Welcome to Middle East Live. There's so much happening across the region that it's difficult to know which stories to watch today. Here's a run down of the latest developments by country:
Bahrain
Nineteen activists have been given live sentences for taking part in protests earlier this year. We will have more details soon...
Update: later corrected to eight activists sentenced to life.
Libya
• The head of the Arab League Amr Moussa, who played a central role in securing Arab support for bombing Libya, told the Guardian he has had second thoughts about the campaign.
When I see children being killed, I must have misgivings. That's why I warned about the risk of civilian casualties... You can't have a decisive ending. Now is the time to do whatever we can to reach a political solution.
That has to start with a genuine ceasefire under international supervision. Until the ceasefire, Gaddafi would remain in office … Then there would be a move to a transitional period … to reach an understanding about the future of Libya.
• Four rockets landed in rebel-held Misrata for the first time in several weeks on Tuesday signalling that the coastal city remains within range of Muammar Gaddafi's artillery fire, Reuters reports. Although no one was hurt in the attack, it dampened the relative sense of security among Misrata's residents, who had believed the siege on their city was broken after rebels drove out loyalist forces in mid-May.
• The defence select committee is likely to ask awkward questions about the future of the Libya campaign when it quizzes General Sir David Richards, chief of the Defence staff, and the Armed Forces minister Nick Harvey, later today. The session comes after David Cameron again vented his frustration at military commanders expressing doubts about the implications of the conflict.
Syria
• Turkish president Abdullah Gul has vented Ankara's frustration at Syria and urged President Bashar al-Assad to go much further to meet the demands of protesters. According to Reuters he said:
Assad should clearly and precisely say: 'Everything has changed. We're transforming the system into a multi-party one. Everything will be organised according to the Syrian's people will, and I will be carrying out this process'.
And in an interview with al-Hayat, quoted by the LA Times, Gul said:
I wish [Assad] had said specifically that Syria would move to a pluralistic partisan system on that date through free and honest elections attended by international observers, that violence against the demonstrations would stop completely, and that he would guarantee freedom of opinion and expression for everyone who does not resort to violence in Syria.
• The EU has extended sanctions against Syria to more companies and individuals.
• UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has renewed calls for Syria to allow fact-finding and humanitarian missions to Syria, according to the BBC.
• At least seven people were killed in the latest crackdown on protesters.
Iran
Ministers in Iran moved a step closer towards impeaching the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after a series of clashes with supporters of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Impeachment proceedings were launched against foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi for appointing a man close to Ahmadinejad's chief-of-staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, as his deputy. MPs warned that impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad would begin soon. Khamenei's supporters, who include the overwhelming majority of the parliament, say Mashaei has too much influence over Ahmadinejad.
Egypt
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has expelled a senior member for saying he would run for president in defiance of the group's decision not to run in the contest. The Brotherhood announced in April that its newly formed "Freedom and Justice" party would contest up to half the seats in a parliamentary election in September but would not field a candidate for the presidency to avoid dominating power.
Saudi Arabia
Hillary Clinton has risked offending one of America's key allies in the Middle East by speaking up in support of women who protest against the ban on female drivers. Choosing her words carefully, the US secretary of state said:
What these women are doing is brave and what they are seeking is right, but the effort belongs to them. I am moved by it and I support them, but I want to underscore the fact that this is not coming from outside of their country. This is the women themselves, seeking to be recognised.
Haroon Siddique has more details on the life sentences for 19 prominent opposition activists in Bahrain.
Among those sentenced to life in prison was Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the father of Zainab al-Khawaja, the activist, who tweets under the name of @angryarabiya, who went on hunger strike over his detention.
Another two activists receiving lesser jail terms.
Ibrahim Sharif, a candidate who leads the liberal opposition the National Democratic Action Society, was sentenced to five years in jail. Al-Hurra Yousif Mohammed was jailed for two years. The full list of the defendants can be found here. Six of the defendants were convicted in absentia.

