Amnesty International: Year of rebellion: The state of human rights in
 

10-01-12 08:54 PM

http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/BCHR/...AmnestyRep.png

9 Jan 2012

2011 was a year without precedent for the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa region. It was a year in which millions of people of all ages and backgrounds flooded on to the streets to demand change. Dubbed the “Arab Spring”, in fact the protests brought together in common cause people from many different communities. This report describes the events of this tumultuous year, one which saw much suffering and sadness but also spread hope within the region and beyond, to countries where other people face repression and everyday abuse of their human rights.



Bahrain

“In april, my fears came true and i was taken from my house by more than 30 masked men with guns in front of my son, whom I had to leave alone. I was physically and emotionally abused, blindfolded and handcuffed. they beat me – with their hands and legs, with a hose, and gave me electric shocks. they threatened to rape me. they threatened to kill me so that I would confess to false accusations. I was sexually harassed and humiliated… then the horror of the military courts started.”
a bahraini health worker, writing just before she and 19 other health workers were sentenced to prison terms on 29 september 2011

At the start of 2011, the Al Khalifa family, drawn from Bahrain’s minority Sunni community, had ruled the tiny island state for close to 200 years. Despite restrictions on freedom of expression and the targeting of key opposition activists for arrest and unfair trials, Bahrain was seen as one of the more liberal of the Gulf states.

The situation changed rapidly after protests grew from 14 February onwards demanding greater freedom, social justice and political and constitutional reforms. Some of the protesters were Sunni Muslims but the vast majority were Shi’a Muslims, who comprise around 70 per cent of the population, angry at their perceived economic and political marginalization.

Read full report here

amnesty.org



Source...