| 1990s Uprising in Bahrain | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Pro-Democracy leftists, liberals and islamists | Bahrain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bahrain Citizens | Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah Ian Henderson |
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| History of Bahrain | |
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This article is part of a series |
|
| Ancient Bahrain | |
| Dilmun | |
| Tylos and Mishmahig | |
| Awal | |
| Historical region | |
| Islam in Bahrain | |
| Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami | |
| Qarmatians | |
| Usfurid dynasty | |
| Jarwanid dynasty | |
| Jabrid dynasty | |
| Portuguese occupation | |
| Muqrin ibn Zamil | |
| Antonio Correia | |
| Safavid hegemony (1602-1717) | |
| 1717 Omani invasion of Bahrain | |
| Al Khalifa and the British Protectorate |
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| 1783 Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain | |
| Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship (1861) |
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| First Oil Well (1932) | |
| 20th Century Bahrain | |
| National Union Committee | |
| March 1965 Intifada | |
| State Security Law era | |
| 1981 coup d'état attempt | |
| 1990s Uprising | |
| 2011 Uprising | |
| Topical | |
| Military history of Bahrain | |
| Timeline of Bahrain history | |
|
Bahrain Portal |
The 1990s Uprising in Bahrain or 1990s Intifada was an uprising in Bahrain between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces. The uprising resulted in approximately forty deaths and ended after Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999[1] and a referendum on 14–15 February 2001 massively supported the National Action Charter.[2]
Contents |
Like other uprisings during the 1990s, the Bahrain intifada's stated aims were for democratic reform, and it was considered as the first movement in the Arab world where leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces on a common ground calling for restoration of the dissolved parliament and suspended constitution.
Although attempts were made to portray a totalitarian nature of an Islamic fundamentalist ideology, the events and the moderate discourse of their leaders attracted support from all human rights organizations (such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Article 19, UN Human Rights Sub-Commission, etc) as well as from members of parliament in the UK, France, USA and the EU. The final aim of the uprising was the reinstatement of the 1973 constitution and respect of human rights in Bahrain, while preserving plurality of opinions in society.
The uprising began with a picket by unemployed people in front of the ministry of labour in June 1994. Later on, the security forces used an event where stoning of a leading team (SAAD Track Club) took place in November 1994 in the Bahrain Marathon Relay race after they ran along a road alongside a conservative village, to launch attacks on the Shia community of Bahrain. This had been an attempt to stain the image of the pro-democracy uprising and to divert attention from the core issues.
The uprising was characterized by extreme forms of suppression, riots, stoning and bomb attacks. Over forty people were killed, mostly by the security forces. Most of the events of the Uprising took place in the villages and towns of the Baharna population. There was a strong religious component in the violence, with the security forces targeting Shiite areas, and many of those being targeted by bomb and arson attacks third world immigrants. The rhetoric of the pro-government quarters attempted to stain the image of the uprising, but at the end, the situation had to improve following the longest ever uprising in the history of Bahrain.
The violence generally subsided after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa carried out political reforms after he ascended to the throne in 1999. On 14 and 15 February 2001, the National Action Charter was overwhelmingly approved by Bahrainis, with 98.4% in favour.[2]
Reference:[3]
| Name | Age | From | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanni Abbas Khamis | 24 | Sanabis | 17 December 1994 | shot dead |
| Hani Ahmad Al-Wasti | 22 | Jedhafs | 17 December 1994 | shot dead |
| Haji Mirza Ali abdul Redha | 70 | Qadam | 20 Dec 1994 | Beaten to death by security forces |
| Abdul Qadir Al-Fatlawi | 18 | Duraz | 12 January 1995 | shot dead |
| Mohammed Redha Manssor | 34 | Bani Jamra | 25 January 1995 | shot dead |
| Hussain Ali Al-Safi | 26 | Sitra | 26 January 1995 | shot dead |
| Aqeel Salman Al-Saffar | 1 year | Bilad Al-Qadeem | 8 February 95 | inhaled tear gas for prolonged period |
| Hussain Ma'atooq | 12 | Daih | 8 March 1995 | died after a holicopter flew low above the house. He was on top of the house. |
| Hamid Abdulla Qasim | 17 | Duraz | 26 March 1995 | shot dead |
| Mohammed Ali Abdul Razzaq | 48 | Bani Jamra | 1 April 1995 | shot dead |
| Mohammed Yousif Atteya | 28 | Bani Jamra | 1 April 1995 | shot dead |