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Matthew Taylor is trying to find out a bit more about Rifaat al Assad, the brother of the former Syrian president who is accused of orchestrating the massacre of civilians in the town of Hama in 1982
My colleagueEarlier this month the "Butcher of Hama" was reported to be living in a £10m townhouse in Mayfair but yesterday a spokesman for his son Ribal al Assad told the Guardian the story was inaccurate, adding that Rifaat only visited London occasionally and did not have a permanent residence here.
If you have information about Rifaat al Assad's whereabouts please contact Matthew Taylor on Twitter @mrmatthewtaylor.
official news agency now says that eight activists were handed down life sentences (after initially stating that it was 19). A further nine activists were given 15 years, three got five years and one was sentenced to two years.
Clarification on those sentences in Bahrain. TheThe charges included "organising and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country's constitution and the royal rule".
Here are the details of those sentenced from a list supplied by activists:
Life sentence
Abdulwahab Hussain Ali
Hassan Ali Mushaima
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja
Abduljalil Abdullah al-Singace
Mohammed Habib al-Safaf
Saeed Mirza Ahmed
Saeed al-Nouri
Abduljalil Mansoor Makk
Abdul Jalil Miqdad
Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab *
15 years
Mohammed Hassan Jawad
Mohammed Ali Ismael
Abdul Hadi Abdullah Mahdi Hassan
Abdulhadi al-Mukhodher
Akeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh *
Ali Hassan Abdullah *
Abdulghani Ali Khanja *
Abdulraoof al-Shayeb *
Abbas Al Omran *
Ali Hassan Mushaima *
Five years
Ibrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa
Abdullah Isa al-Mahroos
Salah Hubail al-Khawaj
Two years
Al Hurra Yousif Mohammed
* Tried in absentia
The ruling Sunnis in Bahrain have tried to portray the protest movement as a sectarian Shia group. Activists say they are non-sectarian, a point underlined by the fact that one of sentenced today, Ibrahim Sharif, is Sunni.
A post on Bahraini Politics explains:
As far as the ruling family is concerned, the most dangerous sort of person in Bahrain is the one who breaks ranks with the government's Sunni ethnic constituency to join those calling for reform; the one willing to cross the usual Sunni-Shia divide for the purposes of political coordination.
Hence the authorities' strong reaction to the 'No Sunni, No Shia, Just Bahraini' campaign, wearers of which paraphernalia were especially targeted for harassment at security checkpoints beginning early on in the unrest.
And, even more obviously, hence the speedy arrest and public ostracism of those Sunnis who did play a prominent role in the March demonstrations, particularly in addressing the crowds at the Pearl Roundabout. These include most notably the (now former) Wa'ad leader Ibrahim Sharif, who many saw as the "odd man out" among the political leaders arrested, not only for his being Sunni but also for his leftist political views, which are difficult to square with the portrayal of protesters as Shia revolutionaries bent on the installation of an Iranian-style theocratic regime in Bahrain. Sharif especially has been singled out for lambaste by the pro-government camp, which has all but excommunicated him from Sunnism altogether.
Maryam al-Khawaja, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, describes what happened in court when the life sentences were read out:
Abdulhadi Alkhawaja spoke loudly and said the people will continue in their struggle for their rights. He was beaten and removed from court, his family fears for his health as he was already suffering from the fractures in his face.His daughter Zainab (@angryarabiya) who was present in court stood up and chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) and she was violently removed from court and arrested, her whereabouts are now unknown.
This is an urgent appeal, both their lives could be in danger and the risk of torture is high.
Al-Khawaja is also tweeting mini-profiles of those sentenced today.
Bahrain official news agency pointed out that they have 15 days to launch an appeal.
15 days to appeal against their sentences. It has also published a courtroom sketch from showing a figure in army uniform presiding over the "National Safety Court".
The official Bahrain News Agency says the activists have
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More evidence is emerging of Iranian involvement in the crackdown in Syria in the face of denials from Tehran.
