This is the first part of analyzing the BICI Report. It covers the chronological events of February and March, as seen, documented and proved by the Commission... The following also includes our comments and observations... I tried to list and evaluate the most important points only...
Introduction:
1. The narrative included February and March events only. Most of the human rights violations started
March onwards.
2. All Material is saved on a hard drive, that is kept in a secure place outside Bahrain. All material shall be erased after 10 years.
3. BICI report did not explain the mechanism through which the Constitution of 2002 was inacted and/or the legitimacy of it and, yet, refers to it as the legitimate Constitution.
4. 70 km of the Island of Bahrain coastline were reclaimed.
5. Landmass of Bahrain grew more than 10%, of which 90% have been transferred to private property, with more than 90% of the coastline becoming private property.
6. 65 square km of public land was valued at USD 40 million, transferred to private property, without proper payment to public treasury.
7. As of 2008, the number of licensed Sunni mosques is 360 and the number of licensed Shia places of worship is 863 mosques and 589 matams.
BICI Report
110: Most, if not all, arrest procedures violated clause 110 of the Report: This implies constitutional violations; hence; illegal arrests, which means all those arrested should be released with immediate effect.
125: There is a duplication of responsibility for the conduct of law enforcement officials among the Attorney-General, Military Penal Code, the Public Security Force law and the decree establishing the National Security Agency: No proper or systematic chain of command. There are four executive security entities, acting solely and independently. Who is to be held accountable? No one.
133. Article 11 of Royal Decree No 18 stipulated that judgments of the National Safety Courts are final. However, RD 48, 62 and 28 intervened and altered the judgments of the National Safety courts. This means that the King can, at any time, issue a RD that contradicts and/or challenges past constitutional Decrees: This means that the Kingdom of Bahrain is not constitutional or democratic; the King can revoke, issue, cancel, enforce and/or invalidate any constitutional Royal Decree, at any time, solely!!!
138. Khalifa Bin Ahmed, Commander-in-Chief of the BDF reports directly to the King.
141. Military Prosecution is headed by the Military Attorney-General Colonel Yusuf Rashid Felaifel
143. A total of 100 persons were arrested by BDF personnel
144. MOI is responsible for protecting property. Yet, MOI personnel participated in confiscating public and private property during arrests, as documented by BICI
146. MOI divisions relevant to February and March events are PSF and CID. PSF is headed by General Tarik Bin Dainah
147. PSF units were ordered to assist (and protect) NSA agents as they execute arrest warrants issued by the BDF Military Prosecutor.
150. NSA replaced the General Directorate of State Security and is headed by Khalifa Bin Abdulla and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
152. NSA was granted law enforcement powers beyond intelligence and information gathering. That's a huge security and safety gap. NSA empowerment in not constitutional. NSA have powers that obliterate other powers. Their roles are not clear. Their violations can't be traced. Who are they? How are they identified? Why were thet granted such powers? Why aren't they reporting to the King?
154. NSA personnel arrested 221 persons
158. The National Guard comprises around 400 personnel
161. National Guard arrested 103 individuals
164. The Constitution is vague when it comes to promulgating the National Safety State. Circumstances are not stipulated. Measures are not identified. Conversely, the Martial Law is very clear. That's the most important clause of the report. Measures are not identified. This means that each of the four entities can execute its own activities, based on its own, preferred interpretation of the State.
166. The security government bodies were compelled to develop interpretations of RD 18. Those interpretations were in favor of their own interest.
167. NSA and PSF continued concurrently to exercise their powers pursuant to other laws, whereas RD 18 required law enforcement to arrest individuals pursuant to arrest warrants by the Military Prosecution. That's a constitutional violation. All arrests that were executed by NSA and PSF are illegal and hence all those arrested by those two entities must be released immediately and charged dropped.
168. Arrest periods were violated
169. The effect of different interpretations to RD 18 is that the code of Criminal Procedure was effectively deactivated insofar as it relates to limitations on detention periods.
173. Checkpoints were the scene of a number of killings. Reason was that there was no unified system of command and control and that each checkpoint remained under the separate command of the respective government agency: No proper or systematic chain of command. This means that no one, legally, may be held accountable or responsible for the violations that took place during that period. The country was running loose during that period. It was Chaotic State more than it being a National Safety State.
176. Commission was unable to identify any unified rules of engagement among the government agencies. Same as above
177. There is little evidence to suggest that there existed a unified command and control structure that unified and encompassed the relevant agencies of the Government. Same as above
183. State of National Safety granted government authorities powers even greater than those granted under the Martial Law decree. That's a HUGE constitutional flaw!!!
184. RD 18 is to be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court
212-214. Two police patrol cars and seven police personnel were confronted with 400 violent people. The confrontations ended with the killing of Fadhel Matrook. That's a stupid statement made by BICI
221. Al-Fateh unauthorized gathering on 16 February was not dispersed by police. Why NOT??
226. HRH suggested that demonstrators move to a more secure location because GoB was concerned for their safety
229. 17 February. Police were armed with shotguns! I'm surprised why the BICI did NOT comment on using shotguns! The use of shotguns is internationally banned! And, yet, police were armed with this weapon at all times!!
