Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Death, A Hunger Striker, Injuries, Detentions...and a Grand Prix

Bahraini economist and activist Ala'a Shehabi, arrested this afternoon (see 1609 GMT), speaking on Friday about protest, politics, and rights

See also Saudi Arabia Opinion: "The Era of Religious Guardianship is Over"
Bahrain Video: "Free Bird" --- A Daughter's Animated Conversation with Hunger Striker Abdulhadi Alkhawaja
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Hunger Striker Alkhawaja Near Death?

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2359 GMT: We close todays coverage with this picture of Dr Ala'a Shehabi, taken shortly after her release:

Activist Alaa Shahabi has been released and shes SUMOOD with Ali Al Aali and they deportingChanel4 crew #Bahrain twitter.com/jihankazerooni…

— jihan (@jihankazerooni) April 22, 2012

2330 GMT: Dr Ala'a Shehabi, Al A'ali and the Channel 4 News team, arrested earlier in Bahrain, have all been freed.

Jonathan Miller tweeted his release first:

I've been released with my crew. Breakneck drive to Bahrain airport in police van. Being deported now.

— Jonathan Miller (@millerC4) April 22, 2012

Shortly after, Maryam AlKhawaja confirmed Ala'a and Ali's release, via fellow BCHR activist Said Yousif:

. @alaashehabi and Ali Alaali have just been released via @SAIDYOUSIF #bahrain #FEB14 #F1

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) April 22, 2012

Miller also added this troubling coda:

Bahraini police refused to give us back our cameras and computers.

— Jonathan Miller (@millerC4) April 22, 2012

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Turkey Live Coverage (12 April): Erdogan "If the UN Does Not Follow on Syria, What Will It Follow Through?"

1820: Speaking at the joint press briefing with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Erdogan said that they see no implemantation of the Annan Plan and no improvement of the situation in Syria. Erdogan said:

The Annan Plan is a six-point plan; not an extended broad plan [to solve the crisis]. In my opinion, it is not being implemented.

However, we are saying from the very beginning that we want an outcome. And for this outcome, the tanks must be withdrawn from cities first and foremost. They say 'we have withdrawn from cities and placed them in rural areas. No, where they belong is crystal clear. They belong to barracks. The administration must give confidence to the people by this action which is not the case now.

From the beginning, what we want is conforming to the people's demands. This can be done by bringing ballot boxes in front of the people. Whoever wins at the elections, the international community will respect that. We, as Turkey, are against any totalitarian, authoritarian and autocratic regimes.

No one can ask why Turkey is talking a lot. Our borders are violated and we have 25,000 refugees along with a 877 km of border with Syria. 

1700 GMT: According to Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, exportation to Syria has been decreased by 77 percent in March and it is also 56.1 percent less compared to last year's January-March period. It is reported that the number of transportation trucks has been diminished from around 250 to 10-15 a day.

1620 GMT: Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek said that the southerneastern and eastern parts will become Turkey's China, thanks to the economic stimulus package announced last week. Simsek continued:

Wherever you invest across Turkey, there are strong supports you will have. Tax rates are already set to zero in the sixth region [two regions mentioned above] 

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Turkey Live Coverage (11 April): Erdogan Taking the Lead on Syria?

1820 GMT: It is reported that an investigation committee on military coups and memorandums is to be set up in the parliament. As known, the judicial process has already begun on the 1980 military coup and the parliament itself is a co-plaintiff of the case now. 

1730 GMT: The Turkish Foreign Ministry denied media reports in Iran claiming that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu apologized over Turkish Premier Erdogan's recent remarks, accusing Tehran of being "not honest".

1645 GMT: Human Rights Association of Turkey reveals human rights violations of 2011. According to the report, 12,685 people were taken into custody, 2,922 were arrested and 3,252 were tortured.

Having drawn attention to the increasing figures of Turkey's humans rights violations, the head of the Association Ozturk Turkdogan said: "The political power is establishing a police state!"   

1620 GMT: Military operation backed by 2,000 soldiers and Cobra helicopters against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is continuing the province of Tunceli. Two shelters and one cave were detected. In these cells, kilograms of explosive materials were captured.