The Israeli daily Haaretz quotes a senior Israel source as saying there is "clear information on Iran's involvement in the crushing of the protests".
The source said:
In the Syrian army there is a ban on beards, so when we see military people with beards we can assume they're not part of the regular Syrian army," the source said.
Initial reports about the presence of Iranians in the suppression of the demonstrations were from the town of Daraa, where the mass demonstrations began. However, since then it is possible to see Iran's presence in many other places.
The Guardian's Martin Chulov spoke to Syrian refugees who suggested Iranian were involved in the crackdown on Jisr al-Shughour.
Syria's foreign minister, Walid Moallem, has denied that Iran and Hezbollah are helping the regime put down unrest, AP reports.
Last week the Iranian embassy in London denied British government claims that Iran is helping Syria implement its violent crackdown.
Piecing together what has happened in the Syrian city of Hama in the last few days is difficult.
Activists say three people were killed there yesterday when the security forces opened fire on the funeral of Mohammed Nasr, a boy who was killed in earlier protests. There were also reports that pro-regime supporters clashed with protesters.
A series of compelling videos have emerged from the town in the last few days. They are unverified but help piece together what is claimed to have happened.
The first purports to show a presidential delegation getting heckled and jostled on Monday, with English subtitles.
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Another claims to show pro-regime supporters in a stand off with protesters yesterday.
There is also footage of Nasr's funeral. It does not show shooting, but on another clip from the funeral gunfire can be heard. Yet another video shows tanks moving in on the town.
A very distressing video shows the body of 12-year-old Hamza Drnouh draped in a blood stained cloth being carried away [Warning: disturbing content].
Today more grim footage has been uploaded to YouTube showing those killed. One claims to show the body of Shaheed Muhammad [Warning: disturbing content], another claims to shows the body of Yasser Chakra on a bed ice [Warning: disturbing content].
TheThe Telegraph quotes him saying:
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We cannot run the risk of killing civilians. This is not good at all... With regard to Nato, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians.
His comments come after the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, expressed second thoughts about the Libya campaign. Is the international alliance against Gaddafi beginning to crack? We will have a report later.
There's a lively exchange below the line about the Arab League. Smurfylicious asks:
So, the Arab League, of which Saudi Arabia is a member, supported intervention in Libya, while at the same time lending its troops to crush protests in Bahrain. Can someone explain how those two actions sit with each other?
The Arab League is a dysfunctional and generally uncoordinated body. Amr Moussa has blown hot and cold over Libya but either way his views don't necessarily represent those of the league's members (especially since he's about to leave and run for the presidency in Egypt).
Maryam al-Khawaja, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, whose father Abdulhadi al-khawaja was among the activists sentenced to life imprisonment today, has been speaking to Haroon Siddique.
In a phone interview recorded on Audioboo she said the sentence made a mockery of the ruling regime's call for a national dialogue and she fears it is pushing people towards a violent response.
These are civilians being tried in military courts. Everything from the way the arrests were conducted.... up until the trial, was not according to international standards ...To specifically speak about my father's case, his defence officers were not even allowed to speak during the hearing which the judge had previously promised he would be allowed. This definitely wasn't even anything close to a fair trial.
Bahrain has been using their anti-terrorism laws to put people in prison... almost anything can be regarded as being terrorism in Bahrain if the government wishes to see it in that way ...They're taking these very prominent activists or political figures in Bahraini society that people actually respect and look up to, and should, in my opinion, have been a part of the national dialogue that the government is calling for, and now sentencing them to life imprisonment or otherwise under this terrorism law...
After the sentences that have been passed out on these people today they're [the rulers are] actually making the situation worse, they're agitatating people, they're actually pushing people to become violent. I am praying and hoping that does not happen and I have faith that the movement in Bahrain will not turn violent but what the government in Bahrain is doing is not helping.
