The trial of 23 persons (human rights defenders, political activists, bloggers, and the men of religion) started at 10 am, attended the court hearing, representatives from the embassies, defense lawyers, representatives of the international organization as well as some local media and some relatives of the detainees.

Bahraini security forces prevented a group of people from entering the court:

1 – Mr. AbdulHadi khalaf – Prof. in Sweden university and Politician
2 – Mr. Ali Rabiea – Political Activist.
3- Ms.Ghada Jamsheer – a defender of human rights.

In addition to activists and families of some detainees.

Attended by new defense appointed by the Minister of Justice to defend the detainees.

The defense requested from the judge that he asks the defendant to accept them as their legal defense .

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Bahrain human rights petition Starbucks
Human rights activists have organised a petition against the coffee chain Starbucks after staff locked up opponents of the regime in Bahrain in a branch in the capital Manama.

Local activists along with opposition members of parliament and journalists had gone to the coffee house after being excluded from a court case.

They had been refused entry to a hearing in the prosecution of 25 opposition figures and human rights activists put on trial for terrorism in advance of October’s elections.

Not long after they had started their coffee and cakes in a branch of Starbucks opposite the courthouse the manager appeared and locked the doors.

We were locked inside for 15 minutes,” said Mohammed al-Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, one of the activists. “The manager told us he wanted to ensure the safety of property and staff.”

He said the police then arrived and asked the management to order everyone to leave and let no one else in.

Since the incident, on November 25, an international human rights website, change.org, has launched an internet petition against Starbucks, pointing out that the company claims to have a “positive impact” and be a “catalyst for change” in countries where it operates.

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The trial of 23 persons (human rights defenders, political activists, bloggers, and the men of religion) started at 9:30 am, attended the court hearing, representatives from the embassies, defense lawyers, representatives of the international organization as well as some local media and some relatives of the detainees.

Bahraini security forces prevented a group of people from entering the court:

1 – Mr. Mohamed Maskati – Chairman of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (representing the Arab-European Centre for Human Rights) in Norway.
2 – Ms.Ghada Jamsheer – a defender of human rights.

In addition to activists and families of some detainees.

(more…)