Bahraini Mirror: Former Bahraini MP Ali Alaswad, commenting on the Bahraini authorities' decision to execute Ali Al-Arab and Ahmad Al-Malali, said the official support of the international community for authoritarian and dictatorial governments in the Arab world is one of the reasons why there are ongoing repression, killings and displacement.

Alaswad stressed in a tweet that the timing of the execution of martyrs Ali Al-Arab and Ahmad Al-Malali was for the purpose of regaining the trust of loyalists after it was questioned in what was broadcast in the Players with Fire episode, which angered the [ruling] family to the point of forcing Sunni families to pledge allegiance and disown their sons [who appeared in the episode] via the official news agency BNA.

He went on to say that "historically, the authorities in Bahrain have adopted a method of spreading terror by intimidation first to discourage the movement making demands, and then implement successive death penalties to send a more intense message that we continue to punish opponents of the regime, on the grounds that the government has the backing of the official international community, let alone the support of the Gulf [states]."

Alaswad pointed out the authorities "in Bahrain have chosen the appropriate timing for this heinous act, which is during talks about the possibility of executing preacher Sheikh Salman Al-Awda from Saudi Arabia, also coinciding with the US Justice Department's announcement that the US federal government will resume executions of prisoners sentenced to death after a 16-year hiatus."

"The Bahraini authorities also have other reasons for choosing the timing of execution, the most important of which is currently the restoration of the trust of loyalists after it was questioned by the broadcast of the ‘Players with fire' episode, which angered the [ruling] family to the point of forcing Sunni families to pledge allegiance and disown their sons [who appeared in the episode] via Bahrain News Agency (BNA)," he added.

He further highlighted that "it is no secret that the Bahraini government is demonstrating its obvious weakness and inability to resolve its internal crisis, so it is resorting to violence and police state measures by imprisonment, repression and displacement, not to mention the continuation of thuggery which means increased hatred and distance from the language of reason and dialogue that has been in fact absent for decades."

After the executions, Alaswad wrote immediately: "Unfortunately, the international community's official support for authoritarian governments that impose power on the Arab peoples is one of the reasons for continued repression, killing and displacement. The interests of the West outweigh values ​​and principles, and the rulers need to support the superpowers for the continuation of their rule, since endings don't satisfy tyrannical rulers."

Arabic Version