Right after the reading of the sentences my father spoke out and said the people would continue in the struggle for human rights and he was beaten and taken out of the court room forcefully and my sister started chanting 'Allahu Akbar' which means 'God is great' and she was also forcefully removed from the court room. She has yet to be seen. She was arrested right after she was removed from the room and we still don't know where she is and fear for both their lives because the risk of torture is high.
Since this audio was recorded al-Khawaja says her sister Zainab has been released after being charged with contempt of court.
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Walid Moallem has accused the European Union of plotting "sedition and chaos in Syria" after it extended sanctions the country.
Syria's foreign ministerHe repeated the regime's claim that "armed gangs" were responsible for the deaths of security personnel in Jisr al-Shughour - something hotly disputed by residents and activists. And he even claimed that al-Qaida could have been responsible for some the deaths, the Jerusalem Post reports.
In a press conference laden with choice soundbites, Syria's state news agency Sana quoted Moallem as saying:
The European sanctions target the livelihood of the Syrian citizens and this is equal to the war … We will forget that Europe is on the map and we will freeze our membership at the Union for the Mediterranean …We will forget all the attempts to isolate us and will overcome the crisis.
Moallem was more polite about Turkey but tacitly acknowledged criticism from Ankara of president Assad's speech and the continuing crackdown.
We are keen on establishing the best relations with our neighbouring country Turkey, and I hope that they will reconsider their stance
Moallem also claimed that reforms in Syria would bring about an "unprecedented sample of democracy for the region".
Our video team has a report from Misrata after four shells hit the rebel-held city.
Chris Stephen who is in Misrata questions reports that Gaddafi's rockets fell on the city for first time in weeks today with no casualties.
He reports:
In fact they fall each day on the city ever since Nato's leafletting of government lines last Tuesday and we went to the sites, there was one dead.
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Below the line in the comments section fripouilli points out thatIn a Facebook update activists claim that university dorms were "surrounded by security forces and [the] regime's armed thugs (shabiha) after a violent raid at 9.30 pm last night.
'Many students were beaten up; one of them is Talal (from Qameshli) whose condition is critical and currently is at Mouasat hospital, closely watched by security personnel."
It gives the names and faculties of some of those arrested.
Here's a summary of the latest developments:
• Eight activists in Bahrain have been sentenced to life imprisonment for charges including organising a terrorist group for the overthrow of the country's rulers (9.52am) . A further nine activists were sentenced to 15 years in jail, while three were jailed for five years and one for two years. Bahraini activists claimed the charges were trumped up and that the defendants did not receive a fair trial.
• Video has emerged of an apparent violent crackdown by the Syrian security forces in Hama. Activists say three people were killed there yesterday when the security forces opened fire on the funeral of Mohammed Nasr, a boy who was killed in earlier protests. There are reports that more than 100 students have been arrested in Damascus.
• Syria has denied claims that Iran has been involved in the continuing crackdown. Its foreign minister also Walid Moallem also accused the EU of plotting "sedition and chaos in Syria" after it extended sanctions against the regime.
• The Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya and said Nato risked losing credibility over civilian casualties.
One of those jailed in Bahrain today for being part of a terrorist conspiracy was a prominent blogger.
Ali Abdulemam, known variously as the Bahrain blogger and the blog-father, was only freed in February, more than five months after being detained for allegedly spreading false news. When he was arrested last year, a campaign was set up to free him including a Facebook page, which states that he had also been arrested in 2005 for two weeks.
Ali, the administrator of a popular online forum Bahrain Online (blocked in Bahrain) was arrested at the beginning of September, during a crackdown on opposition figures, which saw up to 250 people arrested, starting from August. Charges against them kept changing as the government tried to pin them down for crimes ranging from terrorism to plotting to overthrow the regime. Finally, a group of 25, including political and human rights activists, were rounded up as the main cell and put on trial - a saga which continued to be discussed everywhere, except local newspapers, which were banned from reporting the court proceedings.
