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Pushing for a democratic transformation of Bahrain.
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9/11/2016

Developments:
BBC: Hamilton backs  NI-CO over Bahrain 'torture' appeal
                              

A call for the Stormont executive to suspend the work of a Belfast based company training security forces in Bahrain has been rejected.

NI-CO, owned by Invest NI, has worked with the police and prison services in the Gulf state.

In a report published in September, human rights group Reprieve said those organisations were guilty of torture.

It called on Stormont economy minister Simon Hamilton to suspend the contract.

But in a letter to the group, the minister said the executive was not in a position to suspend the company's work in Bahrain as it didn't award the contract.

The contract, worth £900,000 last year, was awarded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Its September report - entitled Belfast to Bahrain: The Torture Trail - was highly critical of the police, prison service and the office of the Ombudsman, whose job is to investigate allegations of torture.

Reprieve claimed all of those organisations were guilty of systematic abuse.

"The global community, non-governmental organisations, the United Nations, other governments, are clear that the human rights situation in Bahrain is dire," said Reprieve's deputy director Harriet McCulloch on the day the report was published.

"Bahrain's police are widely reported to be involved in abuse, Bahrain's prisons are widely reported to be the sites of incredibly brutal torture."

 
Asharq Al-Awsat: Wefaq chief Ali Salman's appeal reopens
                              
 

Manama- An appeals court in Bahrain set up the retrial of Shiite opposition chief Ali Salman on Sunday. Salman was sentenced to nine years in prison for inciting sectarian strife.

The head of the now-banned Al-Wefaq group attended the hearing in Manama but refused to answer the judge’s questions, a judicial source said.

His defense lawyers insisted that Salman was innocent, sources told AFP.

A verdict would be announced on December 4, advocate general Haroun al-Zayani said in a statement carried by the official BNA news agency.

Salman, behind bars since December 2014, was sentenced in July last year to four years in prison after being convicted of inciting hatred.

However, in May, the appeals court increased his jail sentence to nine years after reversing an earlier acquittal on charges of calling for regime change by force.

Middle East Monitor: Britain to open naval base in Bahrain
                              

In its latest push to strengthen economic and military ties in the Arabian Gulf, Britain is set to open a naval base in Bahrain next month, the Daily Mail has reported. The base, which is located in the Mina Salman Port, will be used by the Royal Navy and Special Forces.

In 2012, facilities at the port were offered to Britain’s then Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to store equipment and launch secret missions. It will now be used as a forward operating base and a place for planning, storing equipment for naval operations and accommodating Royal Navy personnel. Troops from the British Army and Royal Air Force may also use it.

The British government believes that the Bahrain base will help the armed forces to send larger warships to the Gulf. According to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, this will “reinforce stability” in the region.

The base, which is worth nearly £40 million, will house up to 600 military personnel. Bahrain has paid over £30 million to open the facility, with Britain contributing around £7.5 million.

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