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	Amnesty International says torture is still taking place in Bahrain by Amnesty & agencies Bahrain   Amnesty International says torture is still taking place in Bahrain and has called on the Gulf State to release all prisoners convicted for taking part in peaceful protests last year.   More than one year after month-long pro-democracy protests, the Gulf kingdom remains at a political impasse.   The government "remains far from delivering the human rights changes" recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), Amnesty said.   Amnesty International warned that the government risked falling short of meeting its self-imposed deadline to implement the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI)’s recommendations.   The organization called on the government to release all prisoners convicted or held solely for leading or peaceful participation in protests and to bring all those responsible for the gross human rights violations committed during the last year to account.   “Despite promises made by the government, victims and families of victims of the serious human rights violations – torture, arbitrary detention and excessive use of force – that have taken place since protests began a year ago are still waiting for justice,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.   “The government has made a number of announcements of what it has done to improve the human rights situation, but the fact is that it has still not delivered in the most important areas.”   “Only when we see prisoners of conscience being released and perpetrators, including those who gave orders, being brought to justice will we be able to judge whether this is more than a Public Relations exercise.”   At least 35 people died during protests in February and March 2011. At least a further 20 have died since then in the context of ongoing protests and excessive use of force by the security forces.   Amnesty International said that since the end of June 2011 the government has taken some limited positive steps, including: the lifting of the state of emergency; the setting up of an independent commission of inquiry made up of five international experts; the release of some detainees; the transfer of all trials from military courts to civilian ones; and the reinstatement of some workers to their roles.   On 23 November the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) submitted its report to the King and made detailed practical and legislative recommendations. The report confirmed that gross human rights violations had been carried out.   The King accepted the findings of the report and appointed a 19-person national commission, made up of mostly government supporters, to oversee the implementation process.   But Bahrainis have complained that the process of implementation is very slow and has not addressed the most important issues.   “The government’s promises to implement all of the BICI recommendations will remain hollow if reported investigations into violations by the government remain shrouded in secrecy,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.   Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment continue to be reported.   Background: human rights in Bahrain in 2011   In February and March 2011 tens of thousands of Bahrainis, mostly from the Shi’a community, protested against the government and called for political reforms, social justice and an end to what they perceived as discrimination against them.   Excessive use of force   Between 14 and 21 February seven protesters died as a result of excessive use of force, including the use of rubber bullet, shotguns and other live ammunition.   Arrests, detention and torture   In the days and weeks that ensued hundreds of activists, including opposition leaders, medical workers, teachers, journalists and students were rounded up and detained. Most were arrested without arrest warrant and held incommunicado in police stations or in the Criminal Investigations Directorate in Manama, the capital. Many reported that they had been tortured or ill-treated during that period when they were being interrogated. They were forced into signing confessions which were used against them in court.   Unfair military trials   Scores of people were tried by the National Safety Court of First Instance, a military court established by the emergency law, and sentenced to prison terms of up to life after grossly unfair trials.   Dismissals   More than 4000 people, including teachers, students and nurses, were dismissed from their jobs or university because of their active participation in the anti-government protests.   Destruction of religious structures   At least 30 Shi’a prayer centres were demolished in the aftermath of the protests in February and March, on the pretext they had been built illegally. Amnesty International considers this practice to have constituted a form of collective punishment.   Trial of opposition leaders   AbdelHadi al-Khawaja, a well-known human rights and opposition activist, was one of 14 prominent opposition leaders arrested, tried and sentenced on charges that included calling for an end to the Monarchy and its replacement with a republican system. He received a life sentence and he was reportedly badly tortured. During their trial the military prosecution failed to provide any evidence the 14 used or advocated violence. Amnesty International has called for their release as prisoners of conscience, if their prosecution was solely linked to their right to freedom of expression and assembly.   April 2012   Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, human rights advocate and past president of IFEX member the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) is entering his ninth week of a hunger strike in prison which he began on 8 February to protest a life sentence for peacefully expressing his right to freedom of expression. Over 50 human rights agencies worldwide are calling for the immediate release of Al-Khawaja.   Background information   Al-Khawaja and another 20 activists, bloggers and human rights defenders were sentenced for their participation in peaceful protests last year. Al-Khawaja and several others were sentenced to life in prison, and 14 of them are in detention while the other seven were sentenced in absentia. There is no evidence that they advocated or carried out violence. They have alleged that they were tortured in detention and Al-Khawaja was treated for fractures to his face, among other abuses.   In November 2011, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), called for all prisoners tried in military courts to be transferred to civilian courts and for investigations into allegations of torture. Despite these recommendations, human rights defenders, political activists and bloggers remain in jail or in hiding.   http://ifex.org/bahrain/2012/04/04/save_abdulhadi/ Visit the related web page
	Disabled human rights lawyer jailed in China for ''provoking trouble'' by Peter Simpson The Telegraph   Beijing. 10 Apr 2012   Ni Yulan, 51, was given a two year and eight month term while her husband Dong Jiqin, was sentenced to two years – the latest harsh response from Beijing during its continued crackdown on dissent.   Scores of police and other security personnel surrounded the Beijing court for the 10-minute sentencing hearing.   Rights groups condemned the severe punishment as illegal and inhumane – more so as the wheelchair-bound Ni is believed to be suffering poor health. As reported by the Telegraph, she attended her last court hearing in December lying on a hospital bed and using an oxygen mask.   Ms Ni''s supporters said the charges were spurious and her true crime in the eyes of the government was to protest against controversial land grabs to make way for development, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and launch legal battles for people forcibly evicted from their homes.   "Of course the sentence was unfair ... Ni is innocent," her lawyer Cheng Hai, said after his clients'' sentencing.   He said he hoped the couple would launch an appeal because the criminal charges against them were groundless.   The couple''s daughter, Dong Xuan, claimed the trial – which she was allowed to attend – had been "a very abnormal legal process".   It is the third time Ms Ni has been sent to prison for her work as a human rights lawyer.   Her activism began a decade ago after her home in central Beijing was seized and demolished by the authorities.   Officials ordered her to stop practicing as a lawyer but she ignored the ban and continued to advise other land grab victims.   In 2002 she was detained for "obstructing official business", and on her release said she had been physically abused by her jailers.   Confined to a wheelchair as a result of being "kicked until I could not walk", she was jailed for two years in 2008 for purportedly "harming public property".
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