 08, 2011

Police Shoot One Dead in Oman
KUWAIT TIMES: MUSCAT: Omani police shot dead a protester yesterday in the port of Sohar, north of Muscat when they opened fire to disperse demonstrators demanding the release of prisoners, witnesses told AFP. It was the second death in the port during the current wave of unrest sweeping across the region, after police killed a protester at the end of February in Sohar, an industrial area some 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the capital Muscat, particularly badly hit by unemployment.

Police tried to disperse a crowd of protestors who were hurling stones at them and fired on the crowd when the victim was hit, a witness said. "Dozens of Omanis emerged from mosques in Sohar after Friday prayers to protest and demand the release of jailed relatives" detained during protests earlier this week, one witness said. "One protester, Khalifa Al-Alawi, was hit in the head by a bullet during confrontations with the police and died immediately," the witness said. » | Saturday, April 02, 2011

Oman Detains 60 Protesters
KUWAIT TIMES: MUSCAT: Security forces detained between 50 and 60 protesters in clashes in the Omani industrial town of Sohar, witnesses said. The violence on Friday during a fifth week of protests involved the use of knives, stones, teargas and rubber bullets, Oman's general prosecutor said. It came three days after a crackdown against protesters to clear a Sohar roundabout where about 100 people had camped out. A 25-year-old man injured by a rubber bullet in Friday's clashes died in hospital. Activists told Reuters security forces used teargas and beat some protesters with batons. » | Sunday, April 03, 2011

Bahrainis Protest Crackdown as Saudis Rally in Solidarity
Bahraini security forces backed by Saudi troops intensified their crackdown on protests as they opened fire on Bahraini protestors and arrested many people, including pregnant women. Hundreds of Saudi Arabians in the eastern city of Qatif defied the ban on demonstrations and took to the streets to demand their rights and an end to government corruption. The protestors also demanded an end to Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Bahrain, assisting the government with crackdowns on protests

Syrian Army Cracks Down on Protesters as Government Delays Concessions
THE GUARDIAN: • At least 12 people killed in Latakia as unrest spreads
 • State news agency blames violence on outside forces

The Syrian army has been deployed in force in the port city of Latakia after two days of fierce anti-government protests in which at least 12 people were killed.

A government source blamed the deaths on "attacks by armed elements on the families and districts of Latakia", according to the official Sana news agency. But activists accused the military of opening fire on protesters in the city, where they say the offices of the ruling Ba'ath party have been torched.

Latakia is a majority Sunni town 220 miles north of the capital, and also home to the minority Alawite sect of President Bashar al-Assad, making unrest there particularly sensitive.

In a move to placate protesters, authorities said they had decided to lift the emergency laws. But the absence of a timetable has been widely viewed in Damascus as delaying tactics by the government. The emergency laws restrict public gatherings and authorise arrests on the basis of threats to national security.

Observers said significant changes were needed immediately to quell the spreading unrest. Until Friday, protesters had been concentrated in the southern Hauran region around the city of Deraa.

"This is a meaningless pledge to remove the emergency law when people can be detained by other laws," said Rime Allaf, a Syrian analyst at London's Chatham House. "Everybody is waiting for the president to speak and take some steps to tell the people he is in control." » | Katherine Marsh in Damascus and Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bahrain Crackdown Can Trigger War: Iraq
PRESS TV: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned that the deployment of troops from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf littoral states to protest-hit Bahrain could spark a sectarian war.

Maliki's warning came after Saudi Arabia and the UAE sent hundreds of troops to the tiny Persian Gulf state to help the Kingdom's brutal crackdown on Bahrain's anti-government protesters.

"The situation in Bahrain is different from those in Libya and Egypt. In Libya and Egypt the issue is not sectarian while in Bahrain it has become between Sunnis and Shias," Maliki said in an interview with the state-funded BBC Arabic television service aired on Friday.

His comments come in the wake of Bahrain's heavy-handed crackdown on anti-government protesters that have been seeking political reforms and an end to the two-century long rule of al-Khalifa dynasty.