232. 17 February. Police were compelled to fire shotgun rounds in self-defense!!!
234. The distance between police and Isa Abdulhassan was a few centimeters!! The old man was shot dead in cold blood. The killed is identified. Three witnesses are present. Guess what? Ahmed Al Thawadi is still FREE!!!!
241. Preventing ambulances from going to the roundabout was a rumor!! Despite that fact that hundreds of people witnessed that incident of blocking hospitals from going to the roundabout, and given that fact that I was one of those who testified to BICI that ambulances were withdrawn from SMC for 3-4 hours, BICI insists that it was a rumor!
251-252. 18 February. BDF warned the demonstrators and shot warning shots in the air three times for 90 minutes!! Didn't you, BICI, see the video clips! Even the ones dispensed by MOI doesn't show this!!!! Please, BICI... See this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CTja3LfIU
292. Al-Fateh unauthorized gathering on 21 February was not dispersed by police. Why NOT?? They claimed that streets were blocked extended to 8 KMs from Al-Fateh! Wasn't that traffic blocking and deserve to be actioned? Or maybe because all the participants were members of the security forces??
380. Raising Al-Qaeda flag was never mentioned here, whereas ridiculous substantiations of links to Iran or Shia, wherever BICI sees relevant are unhesitantly cited.
408. A checkpoint was stopping vehicles on which there were posters expressing support for the political leadership. Police officers intervened. This is a big fat lie!!! And I challenge BICI to prove it.
542. Circumstances leading to these deaths (16 march) remain unclear. BICI says that the killing of four citizens are unclear and yet condemns the "killing" of two unknown policemen on the same day. Please see this blog http://bahrainaaraa.blogspot.com/2011/09/people-i-mean-sane-and-rational-people.html
563. Checkpoints were a scene of terrorism and privacy violations. Thank you, BICI!
573. The practice of seizing and examining mobile phones and arresting persons who were found to have anti-government SMS messages or videos recorded on their phones continued.
574. Patterns of mistreatment of arrested persons continued, especially at police stations. I wonder what's the difference between "patterns" and "systematic". Dear BICI, it was systematic. Whether you like it or not, whether you want to say it or not, it is systematic!! And it's continuing to happen till this moment!!
582. Personal property was routinely confiscated.
Next would be the details of the chronology and the concluding observations...
Introduction:
1. The narrative included February and March events only. Most of the human rights violations started
March onwards.
2. All Material is saved on a hard drive, that is kept in a secure place outside Bahrain. All material shall be erased after 10 years.
3. BICI report did not explain the mechanism through which the Constitution of 2002 was inacted and/or the legitimacy of it and, yet, refers to it as the legitimate Constitution.
4. 70 km of the Island of Bahrain coastline were reclaimed.
5. Landmass of Bahrain grew more than 10%, of which 90% have been transferred to private property, with more than 90% of the coastline becoming private property.
6. 65 square km of public land was valued at USD 40 million, transferred to private property, without proper payment to public treasury.
7. As of 2008, the number of licensed Sunni mosques is 360 and the number of licensed Shia places of worship is 863 mosques and 589 matams.
BICI Report
110: Most, if not all, arrest procedures violated clause 110 of the Report: This implies constitutional violations; hence; illegal arrests, which means all those arrested should be released with immediate effect.
125: There is a duplication of responsibility for the conduct of law enforcement officials among the Attorney-General, Military Penal Code, the Public Security Force law and the decree establishing the National Security Agency: No proper or systematic chain of command. There are four executive security entities, acting solely and independently. Who is to be held accountable? No one.
133. Article 11 of Royal Decree No 18 stipulated that judgments of the National Safety Courts are final. However, RD 48, 62 and 28 intervened and altered the judgments of the National Safety courts. This means that the King can, at any time, issue a RD that contradicts and/or challenges past constitutional Decrees: This means that the Kingdom of Bahrain is not constitutional or democratic; the King can revoke, issue, cancel, enforce and/or invalidate any constitutional Royal Decree, at any time, solely!!!
138. Khalifa Bin Ahmed, Commander-in-Chief of the BDF reports directly to the King.
141. Military Prosecution is headed by the Military Attorney-General Colonel Yusuf Rashid Felaifel
143. A total of 100 persons were arrested by BDF personnel
144. MOI is responsible for protecting property. Yet, MOI personnel participated in confiscating public and private property during arrests, as documented by BICI
146. MOI divisions relevant to February and March events are PSF and CID. PSF is headed by General Tarik Bin Dainah
147. PSF units were ordered to assist (and protect) NSA agents as they execute arrest warrants issued by the BDF Military Prosecutor.