In an interview on his release, in which he denied being part of any political party or group, he said he was tortured:
There were beatings, insults, solitary confinement. For the first two months I was in solitary confinement. I didn't talk or see anyone. Even when I went to the bathroom they covered my eyes so that I couldn't even see any of the security. It was complete isolation. My entire time of interrogation I got a sense that the security personnel hate us. The hate speech that came out of their mouths wasn't normal. One officer told me, I've been wanting to drink from your blood since the 90s. They very clearly hated us.
He went missing again in March. An account of his arrest, posted on Global Voices, said:
His uncle described the scene last night when 50 heavily armed policemen came to arrest him, just a few weeks after he was released as a part of concessions to placate Bahraini protesters. He had been accused of being part of an "organisational cell" and was known as one of the 25, who were arrested for plotting to overthrow the government. At around quarter past one in the morning of the 18th of March [at] the housing complex in Aali where Ali rented a flat...one of his cousin[s] awoke to hear the metal gate outside being riddled with bullets.
Around 50 masked and heavily armed security personnel then proceeded to break down the wooden door of the house. Ali's cousin, his wife and his daughter were asleep in the ground floor flat. They burst in on them before the wife or the daughter had a chance to cover up and demanded to know where Ali was while pointing a gun at their faces.
They replied that Ali and his wife had not been home for three days and they had no idea where he was. Incensed that their repeated questions were not yeilding any results, they trashed the house and then moved up a floor where there were two more flats and kicked the doors in ...After tearing the flats apart and breaking everything they could, they filled a large suitcase with every kind of camera, hard drive, video recorder or DVD that they could find ...Now the lines of communication are dead and the family have no idea if he is in Bahrain or if he managed to get out of the country, or if the police have caught up with him.
His last tweet, on 17 March, read:
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I get tired from my phone so I switched it of no need for rumors plz
Here's Martin Chulov's report on reaction to the sentences in Bahrain.
Martin spoke to one of those sentenced Ibrahim Sharif, a Sunni activist, during a demonstration in February.
He said he was the only prominent member of the Sunni community to be campaigning more openly for equal rights for the kingdom's majority Shia base. "Things have to change here or else the country will suffer and the kingdom could be imperilled," he said.
Two thirds of people across the Middle East and North Africa believe the Arab Spring will produce more democratic governments, a new poll has found.
The overall results of the poll conducted by YouGov for Doha Debates masked wide variations in different regions. Optimism was highest in North Africa where 85% believe the unrest would result in more democracy within the next five years.
Some 70% of people in North Africa agreed that 'change has started and we are entering a new era in the Arab world'. But in Gulf countries fewer than the respondents shared this view.

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There was also a marked contrast in the fear of demonstrating in different regions. Half of those in Gulf countries said they would be scared to take part in demonstrations, compared to only 16% in North Africa.
David Cameron has insisted British forces can maintain the current level of operations in Libya for "as long as it takes", despite concerns raised by senior military figures, writes Hélène Mulholland.
The prime minister also revealed that ministers have already reviewed the government's strategic defence and security review to ensure Britain has the right capabilities and focus in the light of the Arab spring.
He added that far from reopening the strategy, he wanted to "speed up" its implementation to allow new equipment, such as drones, to be put in place. "It would be more helpful to have them right now," he said.
Saudi Arabia and the US want to change the president in Yemen but not the system, Gregory Johnsen, an academic and "go to guy on Yemen" claims on Bloggingheads TV.
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Officials have held discussions with the British police today over allegations that Syrian activists in the UK and their families at home have been intimidated by the Syrian embassy London embassy, AP reports.
The Foreign Office said it had been made aware of claims that Syria's embassy has had photographs taken of protesters involved in anti-regime rallies in the UK, and that those images have been shown to demonstrators' families in Syria in an attempt to harass them.
"We are looking into these reports and discussing them with the police. We urge anyone who's been the subject of any intimidation to report it to the police," said a Foreign Office spokesman.
Jihad Makdissi, a spokesman for Syria's embassy in London, denied the allegations.
