Rihanna al Mousawi was arrested in April 2013 for “planning to bomb” the FI Race. Public Security Chief General Tariq Hassan accused her and Nafeesa al Asfoor of attempting “ a dry run to test the security measures at the F.I.” by carrying a cushion under Nafeesa’s dress.
What happened to her after the FI races ? She was tortured and her 16 year old son Husein was threatened with torture. She was taught a “fabricated tale” several times and beaten on her head if she made a mistake.
She was threatened with rape if she changed her story and forced to stand naked in a doorway. She was interrogated for 3 hours by the Attorney Genera Fahed Albuainain and then allowed to phone her family briefly.
She suffered a further interrogation by seven hooded men holding up photos of Naji al Fateel, Hadi Al Moussawi and Hisham al Sabbagh, demanding whether she knew them. She was accused of going to the Lebanon to receive training in weapons. Rihanna thought she’d be accused of campaigning for detainees at the FI protest but finds herself accused of membership of the “14th February Coalition” and plotting to bomb the F.I.
At the first court session she bravely spoke about her torture but Judge Ali Al Deraini laughed and dismissed it. He allowed the prosecution to make their case, but not the defence lawyers or defendants. The defence lawyers petitioned to have the Judge removed for bias, but failed. In the 14th February Coalition case Rihanna was sentenced to 5 years.
At 16th April 2014 Session the defence lawyers demanded that Rihanna’s torture claim should be investigated. The Judge refused. There will be no further defence evidence and she will be sentenced on 29th April 2014 for both the “bomb” charge and get the result of the 14th February Coalition Appeal.
The International Trade Union Movement must act. The I.L.O. has managed to reinstate 190 Bahrain Trade Unionists but we need pressure, economic boycotts and a cut in transport links. The Khalifa regime will only stop killing and detaining its citizens if there is a price. Obama and Cameron will do nothing because of arms sales and Saudi Arabia. Please tell me what can you do to help Rihanna al Mousawi?
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