• Bahraini activists sentenced to life in jail
• Arab League's Amr Moussa has second thoughts over Libya
• Hillary Clinton backs Saudi women driving protest
• Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood expels presidential hopeful
Clarification on those sentences in Bahrain. The 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.
The 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
My colleague 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
Earlier 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.
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.
_
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...
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.
--
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/22/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar