Human rights situation in Bahrain disastrous

Chairman of the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights Jawad Hussein warned of the catastrophic human rights situation in Bahrain, saying the conditions are aggravating due to the Al-Khalifa forces' crimes against the Bahraini people. Speaking to FNA on Monday, Hussein described the human rights situation in his country as "dangerous and disastrous", and called for finding an immediate solution to the crisis. Warning that Bahrain has turned into a prison for journalists and reporters, he said, "At present, many independent Bahraini correspondents, journalists and photojournalists are in detention and imprisoned and human rights activists and weblogers are also facing the same situation." Asked about Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifah's plan to visit different foreign states in the near future, Hussein underlined that Bahraini expatriates won't allow Al-Khalifa regime to cover up its crimes by such trips. Bahrainis have been staging anti-government protests since mid-February 2011, calling for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al-Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protest rallies. Reports from Bahrain said last week that the Al-Khalifa regime banned opposition groups from holding any anti-regime gatherings on World Press Freedom Day. Bahrain's main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society strongly condemned the regime's imposing of a ban on holding peaceful gatherings on World Press Freedom Day in a Saturday statement, adding that the move once again demonstrated the persisting violation of freedom of speech by Bahraini authorities. According to the statement, Al-Khalifa regime's security forces have set up checkpoints in several areas preventing people from entering main squares in the capital city of Manama and disrupting the traffic. Imposing restrictions and bans on Bahraini citizen’s freedom of speech is a flagrant violation of international laws and depicts the current despotism of the Bahrain authorities, the statement added.