Colonel Adel Flaifel (right), long accused of torturing political detainees during Bahrain's years of civil unrest in the mid-1990s, has returned to Bahrain. Why is the accused torturer returning from five months of living in exile in Australia? Thank Royal Decree 56, which was issued by the king last month and which pardons all alleged crimes committed before November 1, 2004.
This kind of royal decree is typical for the region, but it has sparked something atypical: a national protest movement that appears to have legs. For the second time in a month, Bahrain's National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture held a protest against the regime's granting amnesty to government-employed torturers.
As usual, Bahraini blogger Chan'ad has got the goods on the stirrings going on in his neighborhood. His report includes a series of vivid photos, and even a link to a video of the protest ("You'll have to mentally filter out the Braveheart background music", notes Chan'ad). About 250 people showed up for the protest, daringly held outside the "Fort" of Bahrain's Ministry of Interior. This appears to be the first time protestors rallied so close to the nerve-center of Bahrain's internal security forces.
Protestors demanded a repeal of Royal Decree 56, compensation for victims of torture, and public trials for accused torturers like Colonel Flaifel. They chanted, delivered speeches through a bull-horn, and flashed signs at passing drivers - until the police diverted away traffic.
Chan'ad remarks:
The fact that people are allowed to publicly protest about the lack of democracy is, ironically, a sign that we actually do have some vestiges of democracy in Bahrain. Of course, we can't ignore the fact that Bahrain's torturers have been given complete amnesty. However, I think that allowing people to air their grievances freely is one step in the right direction towards the justice that the regime will inevitably have to face in the future. Many many more of such steps still need to be taken.
He laments that the protest will only generate passing press coverage and wonders what more can be done than merely protesting. But let's see the glass as half full. This is a groundbreaking protest - and the next one is on Friday at 3:30. Who wants to go?
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