(That's it from us today. Thanks for your comments).
Comments
22 June 2011 10:06AM
Locking up political protesters, that always works, doesn't it?
Yeah right . . .
22 June 2011 10:06AM
The Italian foreign minister has now followed Amr Moussa in calling for a ceasefire lin Libya. Time to listen, Cameron and Sarkozy.
22 June 2011 10:07AM
Terrible news from the Country that almost won back the racing car race after it argued that evrything was just fine in Bahrain now.
Equally disturbing for me was the quickness of the court case against the ex Tunisian President (in exile) - justice must been seen to be done - and a court case lasting a bat of an eyelid fails to do that
22 June 2011 10:09AM
Nice one Cameron for your hypocritical visit following your righteous one in Egypt. Dick.
22 June 2011 10:11AM
Well, it would seem that this despicable human being (if indeed he is the "Butcher of Hama") has now legged it... Ironic that his son Ribal should now be running a protest group opposing the current regime in Syria.
22 June 2011 10:16AM
I'm sure it will meet with the approval of Cameron and Hague, as they support the regime in Bahrain don't they?
22 June 2011 10:17AM
French airforce jets currently flying over my house - 550 km south of Calais - is this another systems failure by NATO?
22 June 2011 10:19AM
The cracks in alliance of the handful of 'countries' pushing this war in Libya are beginning to show. Public opinion has filtered through at last.
This war is not only costing the lives of Libyans, and destroying their country, the bastards can't even bring themselves to tell how much it's costing us!
22 June 2011 10:19AM
Do let us know if they take you out, won't you?
22 June 2011 10:25AM
Good job on the coverage.
Very sad to see the Bahraini authorities continuing to oppress their people with barely a word of complaint from other countries.
Not the first time that they have locked up many political prisoners. The people wanting change have been persecuted for many many years.
As for the Arab league...surely they must have seen that one coming? When are civilians not killed in a bombing campaign?
22 June 2011 10:28AM
But Formula One bosses still say the Bahraini Grand Prix can go ahead in 2012.
Bahrain is a vile dictatorship as reprehensible as Libya or Syria. Everyone, including F1, should boycott Bahrain.
22 June 2011 10:30AM
Great pity that our government of course will undoubtably have a few mealy mothed words to say about this as Bahrain has a "Good Dictator"
22 June 2011 10:31AM
johnandanne
The French have been flying out heavy transport planes near where I live all last week, probably troops and military hardware.
Alex Jones at Infowars has got news of US troops being readied for a ground invasion around September/October.
This war is only the spark, they seem to want to set the whole region on fire...
22 June 2011 10:32AM
By the way does anyone know how many thousands of Command and Control centres there are in Libya?
22 June 2011 10:33AM
@andrewfisk.
I suppose we should be grateful that in the UK you can call Cameron a 'dick' on a public forum without any fear of reprisal.
After reading this article, my own contempt and anger were directed more toward unjust, repressive, undemocratic regimes.
Allan.
22 June 2011 10:37AM
Sentencing citizens to life imprisonment on trumped up charges? The Bahraini authorities are a bunch medieval arseholes - and I hope this shames everyone outside of Bahrain who lends them any kind of support or legitimacy.
22 June 2011 10:43AM
One that we prop up
22 June 2011 10:44AM
Rifaat al Assad, hasn't he been seen in the Gulf of Tonkin??
22 June 2011 10:45AM
So, the Arab League, of which Saudi Arabia is a member, supported intervention in Libya, while at the same time lending its troops to crush protests in Bahrain. Can someone explain how those two actions sit with each other?
22 June 2011 10:50AM
Why send these people to gaol? They could spend their time polishing the US fleet that is tied up in the local harbour.Then if they have time left, they could polish the limousines of the Sunni rulers.
No Arab nation will speak out on the prisoners behalf.As the Saudis have shown, mess with our "Sunni cousins" and you mess with us.Or our well paid foreign soldiers.Sunni of course.