150. NSA replaced the General Directorate of State Security and is headed by Khalifa Bin Abdulla and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
152. NSA was granted law enforcement powers beyond intelligence and information gathering. That's a huge security and safety gap. NSA empowerment in not constitutional. NSA have powers that obliterate other powers. Their roles are not clear. Their violations can't be traced. Who are they? How are they identified? Why were thet granted such powers? Why aren't they reporting to the King?
154. NSA personnel arrested 221 persons
158. The National Guard comprises around 400 personnel
161. National Guard arrested 103 individuals
164. The Constitution is vague when it comes to promulgating the National Safety State. Circumstances are not stipulated. Measures are not identified. Conversely, the Martial Law is very clear. That's the most important clause of the report. Measures are not identified. This means that each of the four entities can execute its own activities, based on its own, preferred interpretation of the State.
166. The security government bodies were compelled to develop interpretations of RD 18. Those interpretations were in favor of their own interest.
167. NSA and PSF continued concurrently to exercise their powers pursuant to other laws, whereas RD 18 required law enforcement to arrest individuals pursuant to arrest warrants by the Military Prosecution. That's a constitutional violation. All arrests that were executed by NSA and PSF are illegal and hence all those arrested by those two entities must be released immediately and charged dropped.
168. Arrest periods were violated
169. The effect of different interpretations to RD 18 is that the code of Criminal Procedure was effectively deactivated insofar as it relates to limitations on detention periods.
173. Checkpoints were the scene of a number of killings. Reason was that there was no unified system of command and control and that each checkpoint remained under the separate command of the respective government agency: No proper or systematic chain of command. This means that no one, legally, may be held accountable or responsible for the violations that took place during that period. The country was running loose during that period. It was Chaotic State more than it being a National Safety State.
176. Commission was unable to identify any unified rules of engagement among the government agencies. Same as above
177. There is little evidence to suggest that there existed a unified command and control structure that unified and encompassed the relevant agencies of the Government. Same as above
183. State of National Safety granted government authorities powers even greater than those granted under the Martial Law decree. That's a HUGE constitutional flaw!!!
184. RD 18 is to be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court
212-214. Two police patrol cars and seven police personnel were confronted with 400 violent people. The confrontations ended with the killing of Fadhel Matrook. That's a stupid statement made by BICI
221. Al-Fateh unauthorized gathering on 16 February was not dispersed by police. Why NOT??
226. HRH suggested that demonstrators move to a more secure location because GoB was concerned for their safety
229. 17 February. Police were armed with shotguns! I'm surprised why the BICI did NOT comment on using shotguns! The use of shotguns is internationally banned! And, yet, police were armed with this weapon at all times!!
232. 17 February. Police were compelled to fire shotgun rounds in self-defense!!!
234. The distance between police and Isa Abdulhassan was a few centimeters!! The old man was shot dead in cold blood. The killed is identified. Three witnesses are present. Guess what? Ahmed Al Thawadi is still FREE!!!!
241. Preventing ambulances from going to the roundabout was a rumor!! Despite that fact that hundreds of people witnessed that incident of blocking hospitals from going to the roundabout, and given that fact that I was one of those who testified to BICI that ambulances were withdrawn from SMC for 3-4 hours, BICI insists that it was a rumor!
251-252. 18 February. BDF warned the demonstrators and shot warning shots in the air three times for 90 minutes!! Didn't you, BICI, see the video clips! Even the ones dispensed by MOI doesn't show this!!!! Please, BICI... See this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CTja3LfIU
292. Al-Fateh unauthorized gathering on 21 February was not dispersed by police. Why NOT?? They claimed that streets were blocked extended to 8 KMs from Al-Fateh! Wasn't that traffic blocking and deserve to be actioned? Or maybe because all the participants were members of the security forces??
380. Raising Al-Qaeda flag was never mentioned here, whereas ridiculous substantiations of links to Iran or Shia, wherever BICI sees relevant are unhesitantly cited.
408. A checkpoint was stopping vehicles on which there were posters expressing support for the political leadership. Police officers intervened. This is a big fat lie!!! And I challenge BICI to prove it.
542. Circumstances leading to these deaths (16 march) remain unclear. BICI says that the killing of four citizens are unclear and yet condemns the "killing" of two unknown policemen on the same day. Please see this blog http://bahrainaaraa.blogspot.com/2011/09/people-i-mean-sane-and-rational-people.html
563. Checkpoints were a scene of terrorism and privacy violations. Thank you, BICI!
573. The practice of seizing and examining mobile phones and arresting persons who were found to have anti-government SMS messages or videos recorded on their phones continued.
574. Patterns of mistreatment of arrested persons continued, especially at police stations. I wonder what's the difference between "patterns" and "systematic". Dear BICI, it was systematic. Whether you like it or not, whether you want to say it or not, it is systematic!! And it's continuing to happen till this moment!!
582. Personal property was routinely confiscated.
Next would be the details of the chronology and the concluding observations...
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