BAHRAINI SHI'A CLERIC DETAINED AT AIRPORT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001910

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/26/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL BA POL
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI SHI'A CLERIC DETAINED AT AIRPORT,
PROTESTS ENSUE

REF: MANAMA 1773

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Bahraini Shi'a Ayatallah Shaikh Mohamed
Al-Sanad was detained four-five hours at Bahrain
International Airport upon his return from Iran December 25,
sparking a violent protest at the airport which resulted in
damage to airport facilities and arrests of and injuries to
protesters. Security forces reportedly held Shaikh Al-Sanad
because of a statement he released from his office in Qom,
Iran, questioning the legitimacy of the Bahraini regime.
After originally referring the case to the Public Prosecutor,
the government changed course and instead directed Shaikh
Al-Sanad to the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, which
has no mechanism for punishment. This decision, in addition
to Shaikh Al-Sanad's more moderate statements to the press,
represented a step back from confrontation on both sides.
End summary.


2. (U) Bahraini Shi'a cleric Shaikh Mohamed Al-Sanad (born
Khalid Hameed Mansour Sanad) was detained by Interior
Ministry officials for suspicion of activities compromising
national security December 25 at Bahrain International
Airport upon his return from travel to Qom, Iran. As word
leaked out about his detention at the airport, scores
(reports range from 100 to more than 300) of supporters
converged on the airport to stage a sit-in protest.
Protesters clashed with riot police and threw airport seats
through glass separators in the airport arrival lounge.
Several protesters were reportedly arrested; others were
injured and taken to the hospital. Shaikh Al-Sanad was later
moved from the airport to the Public Prosecution building in
Manama, held for questioning, and released in the early hours
of December 26.


3. (U) Shaikh Al-Sanad's case was slated to be heard at the
Public Prosecution building until Islamic Affairs
Undersecretary Shaikh Farid Muftah instead set a meeting for
December 27 at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in an attempt
to calm public emotions. In addition to meeting with Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister for Islamic Affairs Shaikh
Abdullah Bin Khalid Al Khalifa, he was also set to meet with
the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. This decision took
the case out of the courts, and suggested there would be no
punishment for Shaikh Al-Sanad. On the evening of December
26, in anticipation of the meeting, Shaikh Al-Sanad declared
that he would discuss with the Minister his displeasure about
sectarian public school educational curricula and called for
his supporters to embrace peaceful means of protest. A
peaceful protest made up of approximately 80 of his
supporters subsequently took place.

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Post-Detention Interview
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4. (U) In an interview December 26 with Arabic daily
Al-Wasat, Shaikh Al-Sanad mollified his previous rhetoric,
saying that he supports official government projects whose
goal it is to resolve the suffering of Bahrainis, and he
called on supporters to work within those projects. He said
that he was in favor of participation in the election
provided qualified and competent people are elected to put
pressure on the government. He also urged his followers to
restrict their activities to peaceful rallies related to
political demands. These comments are a step back from the
edge to which previous statements pressed.

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Reactions to the Airport Disturbance
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5. (U) Several groups commented on the events at the airport
in the press. Al-Minbar Islamic Society (Muslim Brotherhood)
affirmed the right of people to demonstrate, but said that
the incident at the airport led to a serious security
situation tarnishing Bahrain's image and setting back its
democratic progress. The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce
condemned the destruction of public property and affirmed
that it would stand against anyone who threatens Bahrain's
achievements. Bahrain Human Rights Society member Salman
Kamaladdin affirmed that the incident was extremely
unfortunate, giving the world a negative image of Bahrain.
Shi'a religious scholar Shaikh Abdul Majeed Al-Asfoor and
Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs member Abdul Adheem
Al-Muhtadi, both pro-government Shi'a leaders, said that
although the violent crowd reaction was not justified, both
sides bear some responsibility. They suggested that the GOB
could have avoided instigating the crowd, yet still
implemented the law, by waiting until Shaikh Al-Sanad reached
home before taking him into custody. It is notable that all
other Shi'a clerics and leaders (including Al-Wifaq president
Shaikh Ali Salman, leading cleric Shaikh Issa Qassim, as well
as Shi'a activists such as Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja) have been
quiet on the incident.

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Leading Up to the Arrest
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6. (U) Shaikh Al-Sanad went into exile in the 1980's, first
to London and then to Qom, until the King welcomed exiles to
return to Bahrain in 2002 after the death of the late Emir,
the King's father. While in exile, Al-Sanad studied at the
House of Qom, an institution for Shi'a religious studies, and
later became a religious professor in Qom before his return
to Bahrain. Following the November 28 alleged abduction,
beating and rape of Moussa Abd Ali (reftel),Shaikh
Al-Sanad's branch office in Qom released a statement saying
that the Bahraini regime is "suffering from a lack of legal
legitimacy and a fear that the international community will
find out." The statement went on to declare that the sole
solution to problems in Bahrain is "a new constitution
drafted by elected Bahrainis and monitored by the UN away
from the interference of the current regime." Reportedly, it
is this statement, and the fact that it was issued from Iran,
that led to his detention at the airport.


7. (C) In a conversation with the Ambassador December 27,
Minister of Industry and Commerce, and confidant of the King,
Hassan Fakhro explained that Shaikh Al-Sanad is more radical
than former Bahrain Center for Human Rights president
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and former Al-Wifaq leader Shaikh Hassan
Mushaima, who resigned from Al-Wifaq when it registered under
the new political societies law. Fakhro said that Shaikh
Al-Sanad has become more aggressive and belligerent in the
past few months, going "over the top" in his claims that the
government is illegitimate. Shaikh Al-Sanad is seen to be
instigating a challenge to law and order in Bahrain and to
the legitimacy of the state.


8. (U) In early November Shaikh Al-Sanad called for a public
referendum organized by the UN to decide whether the Al
Khalifa family rule should continue or not. At the same time
he issued a fatwa in which he forbade the participation in
parliament absent the intention to work for political
reforms, which, he claimed, was nearly impossible in the
present structure of the parliament under the constitution.
His followers come primarily from the villages of Daih and
Sanabis in the north central section of the island, west of
Manama. It is rumored that some of the provocateurs during
recent protests and violence hail from this area (reftel).

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Comment
--------------


9. (C) Shaikh Al-Sanad's detention signals GOB sensitivity
to statements originating in Iran. Although much of the
content of his recent statement has been echoed by other
clerics and opposition leaders in the recent past, Shaikh
Al-Sanad's reputation for being confrontational and the fact
that the statement came from his branch office in Qom,
crossed the line from a GOB perspective. Now that the GOB
has made its point, it appears to have stepped back from the
confrontation, and Shaikh Al-Sanad appears to have done the
same. The GOB decision to send the case to the Ministry of
Islamic Affairs without formally charging Shaikh Al-Sanad
shows its desire to show firmness yet not be provocative.
The GOB has used this tactic to its advantage in the past.


MONROE