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| Arabia | |
| Gulf Prisoners of Conscience Should Be Freed, Says Rights Group | |
| 2014-05-17 | |
The Gulf monarchies do not allow political parties and criticism of rulers can easily land someone in jail. "We call for the release of prisoners and detainees who have been put behind bars for simply expressing their opinion," Anwar al-Rasheed, head of the Gulf Forum for Civil Societies, said Thursday night. Rasheed said there are "between 30,000 and 40,000 opinion prisoners and detainees," in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and United Arab Emirates. He said the numbers are based on data compiled by Gulf rights activists, international organizations and rights groups. The overwhelming majority of the prisoners are held in Saudi Arabia followed by Bahrain, Rasheed said. Rasheed said his group has arranged with a number of lawyers from Europe and the United States to form a legal team to visit prisons in Gulf states when governments allow it. The detainees include doctors, teachers, writers, parliamentarians, activists, politicians and others, according to the group. Rasheed even spoke of cases in which prisoners have remained in jail even after serving their terms. In other instances, he said people have been stripped of their basic rights, including a ban on travel, after they were released. Last October, rights group This March, it said "prisoners of conscience" in Bahrain were still behind bars three years after a month-long Shiite-led uprising was crashed by security forces. And this week, it said prominent UAE human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... lawyer Mohammed al-Roken, was in solitary confinement and risks torture. Roken was one of 69 people tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! for 15 years last July for plotting to overthrow the regime. A total of 94 people were tried, 13 of them women. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 A Gulf |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-05-17 11:20 |
| #1 There, that's settled them. Tea? It's never settled until there's a hashtag. #GPoCSBFSRG |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-05-17 02:58 |
