“Inciting hatred” is becoming a fashionable charge

Soon, Bahrain’s streets, villages and towns will once again live several days of a perfumed atmosphere. The wafts of tear-gas and the sounds of rubber bullets will be infused in decrepit narrow streets, while that effervescent smell of burning rubber, that major adrenaline aphrodisiac normally only experienced when paying hundreds of dinars at the F1 racetrack, will be available completely free of charge while cars dodge the flames and probably accompanied by thrown rocks and sticks; all of those terrorist acts by kids who – because of their reaching the legal age of maturity which is 15 in Bahrain – could be imprisoned for a very long time, but could never dream of exercising their energy and intellect to vote for a representative who could speak with their voice. When those kids are from the 55% of the population that only got 18 representatives while across the fence they see that they do not count as much as those 35% who got 22, then they deserve everything that they get!

And they will get the usual “inciting hatred of the regime” charge, get locked up and the keys get thrown away awaiting a usual royal pardon a few weeks later.

And the cat-and-mouse games continue.

Soon too, three citizens who believe in the adage that one should be patriotic to ones country all the time and only be loyal to its government when it deserves it will be taken to court with this familiar and oft-used charge:

التحريض علانية على كراهية نظام الحكم والازدراء به، وإذاعة أخبار وشائعات من شأنها إحداث الاضطراب الداخلي بالمملكة والتحريض علانية إلى مقاومة السلطات وعدم الانقياد للقوانين

which translates to:

Publicly inciting hatred against and scorning the regime and broadcasting news and rumors that may cause internal unrest and publicly inciting resistance to the authorities and not to bow to laws

Okay, talk – against another old adage – is not cheap in Bahrain. It can cost you your freedom!

Throughout my observation of the political scene here, and from the various video clips that I have seen of Al-Khawajah and Mushaimi’s speeches and lectures, I have never, not even once, heard them publicly calling for violence against the regime. Never once did I hear them demand the removal of the ruling family, nor did I hear them call for their death either. Yes, their neophyte and overzealous followers regularly call for the death of Al-Khalifa and I know that is more passion than fact but those calls are ignored by the two in question.

From what I see from an objective point of view is that they are both exercising their full right to speak freely, which is their constitutionally guaranteed right. If and when they do extend that right to calling for violence or the illegal exclusion of the ruling family, then and only then should the legal authorities react and put them through the grinder.

Ironically, I know of one person (at least) who should be charged under those felonies because he and his team have been fully inciting hatred against and scorning the regime and broadcasting news and rumors that may cause internal unrest and publicly inciting resistance to the authorities and not to bow to laws but all they got are bagfuls of cash and various other incentives for a job well done!

Strange times we live in…

update: I found an interview with lawyer Hassan Radhi in today’s Al-Waqt very appropriate to this topic: