Schoolgirls ‘beaten’ in Bahrain raids
In a secretly filmed interview, 16-year-old tells how she was severely beaten amid kingdom’s crackdown on protests.
Secret filming conducted by Al Jazeera has revealed shocking evidence of the brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in the Gulf state of Bahrain.
An undercover investigation conducted by Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Charles Stratford, has unearthed evidence that Bahraini police carried out periodic raids on girls’ schools since the unrest began.
The government of Bahrain deployed security forces onto the streets on March 14 in an attempt to quell more than four weeks of protests…
In an interview “Heba”, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, alleges she, along with three of her school friends, were taken away by the police from their school and subjected to severe beatings while in custody for three consecutive days.
“He hit me on the head, I started bleeding. I fell down, he told them [guards] to keep me in the rest-room,” she said during the secretly filmed interview.
“He [the officer] hit and banged me against the wall to scream. Since we did not cry out or scream, we were beaten more and more, stronger and stronger.
“Beating was severe, but being afraid of what comes next, we were senseless to the pain.”Bahrain’s government has not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
According to the mainly Shia opposition Al Wefaq party, police have raided up to 15 mainly girls schools, detaining, beating and threatening to rape girls as young as 12.
A Bahrain human rights group says at least 70 teachers have also been detained. Meanwhile the media clampdown continues.When a unaligned-hostile country such as Libya calls for help, NATO and the UN were jumping for joy, all to ready to jump in and proclaim themselves saviours - despite the uprising rumbling on indefinitely even now.
Here, In an “ally” Bahrain, we have people getting massacred and girls as young as 12 and 16 being disgustingly and inexcusably tortured and threatened with rape - funny how NATO and the US, and the wider worlds’ media are almost turning a blind eye.
But it suits western interests to have the current regime in power - after all, they do house the US 5th fleet and boast about their ties with Israel, as wikileaks revealed. They’ve sentenced protesters to death, outright killed dozens - all as our authorities tacitly helped them, sitting quietly as they’ve urged Saudi troops into the region to do their bidding for them - and then use your intelligence networks to silence the evidence on your own servers.
These are just a few examples, but the people, like this innocent young lady, are being tortured and killed, and the west watches on - not wanting an oppressed Shia majority to come to power and align themselves with Iran (even though their interests are not political, merely freedom), not wanting to lose their foothold and military bases in the country, not wanting to lose a strategic Ally - yup, and our governments watch on in malevolent self-interest, with their battleships stationed a few hundred yards away at the docks, as they watch the people being tortured and killed.
19
"What has happened in Bahrain is that the government has decided to frame the movement as a sectarian movement to pin it on the Shia. They’re basically fabricating a story about the Shia wanting to overthrow the regime for Iran in order to use this as an excuse to crack down on the protestors."
One in every six Bahrainis is on the streets, braving tear gas and rubber bullets from authorities, including armed helicopters like this one.
For the latest, check in with Ashley Bates’ real-time explainer:
The Middle East Government Overthrow
Calling All Tumbloggers Residing In or Near The NY Area
There will be a mass NYC Rally in Solidarity with the People of Bahrain, Libya, & Yemen and I would like all of those interested to attend, one voice might not be heard. But a lot of voices make a louder message, and we need to show our support. We stand beside them as brothers and sisters not different religions or ideologies because in they end all they ask for is freedom to live out their own lives without government oppression. Is this not what we want? What we strive in achieving? Why should we join these people as citizens of Earth. I implore all of you to attend and look forward to seeing you there.
You can find the event here.
“A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough — But a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.” - John F. Kennedy
tweet of hope from Iran: “# homosexuals will not die, woman will not be stone to death, we will be friends with world.” viva revolution!
Libya’s center crowd seems to be forming a peace sign.