The best hope for these prisoners is that Western Medics. make a lot of noise.
Whatever they do, they will be louder than the US and UK governments "protestations".
22 June 2011 10:50AM
Hillary Clinton : What these women are doing is brave and what they are seeking is right, but the effort belongs to them. I am moved by it and I support them, but I want to underscore the fact that this is not coming from outside of their country. This is the women themselves, seeking to be recognised :
Quelle surprise ! Hillary Clinton is moved by Saudi women protesting for the right to drive but unmoved by Bahraini women fighting for the basic human right to peacefully protest. I notice she couldn’t resist the veiled reference to Iran.
If I were a Saudi woman fighting for the right to drive the last person in the world i would want to champion my cause is Hillary Rotten Clinton.
22 June 2011 10:53AM
Nice to see how the US and UK governments are reacting to this ruthless suppression of democracy yearning people.
Oh wait....
Two Faced Pricks.
22 June 2011 11:01AM
Nothing will ever change.
22 June 2011 11:02AM
Harsh but fair – after all if it wasn’t fair we (UK HMG) would have said something… And it hasn’t so all must be above board and okay – I mean it’s not just a government of nasty mean spirited old school Tory landowners, we’ve a coalition that includes Liberal Democrats too and all the light free thought and compassion that they represent…
22 June 2011 11:03AM
DCarter
You forgot to mention Gheddafi
22 June 2011 11:08AM
I sentence Hamid Ibn Isa Al Khalifa to life in prison for crimes against humanity.
22 June 2011 11:08AM
Smurfylicious: The Arab League is a dysfunctional and generally uncoordinated body. Amr Moussa has blown hot and cold over Libya but either way his views don't necessarily represent those of the league's members (especially since he's about to leave and run for the presidency in Egypt).
Qatar, an AL member, is supporting Nato in Libya.
The Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain was done under the auspices of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council rather than the Arab League (though all the GCC members are also AL members).
The league's charter says that AL members are not bound by its decisions unless such a decision is unanimous (in which case there's no need for them to by bound by it since they obviously agree with it anyway).
22 June 2011 11:08AM
Italian Minister calls for end to war in libya.
22 June 2011 11:09AM
Bravo! Seconded...
22 June 2011 11:11AM
ATL : His daughter Zainab (@angryarabiya) who was present in court stood up and chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) and she was violently removed from court and arrested, her whereabouts are now unknown :
I am totally disgusted by the sentences handed down to all the Bahraini activists. I send my steadfast support to them, their families and friends.
A special message to Zainab al-Khawaja : I have the utmost respect for you and your family. You are a shining beacon of courage and dignity.
22 June 2011 11:13AM
A useful piece of clarification there, Brian Whitaker - many thanks.
22 June 2011 11:15AM
Well if you have her address, you'd best share it with us...
22 June 2011 11:15AM
Graphic footage: NATO imperialist infidels murder Libyan children
22 June 2011 11:24AM
10:59 'evidence' of Iranian involvement consists of an unnamed Israeli source claiming that another unnamed source in Syria once saw a beard? this is not journalism - or evidence of anything except wishful thinking
22 June 2011 11:30AM
I 've written to the Bahraini embassy registering my protest. Please do the same.
F1? - over dead bodies - do you hear that Eccelstone?
22 June 2011 11:31AM
The active use of a means to intimidate innocent civilians, even if they support a regime, is to be condemend. In a democratic system of justice the evidence of "terrorist" activity, whether by physical harm or threats requires proof beyond reasonable doubt.
To voice an opinion by public demonstration that singular inherited government and thereby its constitution is a crime is under UN declarations a crime in itself.
The contradiction is in the wording of the charges "royal rule" and "country's constitution".
It could be argued to death by lawyers, but if it excludes the right of people to disagree then it is not a constitution.
In what is considered to be an enlightened century it is still in many ways definately not
"Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice, issued by the Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ca 2300 BC. Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the usury of the rich.
