Briton denies being a spy, describes plot to rig upcoming elections in Bahrain
The Associated Press
Published: September 24, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt A British citizen of Sudanese origin who was expelled from Bahrain last week denied being a spy and said in remarks published Sunday that he was punished for exposing a government plot to rig upcoming elections.
Salah al-Bandar told the independent daily Al-Wasat that he had exposed a “secret network operating within the government to deprive an essential part of the population of this country of their rights.” He said the target was Bahrain’s majority Shiite Muslims.
Briton denies being a spy, describes plot to rig upcoming elections in Bahrain
The Associated Press
Published: September 24, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt A British citizen of Sudanese origin who was expelled from Bahrain last week denied being a spy and said in remarks published Sunday that he was punished for exposing a government plot to rig upcoming elections.
Salah al-Bandar told the independent daily Al-Wasat that he had exposed a “secret network operating within the government to deprive an essential part of the population of this country of their rights.” He said the target was Bahrain’s majority Shiite Muslims.
“This network aims to prevent a section of Bahrain’s society (Shiites) from participating and freely electing their representatives,” Al-Bandar was quoted as saying.
He said the secret network had a “strategic plan to minimize the chances of unwanted candidates from reaching parliament,” and challenged Bahraini authorities to investigate his claims in public.
About 60 percent of Bahrain’s 725,000 citizens are Shiite, but the country’s leadership is Sunni Muslim. Shiites often complain of discrimination, and say they are squeezed out of having a say in running the country.
Al-Bandar claimed to have documents that reveal a plan to “deploy electronic voting for the purpose of rigging the next elections.”
The government has inexplicably delayed all announcements about upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections, which were originally scheduled for May 2006 but have been postponed indefinitely.
Al-Bandar was quoted as saying the plan’s author was “an Arab academic who was based in Bahrain and now works in another Gulf country.” But he said the plan was ultimately masterminded by a senior member of the ruling family, Sheik Ahmed Attiatallah Al-Khalifa, who heads the Central Information Organization, the government agency in charge of keeping statistics.
The British citizen was forced to leave the tiny Gulf kingdom on Sept. 13. Days later, he was charged with “working against the interests of Bahrain” and issuing “wrong information” with the aim of sowing sedition, a government statement said. It did not explain why the charges came after the expulsion.
“Sedition” in Bahraini government statements often refers to attempts to stir up tensions between Shiites and Sunnis.
Al-Bandar lived in Bahrain for 16 years and gained citizenship. He worked for years as a consultant at the CIO, as well as in the prime minister’s office, and helped found a pro-government newspaper, Al-Watan.