Manama incident
Encyclopedia
The Manama incident on August 26, 2010 involved the arrest in the Seef shopping mall
in Manama
, Bahrain
, of Fakhria al-Singace, the sister of Dr Abdul Jalil Al-Singace, human-rights spokesperson for the Bahrain opposition Haq Movement
. According to The New York Times
, three women wearing the niqāb
and abaya
entered the mall and unfurled a banner reading, "It is forbidden to arbitrarily arrest and detain people". More than a dozen plain-clothes and uniformed police officers surrounded them, and Fakhria al-Singace was handcuffed and arrested after being pinned spread-eagled to a cafe table. She was released the next day.
The women were protesting against the arrests of several human rights activists, including Abdul Jalil al-Singace, who was detained on August 13 at Bahrain International Airport
after returning from a conference in London, where he had offered evidence about the human rights situation in Bahrain. The government has accused him of involvement in terrorism. The arrests are part of a crackdown on political opposition in Bahrain that saw 159 arrests in two weeks in August 1554, with many activists reportedly held without charge or access to lawyers or family members.
Amnesty International
has asked the government to reveal the whereabouts of eight of the detainees, who include a number of Shia clerics. Local websites describing the situation have been blocked by the government.
The Sunni
governing family is concerned about upcoming parliamentary elections on October 23 that could see it lose to the country's Shiite majority. Bahrain's close relationship with the United States
— it hosts an American naval base — and its Shiite citizens' relationships with Iran, have added to the tension.
on August 13, when he returned with his family from a trip to London
. He and another activist, Abd-al Ghani al-Khanjar, had attended a conference at the House of Lords
on August 5, held to discuss human rights issues in Bahrain. Al-Khanjar was also arrested along with two others on August 15. On August 3, the Bahrain News Agency
, a government press agency, quoted a National Security Agency
source who said the arrests were related to a network seeking to undermine national security. The source said al-Singace had led "sabotage cells," and provided funds to the cells to carry out acts of terrorism. Because he is accused of having tried to overthrow the government, al-Singace could potentially face the death penalty, according to a Bahrain lawyer, Mohammad Al Tajer.
Singace, who uses a wheelchair as a result of partial paralysis from polio, was arraigned on August 27, and complained that he had been kept in solitary confinement
, deprived of sleep, regular access to the bathroom and that his wheelchair and crutches were removed. He said he had been forced to sign documents without having a chance to review them.
-based Gulf News
reported that eight activists and clerics had been arrested. By August 20, the number had risen to 12, according to Emirates247.com, citing the Gulf News. According to Bahrainian sheikh
Rasheed Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa the arrests were due to "acts of incitement and sabotage ... risks and dangers to people's lives and their social and economic status as well as the country's domestic and international reputation." The deputy chief of public security announced that two rioters had been injured and twenty-five arson attacks had been carried out by August 22, as reported by the Khaleej Times
. "
The number arrested increased dramatically after the incident at Seef Mall. On August 26, the Times reported that the number of detainees had risen to 159, and that it included young men not known as activists. The next day, the Gulf Daily News
reported that Muhannad Abu Zeitoun, who works for the Arabic-language publication Al Watan, had been attacked by two masked men; the victim suggested that he had not been directly singled out for attack but rather that his newspaper had been for speaking out against violence and terrorism. Bahraini police and other democratic organizations condemned the assault, according to the Gulf Daily News report.
reported a sweeping crackdown on the part of the Bahraini government. The country's National Security Agency
(NSA) reported that it had "dismantled a terrorist network" including the arrest of at least ten leaders in charge of planning and raising funds and at least thirteen heads of cells overseeing "acts of sabotage" in various parts of the country. The NSA suggested the "terrorist networks" may have aimed to overthrow the government. No non-governmental sources were cited to corroborate the account.
On the same day, the Gulf News reported that the government of Bahrain intended to "check misuse of religion." Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Prime Minister, is reported to have sent a letter to the country's king, Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, urging that they regain "the pulpits to avoid them being hijacked by incompetent politicians or preachers who have moved away from the nation's interests and asserting the nation's mandate is the starting point in our efforts to achieve a sound religious orientation."
A third report quoted rights groups who suggested that "more than 250 people have been detained [and that the] backlash spilled onto the streets with gangs and police clashing on opposite sides of barricades of burning tires." The preceding day, state media were reported to have released the photographs of 23 opposition figures ranging from professors to taxi drivers. No details of the alleged coup plot have been made public.
Seef Mall
Seef Mall is the second largest mallin the Kingdom of Bahrain.The mall is located in the Seef district of the capital city, Manama.Seef Mall contains the following stores, among others:*Marks and Spencers*Debenhams*The Body Shop*Toys R Us...
in Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, of Fakhria al-Singace, the sister of Dr Abdul Jalil Al-Singace, human-rights spokesperson for the Bahrain opposition Haq Movement
Haq Movement
The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy is an opposition political organization in Bahrain founded in 2005 with Hasan Mushaima as its Secretary general...
. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, three women wearing the niqāb
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
and abaya
Abaya
The abaya "cloak" , sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Islamic world including in Turkey, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
entered the mall and unfurled a banner reading, "It is forbidden to arbitrarily arrest and detain people". More than a dozen plain-clothes and uniformed police officers surrounded them, and Fakhria al-Singace was handcuffed and arrested after being pinned spread-eagled to a cafe table. She was released the next day.