22 June 2011 11:36AM
In reference to my post of 22 June 2011 11:31AM.
Oops, not sure what happened there. It seems double clicking on the text to be submitted to open up a function sends it on its merry way.
22 June 2011 11:45AM
Bahrain must be isolated by the rest of the world. Free speech will never be suppressed. The people will win their struggle eventually but they need full support from the West at whatever economic cost.
22 June 2011 11:45AM
Another Tea at no 10 for the Bahraini King Mr Cameron ?
22 June 2011 12:01PM
Curiously narcissistic attitude among several commentators - every event held up as proof of Western perfidy. Bahrain sentences protest leaders to life in jail - so Cameron is a dick, and the US and the UK are hypocrites etc.
Weird how inward looking this attitude ends up being. It's all about the West, and almost condescending towards people and regimes elsewhere.
22 June 2011 12:07PM
The government of Bahrain should be ashamed of itself, killing, torturing and imprisoning people on trumped up charges. I truly hope that those who persecute people in this way will soon find themselves being judged by those who they once persecuted.
I also think that those who are using this to score petty points about western leaders should be maybe a little ashamed, as well? The reason leaders in the US and Europe kowtow to Saudi Arabia and their horrid puppets in the gulf states is because they know that the end of cheap oil will mean the end of their political careers. Everything in the western economies is based on the continuance of cheap oil/gas. Food, transport, power... If the price of oil suddenly spikes again there will be riots in the streets faster than you can say 'arab spring'. The saudis recently went against the rest of OPEC to pump out more oil, and lo and behold, the price has started falling. (You might not have noticed at the petrol station, but it has). Western governments rely on the saudis to keep the oil price stable. If we weren't so reliant on the black stuff, then I think you might find our politicians sudddenly growing some backbone when it came to these vile regimes.
I notice one guy in the US is running for Republican candidate on a platform of energy self-sufficiency. I'm not a republican supporter but I'd really like to see some politician in the UK take this stance. Then, perhaps, we could get some morals with regards to human rights.
In the meantime, every time you fill up your car, just think of it as your little charitable donation to the Saudi Royal family.
22 June 2011 12:07PM
Life sentence? Demanding basic rights and freedom a crime for Khalifa. He should be behind bars for his crimes against humanity.
littleriver
Spot on. Hillary Clinton is morally bankrupt. Supporting women driving cause will not affect her fifth fleet. She doesn't want to get involved in the Freedom and Rights nonsense. No difference between Lynndie England and Hillary Clinton.
22 June 2011 12:23PM
NOTE:
If anyone tries accessing the link above regarding a new list of companies and individuals targeted by the EU, from within Syria, they are redirected to this:
http://www.syrialife.org/
I suppose it's more colourful than the boring white 'access is denied' or 'internal server error' pages...
22 June 2011 12:29PM
The Arab League is a dysfunctional and generally uncoordinated body.
Say no more.
22 June 2011 12:32PM
@AngloSyrian are you referring to the link that should go to the Jerusalem Post piece?
22 June 2011 12:36PM
The Arab League should be going in and dragging out these dictators. If they can't do that then it's one step forwards and two steps backwards. Most of he Arab world is downtrodden from within. Outside forces have to protect their future otherwise it would be a walkover by the dictators.
22 June 2011 12:42PM
Figaro reports that over 100 students were arrested on campus at Damas yesterday. They were holding a demo to demand the release of 11 other students who had already been arrested.
22 June 2011 12:44PM
Further proof the west shouldn't be in the situation we are in. The main reason the UN resolution was passed successfully (at least this was what we were told by the Government and what was widely reported by the media) was due to the support of the Group described above.
A bit counter-intuitive?
22 June 2011 12:47PM
@fripouille thanks for that link. We had reports yesterday of student arrests in Aleppo, but this seems to be different...
22 June 2011 12:48PM
Update; have read somewhere that zainab Alkhawaja has been released after signing a pledge at the police station.