Lebanon's Sunni religious leaders warn Hezbollah not to ignore their sect's opinion

By The Associated Press (CP) – BEIRUT — Lebanon's Sunni Muslim religious leaders warned Hezbollah on Sunday not to ignore their sect's opinion ahead of key parliamentary talks to pick a new prime minister. The Shiite Hezbollah and their allies said they won't name caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri to form a new Cabinet during two days of consultations that begin Monday. They have not publicly said whom they will name instead. The clerics, led by Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, the Sunnis' spiritual leader in Lebanon, said after a meeting they support Hariri because he represents majority of Sunnis. "We warn against ignoring the Sunni majority and the parliament majority," the leaders said in a statement. "We also warn against the dangers of an imposed government." Ministers from Hezbollah and its allies toppled Hariri's government on Jan. 12 after walking out because of disagreements over a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri's father. Sunday's announcement came two days after a potential kingmaker in Lebanese politics threw his support behind Hezbollah, giving the militant group a major boost. Walid Jumblatt, the influential leader of the Druse sect, refused to say exactly how many lawmakers are with him. The support of at least 65 lawmakers is required to form a government in Lebanon's 128-seat Parliament. Hezbollah and its allies already claim 57 seats. Saad Hariri has 60. The announcement is the latest twist in a political crisis pitting the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah against the western-backed Hariri, who said this week he will seek the premiership again. Lebanon's crisis stems from a U.N. tribunal investigating Rafik Hariri's assassination. Many fear Hezbollah will react violently if its members, as is widely expected, are named in the court's sealed indictment. The indictment was filed last week but its contents likely will not be made public for weeks. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak about the latest political developments later Sunday. http://arikatmail.tumblr.com/ http://freeglobalinformation.wordpress.com/ http://freedomforjordan.blogspot.com/

Lawyers condemn 'abuse' of suspected WikiLeaker Bradley Manning

Lawyers condemn 'abuse' of suspected WikiLeaker Bradley Manning American soldier's lawyers say holding him in maximum security and putting him on suicide watch breaches his rights The lawyer for Bradley Manning, the army private suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, has filed a complaint that he is being unfairly treated at the marine base jail in Virginia. David Coombs, Manning's lawyer, said that holding him in maximum custody over the last five months and placing him on suicide watch amounted to abuse. Coombs called for his removal from such tight monitoring. The complaint was filed on Wednesday and on Thursday the marines downgraded his classification from suicide watch to prevention of injury. But Coombs argues that prevention of injury is not significantly different in practical terms and is seeking his removal from maximum security. Coombs, writing on his office website, said that on Wednesday, against the recommendation of two forensic psychiatrists, the commander of the Quantico jail, James Averhart, listed Manning as a suicide risk, which meant he was confined to his cell 24 hours a day. "He was stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear. His prescription eyeglasses were taken away from him. He was forced to sit in essential blindness with the exception of the times that he was reading or given limited television privileges. During those times, his glasses were returned to him," Coombs wrote. Manning, aged 23, who had been based in Iraq, was transferred to Quantico on July 29 last year. He is facing court-martial later this year and faces a heavy prison sentence if found guilty of leaking classified material. Coombs said that the downgrading of Manning from suicide watch to prevention of injury does not make much practical difference and that he remains under close scrutiny. The guards check him every five minutes during the day and Manning is required to respond, Coombs said. "At night, if the guards cannot see him clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure that he is okay," Coombs said. He is not allowed to do exercises in his cell, only during the one hour a day when he goes from his cell to an empty room with some gym equipment. First Lieutenant Scott Villiard, a spokesman for Quantico, told the Washington Post: "The most important thing is that we're not treating Private Manning any differently from anyone else that would be in the same classification. Whether it's maximum custody or prevention of injury, he's being treated the same as anybody else." There was "a responsibility to make sure that these detainees are safe, secure and make it to trial," Villiard said. Manning had been placed in maximum custody because, the authorities said, his escape could pose a risk to life, property or national security. For latest news and opinion check out: http://arikatmail.tumblr.com/ http://freeglobalinformation.wordpress.com/ http://freedomforjordan.blogspot.com/.