1550 GMT: Speaking at the group meeting, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said:

All circles in the country are working for Justice and Development Party (AKP). Governors, district governors, soldiers, chief constables, heads of tax offices... all work for AKP. We are not just struggling against AKP; but also against the status quo it created. Do not listen to what he is saying about 'the nation'. For him, 'the nation' equals to Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They emptied the meaning of nation completely. They became pharaohs in ten years. They created their own status quo.

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The Latest from Iran (9 April): No Agreement to Nuclear Talks in Turkey...Yet

IRAN AGREES TO 1ST ROUND OF NUCLEAR TALKS IN ISTANBUL, 2ND ROUND TO FOLLOW IN BAGHDAD (SEE 1000 GMT)

See also Iran Special: Spreading (and Understanding) Nuclear Confusion in Tehran
The Latest from Iran (8 April): We Love Nuclear Talks, We Love Them Not

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1655 GMT: Central Bank Watch. Mehr claims that Mahmoud Bahmani, the head of the Central Bank, resigned after the Central Bank's multi-billion dollar cash withdrawal from Iran's financial institutions, but the Government, through 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi refused it.

Mehr also publishes parts of the order from Rahimi to the Central Bank to withdraw the money "without delay".

1635 GMT: Press Watch. Hojatoleslam Mohammad Reza Zaeri, the editor of Kheimeh News, has told a conference, "No one dares to say a word for fear of the judiciary....Instead of analysts, we raise sycophants because the judiciary arrests critical journalists."

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The Latest from Iran (6 April): Is Tehran Pulling Out of Nuclear Talks?

Iran Special: Forget the News --- Let's Tell Scary Stories
Iran Feature: Bush Administration Trained MKO "Terrorists" From 2005
The Latest from Iran (5 April): How Serious Are the Economic Problems?

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1845 GMT: All the President's Men. Mohammad Dehghan, a member of the Presiding Board of Parlament, has declared that if the Arbitration Council asks Saeed Mortazavi --- the Presidential aide recently named head of the Social Security Fund --- to resign, he must do so.

Mortazavi's appointment has been challenged because he was the Tehran Prosecutor General during the abuses and killings at the Kahrizak detention centre in summer 2009.

Dehghan and other MPs have called for the impeachment of Minister of Labor Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, who has supported Mortazavi, if the Presidential aide does not stand down.

1815 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. See if you can spot the common theme in Friday Prayers across Iran and the Number One person who is being addressed: "Political Arrogance of the Foreign Anti-Iran Movement"; "America's Involvement with Arrogance"; "America's Threats"; "Bringing Up The Topic of Negotiations With America is Tragic"; "We Cannot Deal with America"; "Negotiating with America Does Not Have Any Meaning".

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, are you listening?

Just to drive the point home, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said in Tehran Friday Prayers, "[Making decisions on] the case of the U.S. falls within the authority of the Supreme Jurisprudent [Supreme Leader], and no person is in a position to express views in this regard and take action. I believe those who think that we should negotiate with the leading (member) of the (global) arrogance, namely the U.S., either have a simplistic view or have been intimidated.”

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Turkey Live Coverage (4 April): A "Casus Belli" for Syria?

1830 GMT: Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc spoke about the "importance of press in counter-terrorism." Arinc continued:

Freedom of press is essential and it should not be censored. However, the limits of this freedom is clearly written in the European Convention on Human Rights. We shall think that every country also needs to pay attention to these limits. However, there should be a mentality expanding these borders and interpreting freely so that the press can work more freely and more comfortably.   

1745 GMT: A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey's Bingol province. No injuries reported yet. 

1700 GMT: President Abdullah Gul commented on the ongoing coup trial. Gul said:

We are living a period of our political history from which lessons must be drawn. This will lead to a very important mentality change that there will be no such attempts anymore.

1620 GMT: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized all opposition parties in the Parliament, Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) for their previous positions on the government's plan to bring the 1980 coup makers to justice.

Erdogan said that all parties issued statements against the 12 September referendum, claiming that Justice and Development Party (AKP) couldn't bring them on trial and that it was a big lie. 

1540 GMT: Thousands of Kurds have gathered in Strasbourg, in front of the central building of the Council of Europe. Protesters want the Council to take an initiative on the Kurdish issue and to bring the problem forward in talks with Turkey.

