Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Khalifa bin Salman is gone and Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa has come instead. Rashid has become the second head in the government of Bahrain now, the strong man who decides whenever he wants to cause tensions or calm the scene. He controls the forces that make arrests and execute orders, as well as the country's borders, and he has the power to decide whether to issue the most important documents or not.

The man alone has destroyed 38 mosques and detained a total of 20,000 people since 2011, let alone the 7,000 citizens whose torture was docuemnted. He is responsible for the deaths of more than 100 innocent souls, including children. This man now in these hours decided to take steps opposing that of the first head in the government, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is taking steps to calm down the situation to build a good ambiance suitable for reaching an understanding, while the second head in the government decided to ignite it.

What is the Interior Minister Doing?

Rashid bin Abdullah simply decided to use Coronavirus crisis measures, which the world has almost stopped, to implement a total travel ban against Bahraini Shiites going abroad, claiming that they are practicing religious tourism, visiting the holy places in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Any Shiite who is heading to Dubai now returns home disappointed from the airport because he was prevented from traveling by a regular employee there, and no matter how much the citizen tries to convince the employee that he is heading for Dubai, the answer comes in the form of an accusation: no, you are heading to the Iranian city of Mashhad.

This is how citizens going to Dubai or Kuwait and other states are prevented from traveling, because Rashid bin Abdullah has now decided that the Coronavirus crisis remains and that travel is banned, especially for Shiites

He also decided last Friday to send dozens of police vehicles along with an armored vehicle to be stationed near the largest Friday prayer site, attended by Shiites in Bahrain in the Diraz area. What are heavily armed police cars and soldiers needed for near worshippers?

Bahrainis are now sharing via social media outlets their stories of being prevented from traveling this summer, despite all attempts of persuasion and serious discussions with border employees, who resort to one phrase when they run out of excuses in the face of legal arguments by citizens: the decision comes from above, from the higher authorities. The citizens ask them: what authorities exactly? They say: the Interior Ministry..

Travel offices have suffered losses and citizens have lost thousands of dinars, without any guilt or legal or constitutional justification on the government's part, and despite the slogans in the official media about freedom of belief and religion in Bahrain, the reality on the ground is totally different. It is clearly seen by everyone that discrimination against Shiite citizens is scandalous and public.

It is so public that former Kuwaiti MP (Faisal Al-Dowaisan) appealed to "the Air Ports Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Bahrain to respect human rights. Do not deprive your people of the right to travel to Dubai under the claim that they're going to Mashhad, which is a clear violation of clause 2 of Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Hence, the Ministry of Interior is the supreme authority, and its minister is the head of government alone who decides whenever he wants to increase the persecution of Shiites which they suffer from everyday, manifested in unemployment, disrespect, and how they are made absent from all aspects of real influence in the country. They are deprived of their rights as citizens, and now Rashid is reminding them how he sees them: You are not Human Beings. 

Human rights activists are documenting further violations. Bahrain Forum for Human Rights published the following: A number of Bahraini citizens complained that they had been returned from border crossings in Bahrain or Dubai because they wanted to head to Iran for religious visits after (illegal and unannounced) decisions issued by official parties in Bahrain in a clear violation of freedom of movement and religious freedoms.

Is this Everything?

No, that's not all, as Rashid bin Abdullah further imposes restrictions on Jaw prisoners. He is willing to worsen the human rights issue further, starting with the repression practiced against the minor convicts in Dry Dock prison, to the abuse of sick prisoners in Jaw prison. This is the story of detainee Akbar Ali spreading across the country and so is the suffering of detainee Ahmed Ali Rahma and Mohammad Al-Khor. These are just some examples.

There are also repeated summonses and fabrication of cases against parents demanding the release of their sons, as is the case of Ali Muhanna, and other peaceful activists whose only desire is to have their sons released.

At the end of the day, people in Bahrain must understand that the government is not limited now to one head only, as there is another head who has returned to disrupt the country again on a sectarian level. This head has the ability to make and implement the decision and has the ability to whitewash his image presented to the Americans more than any other official in this country, for the Bahraini ambassador to Washington is his son, who has gained several American prizes.

Arabic Version