Lawyers condemn 'abuse' of suspected WikiLeaker Bradley Manning

American soldier's lawyers say holding him in maximum security and putting him on suicide watch breaches his rights The lawyer for Bradley Manning, the army private suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, has filed a complaint that he is being unfairly treated at the marine base jail in Virginia. David Coombs, Manning's lawyer, said that holding him in maximum custody over the last five months and placing him on suicide watch amounted to abuse. Coombs called for his removal from such tight monitoring. The complaint was filed on Wednesday and on Thursday the marines downgraded his classification from suicide watch to prevention of injury. But Coombs argues that prevention of injury is not significantly different in practical terms and is seeking his removal from maximum security. Coombs, writing on his office website, said that on Wednesday, against the recommendation of two forensic psychiatrists, the commander of the Quantico jail, James Averhart, listed Manning as a suicide risk, which meant he was confined to his cell 24 hours a day. "He was stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear. His prescription eyeglasses were taken away from him. He was forced to sit in essential blindness with the exception of the times that he was reading or given limited television privileges. During those times, his glasses were returned to him," Coombs wrote. Manning, aged 23, who had been based in Iraq, was transferred to Quantico on July 29 last year. He is facing court-martial later this year and faces a heavy prison sentence if found guilty of leaking classified material. Coombs said that the downgrading of Manning from suicide watch to prevention of injury does not make much practical difference and that he remains under close scrutiny. The guards check him every five minutes during the day and Manning is required to respond, Coombs said. "At night, if the guards cannot see him clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure that he is okay," Coombs said. He is not allowed to do exercises in his cell, only during the one hour a day when he goes from his cell to an empty room with some gym equipment. First Lieutenant Scott Villiard, a spokesman for Quantico, told the Washington Post: "The most important thing is that we're not treating Private Manning any differently from anyone else that would be in the same classification. Whether it's maximum custody or prevention of injury, he's being treated the same as anybody else." There was "a responsibility to make sure that these detainees are safe, secure and make it to trial," Villiard said. Manning had been placed in maximum custody because, the authorities said, his escape could pose a risk to life, property or national security.

Free Bradley Manning-The Wikileaks Whistle Blower

January 21, 2011 Bradley Manning 'abused' - lawyers Ewen MacAskill Amer i can sol dier's lawyers say hold ing him in max i mum secu ri ty and putting him on sui cide watch breach es his rights The lawyer for Bradley Man ning, the army pri vate sus pect ed of leak ing hun dreds of thou sands of doc u ments to Wik iLeaks, has filed a com plaint that he is being unfair ly treat ed at the marine base jail in Vir ginia. David Coombs, Man ning's lawyer, said that hold ing him in max i mum cus tody over the last five months and plac ing him on sui cide watch amount ed to abuse. Coombs called for his removal from such tight mon i tor ing. The com plaint was filed on Wednes day and on Thurs day the marines down grad ed his clas si fi ca tion from sui cide watch to pre ven tion of injury. But Coombs argues that pre­ven tion of injury is not sig nif i cant ly dif fer ent in prac ti cal terms and is seek ing his removal from max i mum secu ri ty. Coombs, writ ing on his office web site, said that on Wednes day, against the rec om men­da tion of two foren sic psy chi a trists, the com man der of the Quan ti co jail, James Aver­hart, list ed Man ning as a sui cide risk, which meant he was con fined to his cell 24 hours a day. "He was stripped of all cloth ing with the excep tion of his under wear. His pre scrip­tion eye glass es were taken away from him. He was forced to sit in essen tial blind ness with the excep tion of the times that he was read ing or given lim it ed tele vi sion priv i leges. Dur ing those times, his glass es were returned to him," Coombs wrote. Man ning, aged 23, who had been based in Iraq, was trans ferred to Quan ti co on July 29 last year. He is fac ing court-martial later this year and faces a heavy prison sen tence if found guilty of leak ing clas si fied mate r i al. Coombs said that the down grad ing of Man ning from sui cide watch to pre ven tion of injury does not make much prac ti cal dif fer ence and that he remains under close scruti­ny. The guards check him every five min utes dur ing the day and Man ning is required to respond, Coombs said. "At night, if the guards can not see him clear ly, because he has a blan ket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure that he is okay," Coombs said. He is not allowed to do exer cis es in his cell, only dur ing the one hour a day when he goes from his cell to an empty room with some gym equip ment. First Lieu tenant Scott Vil liard, a spokesman for Quan ti co, told the Wash ing ton Post: "The most impor tant thing is that we're not treat ing Pri vate Man ning any dif fer ent ly from any one else that would be in the same clas si fi ca tion. Whether it's max i mum cus­tody or pre ven tion of injury, he's being treat ed the same as any body else." There was "a respon si bil i ty to make sure that these detainees are safe, secure and make it to trial," Vil liard said. Man ning had been placed in max i mum cus tody because, the author i ties said, his escape could pose a risk to life, prop er ty or nation al secu ri ty.