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The Latest from Iran (31 March): All Quiet on the Tehran Front...Almost

See also Iran Feature: Muffling the Drumbeats of War? Israel, Azerbaijan, and the US
The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

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1530 GMT: Nuclear Watch. During her visit to Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China) will begin talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on 13 April in Istanbul.

1430 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Press TV, which has reported for weeks that sanctions were not forcing Ankara to curb trade with Tehran has been forced to headline, "Turkey to Decrease Iranian Oil Imports".

The admission follows Friday's announcement by Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz and Turkey's largest refiner that purchases of Iranian oil will be cut by 20%, with supplies coming instead from Libya.

Taner Yildiz also said Turkey is in talks with Saudi Arabia on spot oil purchases and longer term contacts: “We plan to increase the number of countries we buy oil from and the routes we use.”

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The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

See also Iran Video Special: How Regime Used "Ninjas" to Shut Down Press in Tehran
Iran Snap Analysis: Syria and Ahmadinejad --- Sifting Reality from Propaganda over the Erdoğan Visit
The Latest from Iran (29 March): Erdogan's Meetings with Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader

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<2030 GMT: Economy Watch. Die Presse offers an overview of the effect of sanctions on Iran's trade through the United Arab Emirates, affecting 25,000 Iranian exporters in Dubai.

2000 GMT: Assurance of the Day. Parviz Sarvari, a member of Parliament's National Security Committee, has said, "It is sensed that Turkey is gradually withdrawing from its past positions on Syria and is correcting these incorrect positions....Although Turkey has not definitely retreated from its past wrong...positions on Syria, it seems Turkey is gradually distancing itself from the ... hegemonic system on this issue and we take this as a good omen."

A quick reminder of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's statement as soon as he returned to Ankara from his visit to Tehran, "[There is no need] now for me to say I am hoping or expecting something. Because [President Assad] continues to kill. As we now see such a picture, I don't have any hope."

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Turkey Live Coverage (29 March): Ankara Adjusts Its Line On Syria

1800 GMT: Prime Minister Erdogan's meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ended. Khamenei underlined the significance of "the support for the resistance against Zionism" and said that "Iran supports reforms" while they "reject any American plan for Syria". The Iranian leader implied that this is the position an "independent" and "Islamic" country shall take.

In addition to the emphasis on "beneficial alliance and cooperation"with Turkey, Ayatollah Khamenei said that they were glad to see their "Muslim brothers in power in Turkey". 

1645 GMT: Prosecutor Hikmet Usta has appealed the ruling in the Hrant Dink murder trial and argued that the investigation must have been expanded although the court had acknowledged the existence of an organization behind the killing. Usta continued:

The court should have requested that the prosecution collect more evidence if it was lacking. The court rejected our requests to expand the investigation, it did not examine documents related to the Ergenekon gang and did not include people in the case who should have been put on trial with the existing suspects.

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The Latest from Iran (28 March): A Visit from Turkey's Erdoğan

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Sanctions, Human Rights, and Israel-Iran Love
Middle East and Iran Videos: 4 Activists on Women's Rights After the "Arab Spring"
Turkey Live Coverage (28 March): Any Outcome from Tehran Talks?
The Latest from Iran (27 March): The Lull Before the Talks

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Iran Foreign Minister Salehi Greets Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan2030 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Back from a break to find yet more Iranian firms, connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, sanctioned by the US Treasury....

A day after imposing economic restrictions on several Iranian firms and Guards commanders, for alleged sales of arms to Syria and Gambia, the Treasury sanctioned engineering firms and sanctioned individuals and shipping companies with ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

The companies sanctioned include Iran Maritime Industrial Company SADRA, which has offices in Iran and Venezuela and is owned by Khatam al-Anbiya, the engineering arms of the Revolutionary Guards. Deep Offshore Technology PJS, which the Treasury said was a subsidiary of SADRA, was also punished.

Malship Shipping Agency Ltd and Modality Limited and two individuals, Seyed Alaeddin Sadat Rasool and Ali Ezati, were sanctioned because of alleged connections with IRISL.

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