Habib Toumi

Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa

Bahrain on Tuesday evening pledged to investigate torture allegations highlighted by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report on Bahrain.

“The government will now be examining the allegations and findings mentioned in the report to ensure that Bahrain continues to meet international best practice in support of human rights,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, the foreign minister, said in a statement. “If, during the course of this examination, it can be established that events not in accordance with the law and international conventions have taken place, then these matters will be passed to the appropriate authorities for necessary action,” the minister said.

In its report released in Manama on Monday, HRW said that it had recorded several cases of torture against detainees and urged Bahraini authorities to “investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of torture or ill-treatment by security or law enforcement officials of any rank.”

The HRW also recommended to the authorities to “prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, in a court that meets international fair trial standards, any official found responsible for ordering, carrying out, or acquiescing in torture or ill-treatment.” continue reading…

Ali Larijani

A Kuwaiti MP has blasted Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani for his alleged threats to the Arabian Gulf states, saying that he had failed to respect his hosts and that he behaved like a master with his slaves. “His statement lacked the necessary respect for the host country and for its parliament. The problem is that his threat to strike the Gulf states in case of an attack on Iran was uttered inside the Kuwaiti parliament,” MP Faisal Al Mislim said.

During a visit to Kuwait earlier this month, Larijani said that “states in the region that house US military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launchpad for aggression against Iran.” The parliament speaker however said that Iran “does not want to inflict any harm on the GCC states,” and charged that the United States was scaring the Gulf from Iran to promote its presence in the region.

But for Al Mislim, Larjiani’s words were “full of threats and menaces.” “The language used by Larijani was similar to the one used by teachers with their students or rather by a master with his slaves,” he was quoted as saying by Kuwait daily Al Rai. Al Mislim said that Kuwait has always refused to allow the use of its lands to strike Iran and that this position was known to everybody. “Iran has voiced its stance long before Larijani arrived here and our official and popular position opposes US strikes against Iran. We have never been warmongers and we hope that the Iranians are not attacked by the Americans,” he said. continue reading…

 A rare clash between the lower chamber speaker and an MP representing Al Asala threatened to derail today’s parliamentary session before both sides regained their composure.

Speaker Khalifa Al Dhahrani said that the government wanted to delay a much-anticipated discussion on an ongoing investigation into the status of national carrier Gulf Air. His announcement sparked angry comments among the MPs who had planned to devote time for the debate on the struggling airline.

MP Abdul Halim Murad said that the letter was eroding the prestige of the lower chamber, prompting the speaker to comment that the lawmaker’s reaction was an election campaign manoeuvre.

However, Abdul Halim said that he was shocked by the speaker’s attitude and left the hall, shouting that he was not honoured to be an MP and that he was resigning. Some MPs followed him to calm down the situation, but Abdul Halim did not go back to the hall. continue reading…

Salwa Al Jassar

A Kuwait lawmaker is pushing for including children born to Kuwaiti mothers and non-Kuwaiti fathers in the mandatory education laws.

“We want to amend the law that stipulates that education is compulsory for all Kuwaiti boys and girls so that it also includes boys and girls born to Kuwaiti mothers and non-Kuwaiti fathers,” MP Salwa Al Jassar said .

The laws governing public education in Kuwait currently does not cover children whose fathers are not Kuwaitis nationals.

Under Al Jassar’s proposals, fathers who do not send their children to school will be put in prison for one month or made to pay fines.

Women’s rights activists have been campaigning for an enhancement of the status of women in Kuwait, with a particular focus on Kuwaiti women married to foreigners who cannot transmit their nationality to their children and do not benefit from government-sponsored housing schemes. continue reading…

Mohammad Al Afassi

A law covering the rights of domestic helpers in Kuwait would be issued before May, the social affairs and labour minister has said.

“Kuwait is keen on applying standards compatible with the principles and values of the International Labour Organisation, and this keenness is reflected in the new private sector labour law,” Mohammad Al Afassi told Kuwaiti daily Al Siyassah. “The new law will be published in the official gazette within two weeks so that the labour ministry will send copies to the ILO, and the law governing the status of domestic helpers will be promulgated before the month of May,” the minister said.

Kuwait last month endorsed a new labour law that included more rights for foreign workers. However, the law was criticized for not including clauses to cover the rights of more than 600,000 domestic helpers, while the ILO called for including clauses on mandatory labour, illegal deportation of workers and the ‘kafil’, the controversial sponsorship system governing employer-employee relations in the Gulf countries. continue reading…

An Arab teacher has been sacked for asking her students at a private university in Bahrain to observe a one minute’s silence in tribute to Iraqi former president Saddam Husain.

The university administration fired the teacher after incensed Bahraini and Kuwaiti students complained about the teacher’s request, Bahraini daily Al Ayam reported on Tuesday.

The political science teacher allegedly called for the tribute before the start of the class, saying that the students had to pay respect to the “martyr and hero of the nation.” However, several students took the request to the president who launched an investigation into the incident.

Years after his downfall and subsequent execution, Saddam remains a controversial figure in Bahrain. continue reading…