"We did not move to support the Shias in Bahrain but we called for interference in Bahraini affairs to be stopped and don't want to make it a sectarian issue. Because if it happens, it will be like a snowball, it will get bigger if it is ignored ... The region may be drawn into a sectarian war," the Iraqi premier noted.

Maliki has previously criticized the military intervention in Bahrain by Persian Gulf Arab states. » | DB/HRF/MGH | Saturday, March 26, 2011

Bahrain Fends Off Charge of Pressing Crackdown
AHRAM ONLINE: Bahraini authorities justify crackdown on Salmaniya hospital by claims it was used as a regrouping center for protesters, slammed rights groups for interfering

Amnesty International on Thursday accused Bahrain of pressing on with a crackdown against Shiite activists and doctors, as Manama tried to fend off charges of foreign meddling in its affairs.

"A crackdown on Shiite opposition activists and doctors continues in Bahrain, with six more people detained in the past few days," said the London-based rights watchdog.

"Amnesty International believes that they have been detained solely for their criticism of and involvement in the protests and that therefore they are prisoners of conscience," Amnesty said in a statement.

But the Sunni-ruled kingdom responded by slamming what it said was foreign interference and charged that outside forces had hijacked the pro-reform demands of demonstrators.

"Bahrain condemns external interference in its domestic matters," said a government spokeswoman, Maysoon Sakba. » | AFP | Thursday, March 24, 2011

Bahrain Protest Crackdown Defended by European Union Envoy
THE GUARDIAN: EU foreign policy adviser Robert Cooper downplays violence against pro-democracy protesters saying 'accidents happen'

The European Union has defended Bahrain's violent repression of pro-democracy protesters, with the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton's right-hand man downplaying the crackdown with the comment "accidents happen".

Twenty-one people have been killed and up to 100 others are still missing after King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa unleashed his security forces last week, putting an end to two months of growing protests that had threatened the legitimacy of Bahrain's monarchy and stoked sectarian tensions throughout the Gulf.

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has denounced the beating of medical personnel and the takeover of hospitals by security forces.

But Robert Cooper, one of the EU's highest-ranking diplomats and councillor to Ashton on the Middle East and the Balkans, told MEPs: "I'm not sure if the police have had to deal with these public order questions before. It's not easy dealing with large demonstrations in which there may be violence. It's a difficult task for policemen. It's not something that we always get right in the best western countries and accidents happen." » | Leigh Phillips | Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Bahrain Hospital Attack: 'Physical Abuse and Humiliation of Doctors'
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The full story of how thuggish Bahraini security forces surrounded and took over a hospital treating injured protesters has emerged from eye-witness testimony of one of the medical staff involved.

Security forces burst into operating theatres, beat staff and searched from ward to ward for doctors according to the first detailed accounts of a violent government crackdown at the hospital in Manama.

Opposition leaders in the small island kingdom described the attack by security troops as a "crime against humanity" and the United Nations said it seemed to have broken international laws.

Now a member of staff, who spoke to The Sunday Telegraph in secret for fear of retribution from government forces, has described the full sequence of events which caused outrage around the world.

"They are really after us," he said. "There's been a lot of physical abuse and humiliation of doctors. They treat us as if we were terrorists."

Salmaniya medical centre, which had been treating people hurt in Bahrain's street clashes with government troops, was surrounded by security forces last week during a violent crackdown on a month-long, anti-government movement which has been calling for a constitutional monarchy and equal rights for Bahrain's Shia Muslim majority, which has been marginalised by the ruling Sunni Muslim elite.

The hospital had become one of two focal points for the protest movement, inspired by other Arab uprisings, along with nearby Pearl Roundabout, where demonstrators had repeatedly gathered and set up camp.

Security in the country, which is home to up to 10,000 British expatriates, dramatically decreased last week when thousands poured onto the streets after weeks of stalemate over the protesters' demands. » | Ben Farmer, Manama | Sunday, March 20, 2011