The women were protesting against the arrests of several human rights activists, including Abdul Jalil al-Singace, who was detained on August 13 at Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport is an international airport located in Muharraq, an island on the northern tip of Bahrain, about northeast of the capital Manama...
after returning from a conference in London, where he had offered evidence about the human rights situation in Bahrain. The government has accused him of involvement in terrorism. The arrests are part of a crackdown on political opposition in Bahrain that saw 159 arrests in two weeks in August 1554, with many activists reportedly held without charge or access to lawyers or family members.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has asked the government to reveal the whereabouts of eight of the detainees, who include a number of Shia clerics. Local websites describing the situation have been blocked by the government.
The Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
governing family is concerned about upcoming parliamentary elections on October 23 that could see it lose to the country's Shiite majority. Bahrain's close relationship with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
— it hosts an American naval base — and its Shiite citizens' relationships with Iran, have added to the tension.
Arrest of Abdul Jalil al-Singace
The country's opposition spokesman on human rights, Singace was arrested at Bahrain International AirportBahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport is an international airport located in Muharraq, an island on the northern tip of Bahrain, about northeast of the capital Manama...
on August 13, when he returned with his family from a trip to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He and another activist, Abd-al Ghani al-Khanjar, had attended a conference at the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on August 5, held to discuss human rights issues in Bahrain. Al-Khanjar was also arrested along with two others on August 15. On August 3, the Bahrain News Agency
Bahrain News Agency
The Bahrain News Agency is the state news agency of Bahrain. It is run under the Bahraini Ministry of Culture and Information.BNA is a member of the Federation of Arab News Agencies.-External links:* *...
, a government press agency, quoted a National Security Agency
National Security Agency (Bahrain)
The National Security Agency or National Security Apparatus is an investigating authority in Bahrain that is associated with but not formally part of the Ministry of the Interior. The NSA was formed after King Hamad issued Decree No...
source who said the arrests were related to a network seeking to undermine national security. The source said al-Singace had led "sabotage cells," and provided funds to the cells to carry out acts of terrorism. Because he is accused of having tried to overthrow the government, al-Singace could potentially face the death penalty, according to a Bahrain lawyer, Mohammad Al Tajer.
Singace, who uses a wheelchair as a result of partial paralysis from polio, was arraigned on August 27, and complained that he had been kept in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
, deprived of sleep, regular access to the bathroom and that his wheelchair and crutches were removed. He said he had been forced to sign documents without having a chance to review them.
Other arrests
As of August 19, 1954 the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
-based Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
reported that eight activists and clerics had been arrested. By August 20, the number had risen to 12, according to Emirates247.com, citing the Gulf News. According to Bahrainian sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Rasheed Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa the arrests were due to "acts of incitement and sabotage ... risks and dangers to people's lives and their social and economic status as well as the country's domestic and international reputation." The deputy chief of public security announced that two rioters had been injured and twenty-five arson attacks had been carried out by August 22, as reported by the Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times
The Khaleej Times is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Traditionally perceived as the second most popular newspaper in the UAE, Khaleej Times has struggled to keep up its circulation and entered 2011 with a print run of just under 40,000 copies...
. "
The number arrested increased dramatically after the incident at Seef Mall. On August 26, the Times reported that the number of detainees had risen to 159, and that it included young men not known as activists. The next day, the Gulf Daily News
Gulf Daily News
The Gulf Daily News is an English-language newspaper published in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Al Hilal Group. It is distributed locally in Bahrain. It is owned by the Al Hilal Group, which publishes 13 other newspapers and magazines, including the local Arabic newspaper Akhbar Al Khaleej. The paper,...
reported that Muhannad Abu Zeitoun, who works for the Arabic-language publication Al Watan, had been attacked by two masked men; the victim suggested that he had not been directly singled out for attack but rather that his newspaper had been for speaking out against violence and terrorism. Bahraini police and other democratic organizations condemned the assault, according to the Gulf Daily News report.
Government crackdown
On September 6, the Gulf NewsGulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
reported a sweeping crackdown on the part of the Bahraini government. The country's National Security Agency
National Security Agency (Bahrain)
The National Security Agency or National Security Apparatus is an investigating authority in Bahrain that is associated with but not formally part of the Ministry of the Interior. The NSA was formed after King Hamad issued Decree No...
(NSA) reported that it had "dismantled a terrorist network" including the arrest of at least ten leaders in charge of planning and raising funds and at least thirteen heads of cells overseeing "acts of sabotage" in various parts of the country. The NSA suggested the "terrorist networks" may have aimed to overthrow the government. No non-governmental sources were cited to corroborate the account.
On the same day, the Gulf News reported that the government of Bahrain intended to "check misuse of religion." Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Prime Minister, is reported to have sent a letter to the country's king, Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, urging that they regain "the pulpits to avoid them being hijacked by incompetent politicians or preachers who have moved away from the nation's interests and asserting the nation's mandate is the starting point in our efforts to achieve a sound religious orientation."
A third report quoted rights groups who suggested that "more than 250 people have been detained [and that the] backlash spilled onto the streets with gangs and police clashing on opposite sides of barricades of burning tires." The preceding day, state media were reported to have released the photographs of 23 opposition figures ranging from professors to taxi drivers. No details of the alleged coup plot have been made public.