Middle East News Archives

Hundreds of Bahrainis are fighting to get their jobs back after they were sacked during martial law [REUTERS]

A state-appointed commission probing rights abuses in Bahrain has closed its office after protesters reportedly scuffled with staff members following reports that the panel had cleared government officials of wrongdoing.

The Bahrain Commission of Inquiry said in a statement on Tuesday that no conclusions had been made and that probes would continue into the demonstrations and the sweeping crackdown that followed on the Sunni monarchy-ruled Gulf island nation.

But the commission said its main office would be shut and vowed it would not allow itself to be used as a "political tool" by either side.

Bahrain's king had invited the panel, headed by international law professor Cherif Bassiouni, to examine charges of widespread torture and abuse by security forces during two months of martial law after pro-democracy unrest was suppressed.

Recent comments by Bassiouni praising the co-operation of the interior minister and saying he could see no policy of excessive use of force or torture infuriated majority Shia Muslims, who dominated the protests and bore the brunt of the crackdown.

The official Bahrain News Agency reported on Monday that the commission believed no "crimes against humanity" had been committed after Bassiouni was quoted in a newspaper interview saying torture claims would require proof.

Interviews stopped

"Hundreds of people forced their way into our office, having been angered over what they believed to be the Commission Chair's 'conclusions' in the investigation," the panel said. 

"After attempting to accommodate the crowd by offering to take down their information in order to schedule appointments, some in the crowd became restless and verbally and physically threatened the staff," it said in a statement.

"Individuals yelled insults, posted threatening messages on the office walls, sent threats via text and email, and even physically shoved and spat at a member of staff."

The panel said it would continue to accept statements submitted by email but would stop granting media interviews.

Activists have urged hundreds of Bahrainis fighting to get their jobs back after they were sacked during martial law to gather at the commission headquarters.

The activist group, called "Return To Work Is My Right", said on Tuesday that it would investigate the incident but defended the decision to congregate at the offices, saying the commission was their last hope after the government had ignored them.

Ongoing protests

The government in the island state, ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa family, said the democracy movement was sectarian in origin and backed by Shia nation Iran across the Gulf.

Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and its Shias are regarded by Saudi Arabia, which sent in troops to help quell the protests, as a soft target for Iranian influence. 

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa last month approved some parliamentary reforms that would give the elected chamber more powers of oversight but not lessen the powers of an appointed upper house or allow political parties to form governments.

Those reforms were the result of a national dialogue established to address some of the complaints of protesters, who were inspired by the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. 

The main opposition parties pulled out of the dialogue, focusing attention on Bassiouni's commission as the next hope of democrats to act as a catalyst of change in the country.

Mubarak has pleaded 'not guilty' to charges of murder and corruption [AFP]

The trial of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's former president, has been adjourned until next month, with Ahmed Riffat, the trial judge, ordering all cameras out of the court.

Rifaat said the court would reconvene on September 5 to hear evidence, ruling that the trial, which was being broadcast live by many channels and on big screens outside the court, should not be televised until sentencing.

"It [the broadcast ban] is in protection of the general interest,'' Rifaat said.

He also ordered that Mubarak's trial should be merged with proceedings against his former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, whose trial had already been adjourned until September 5.

Mubarak, 83, who has mostly been confined to hospital since he was toppled by mass protests in February, was wheeled into the Cairo court on a stretcher as the trial resumed on Monday morning.

Scores of lawyers representing some of those killed during the protests that toppled Mubarak are attending the trial and Refaat struggled to maintain order amid chaotic scenes as the court convened.

Military call

Dressed in a navy blue sports sweater, Mubarak appeared inside the courtroom in a caged defendants' box, along with his sons, Gamal and Alaa, who face corruption charges.

Mubarak, who is charged with conspiring in killing of protesters and abusing his power to amass wealth, answered, "present", when the judge called his name.

Hundreds of riot police stood guard outside the court, but scuffles broke out between supporters of the former president and those demanding that Mubarak be held responsible for those killed in the final weeks of his rule.

Defence lawyers have called for hundreds of witnesses to testify in the case, including the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defence minister for two decades.

Tantawi's possible testimony on the former president's role in trying to suppress the 18-day uprising, in which about 850 people were killed, is considered critical by many to the outcome of the case.

"Tantawi's testimony would help the court determine whether Mubarak gave orders to interior minister Habib al-Adly to fire at protesters or whether Adly was acting independently," said one member of the defence team, who asked not to be named.

Lawyers for the families of those killed have also demanded Tantawi testify in the trial.

"The defence team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak," another lawyer handling the case said.

"The plaintiffs' lawyers, however, expect him to testify that he received orders to fire, which is necessary to convict Mubarak."

Reactions

Inside the courthouse, the audience, which included lawyers of the victims' families, erupted in applause and cheers at Rifaat's announcement of merging the two cases of Adly and Mubarak.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that the merger was "clearly a very satisfying decision" for pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters congregated outside the courthouse, as they shouted in unison "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

But Rifaat's decision to stop broadcasts of future proceedings brought much anger from the crowd, with many jumping onto the pews to shout at the judge.

Outside the courthouse the reaction was more muted, Rageh said, as no chants or boos were heard.

"Legal experts have made abundantly clear ahead of the proceedings that it was expected for the court to stop live broadcasts of the proceedings when the court was going to start listening to witnesses' testimonies," Rageh said.

"It would simply be illegal for them to be broadcasting the sessions live as they do not want the witnesses to hear what each other are saying.

"Probably after the phase of listening to the witnesses and when it's time to utter the verdict, we will be seeing the trial broadcast live once again."

Scuffles and chaos

About 5,000 riot police officers were deployed along with armoured cars outside the courthouse to keep apart the scores of pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters watching the proceedings of the trial on a giant screen.

The police had separated the two crowds with cordons, but brief clashes broke out when one pro-Mubarak protester crossed over into the other group and engaged in a conversation with a counterpart which escalated into a fight, Rageh reported from the scene.

"Security officials have managed to push everyone as far away as possible ... but the situation remains tense," she said.

"People are carrying stones, rocks, batons and others are seen trying to come up with things to throw."

Several men were bleeding from the head from wounds obtained when hit by thrown stones and rocks.

Police withheld crowds of women fighting.

'Circus'

Inside the courthouse, lawyers for the relatives of the slain protesters shouted and bickered before the judge arrived in the room, apparently over seats.

Meanwhile, Mubarak laid on the stretcher looking composed and stern, with hands clasped over his chest.

An intravenous needle was implanted in his left hand.

Amr Shalakany, a professor at Cairo University's law school, said the trial scenes were a "circus" full of drama often seen on "Ramadan TV soap operas".

"One, he does not look that sick and the whole stretcher business is once again, like what you see on Ramadan TV soap operas," Shalakany told Al Jazeera.

"[Mubarak's] hair is being dyed black, which doesn't indicate any kind of deep depression that he has said he suffers from.

"His facial expressions are those of not just defiance but fundamentally looking down at the entire process."

Mubarak made his first court appearance on August 3 in a case that has gripped the Arab world.

The first Arab head of state to stand trial in person since popular uprisings swept the Middle East, the former air force commander faces charges that could carry the death penalty.