No Change in Jordan's Torture Policy

According to Human Rights Watch there is no significant change in Jordan's torture policy, Or as HRW put it: Torture, which independent prison inspections conducted by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch in 2006, 2007, and 2008 found to be routine and widespread, continues. Positive initiatives, such as training programs run by the National Center for Human Rights and other groups to raise awareness about torture among law enforcement officials, are far from sufficient considering Jordan’s lack of both political will and effective mechanisms to bring perpetrators to justice. http://arikatmail.tumblr.com/ http://freeglobalinformation.wordpress.com/ http://freedomforjordan.blogspot.com/

No change in Jordan's torture policy

According to Human Rights Watch there is no significant change in Jordan's torture policy,
Or as HRW put it: Torture, which independent prison inspections conducted by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch in 2006, 2007, and 2008 found to be routine and widespread, continues. Positive initiatives, such as training programs run by the National Center for Human Rights and other groups to raise awareness about torture among law enforcement officials, are far from sufficient considering Jordan’s lack of both political will and effective mechanisms to bring perpetrators to justice.


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Saudi Meddling in Lebanon

By: Marwan Arikat . Since When The Saudi Régime Has Become The Guardian Of Sunni Muslims?    As Far As We Know, Saudi Arabia Is Participating In The Siege And The Starvation Of The Palestinians In The Gaza Strip Where 99% of The Population Are Sunni Muslims.    In Addition, The Hamas Government In Gaza Is The Only Democratically Elected Government In The Arab World, Where The Legislation Is Based On Pure Sunni Islamic Interpretation Of The Quran And Sunnah.   Yet, The Saudi Kingdom Is Conspiring With The US, Europe, Israel And All The Arab Dictatorships Except Syria, To Remove The Elected Government In Gaza. So Why In Lebanon, The Saudi Régime Is Interfering In Lebanese Domestic Affairs And The Saudi Kingdom Justifies Its Meddling In Lebanese Affair " In Order It To Protect The Interests Of The Lebanese Sunni Population"?   And Out Of All The Qualified Sunnis In Lebanon, Why Does The The Saudi Monarchy Insist On Backing Saad Al Hariri As Prime-Minister Of Lebanon?  Is It Because The Slain Father Of Saad Al Hariri Has A Saudi Citizenship And Was Intimately Close To The Saudi Royal Family And His Son, Saad Al Hariri Was Born In Saudi Arabia?   Or Is It Because Saad Al Hariri With All His Wealth, Can Mobilize The Sunni Community Against The Shiite Hezbollah Whose Loyalty Is To The Ayatollah Régime In Iran? The Saudis Have Always Tried To Eliminate The Pro-Tehran Forces In Lebanon And Other Arab And Muslim Countries.   The Saudis Are Pushing The Sunni Population To Engage In A Sectarian War With The Shiites, Which Will Be a Gift To The Enemies Of Lebanon, Like Israel And The US, Who Want The Lebanese Resistence To Get Distracted By A Civil War And Internal Conflicts, Thus Allowing The Israelis to Attack The Resistence From Behind To Make Up For Their Defeat In 2006. Sunnis Should Not Allow The Saudis To Drag Them Into Another Civil War, And They Should Pick A Different Leader To Represent Them, Other Than Hariri, Whose Loyality Is To Saudi Arabia And The US. Please visit the following sites for News, Opinions and Analysis:  http://arikatmail.tumblr.com/ http://freeglobalinformation.wordpress.com/ http://freedomforjordan.blogspot.com/