| Hussain Abdulla Al-Asheeri | 17 | Dair | 19 April 1995 | shot dead |
| Nidal Habib Al-Nashaba | 18 | Duraz | 4 May 1995 | shot dead |
| Saeed Al-Eskafi | 16 | Sanabis | 8 July 1995 | died under torture |
| Mohammed Shehab Fardan | 10 | Karzakkan | 25 May 1995 | died after an explosion during clashes |
| Hassan Jasim Al-Hasawi | 70 | Nuaim | 7 Jan 1996 | inhaled tear gas for prolonged period |
| Mohammed Hassan Taher | 22 | Jedhafs | 6 March 1996 | died in mysterious circumstances |
| Isa Hassan Qambar | 29 | Nuweidrat | 26 March 1996 | executed |
| Fadhil Abbas Marhoon | 25 | Karzakkan | 6 May 1996 | Shot dead by a special military unit |
| Salman Al-Taitoon | 28 | Sanabis | 7 May 1996 | House exploded by special military unit |
| Ali Salman Al-Taitoon | 3 | |||
| Fadeela Al-Mutghawwi (Al-Taitoon) | 23 | |||
| Abdul Amir Hassan Rustom | 36 | Sanabis | 12 May 1996 | Beaten to death during clashes |
| Mahmmod Abdul-Latif Hissain | 12 | Sanabis | 11 June 1996 | tortured to death |
| Ali Taher | 17 | Sitra | 2 July 1996 | shot dead |
| Zahra Ibrahim Kadhem | 54 | Bani Jamra | 23 July 1996 | Beaten to death by security forces |
| Seyed Ali Amin Mohammed | 19 | Karbabad | 17 August 1996 | tortured to death |
| Bashir Abdulla Ahmad Fadhl | 27 | Daih | 20 May 1997 | Beaten to death during an attack by security forces |
| Abdul Zahra Ibrahim Abdulla | 27 | Sanabis | 6 June 1997 | was beaten by the security forces that attacked the residents of Sanabis on 1 June. |
| Sheikh Ali Al-Nachas (a blind person) | about 50 years old | Bilad Al-Qadim | 29 June 1997 | During the morning, the well-known torturer Adel Flaifel summoned two persons and told them that Sheikh Al-Nachas is now dead. Sheikh Ali Al-Nachas was detained in January 1996 and sentenced for one-year accused of delivering political sermons in mosques. Released in February 1997 only to be re-detained a short time later accused of delivering similar sermons in a local mosque. For 2-3 months he had been ill-treated in detention and reports have spoken of his health deterioration as a result of this ill-treatment. Two weeks prior to his death, his house was ransacked by the security forces and his wife was beaten severely inside her bedroom. |
| Abd Ali Jasim Isa Yousif | 45 | Nu'iam | 8 August 1997 | died in Salmanya Hospital as a result of the deterioration of his health in jail. Mr. Yousif was detained a year ago. He became ill with hepatitis and the prison authorities prevented him from receiving the appropriate medical attention. In mid June, at a late stage, he was transferred to the Military Hospital and then o Saalmanya Hospital Wards 11 and 62 until his death on 8 August 1997. |
| Yaser Ibrahim Ali Sdaif | 22 | Wadyan, Sitra | 22 September 1997 | Yaser was detained in early 1995 and had suffered extreme forms of torture. One type of torture caused bleeding and resulted in the deterioration of his health. It was the insertion of a bottle in his back passage. He later developed cancer. His conditions became very serious two months ago. His death brings to mind the horrific treatment of prisoners under the hands of the merciless torture-officers headed by Ian Henderson. |
| Nooh Khalil Abdulla Al-Nooh | 22 | N\A | 21 July 1998 | was arrested in a raid on his parent’s house in Nuaim district (Manama) on Saturday 18 July. Few days later, the interior ministry telephoned the family of the martyr and ordered them to collect the dead body of their son from the mortuary. As the family went to receive the body of their dear son, the foreign security forces had already encircled the district of Nuaim. Nevertheless, the citizens penetrated the siege and about 1500 people attended the burial and funeral of the young man. The people photographed his body. It was full of torture, the kind of which is applied to all citizens taken into custody for interrogation. The tortured body carried signs of electric shocks, sever beating and drilling-penetrations. The people chanted for the freedom of the nation and called for the punishment of torturers. |
| Mohammed Al-Sayyah | 28 | Wadyan, Sitra | 30 September 1998 | For more than three years, Mr. Al-Sayyah had been in hospital suffering from incrementally increasing pain that ended with his death in Salmaya Hospital.
Mr. Al-Sayyah, a university graduate, was initially arrested on 5 April 1995 and tortured severely by a Jordanian officer named Mahmood Al-Akkori (so-called Abo-Fakhri) until 12 July 1995. His condition had deteriorated following the session of torture under Al-Akkori. He had been subjected to electric shocks and was severely beaten on sensitive parts of his body. He was then stripped naked and forced to sit on a bottle which caused him to suffer immensely after his release. Months later, he developed cancer and the pains continued with him until his death. |
| Haj Ali Karim | 60 | Sanabis | 12 February 1999 | passed away after three years of suffering. Mr. Karim died in Salmania Hospital as a result of injuries he suffered when the security forces attacked a peaceful procession to commemoration of the Martyr Issa Qambar in March 1996. |