Here's a summary of events so far:
• Bahrain: Five people are believed to have been killed and scores injured after Bahraini security forces raided peaceful protests in Pearl roundabout in the early hours of Thursday morning. Pictures have emerged showing brutal injuries sustained by protesters and, in one case, a young child. Riot police also targeted doctors and medics, while ambulances were prevented from reaching Pearl roundabout to collect the wounded.
Gulf Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Bahrain tonight to discuss the unrest in the country, according to reports. Bahrain TV, the state channel, has been broadcasting pictures of weapons supposedly seized from protesters at the roundabout in an apparent attempt to blame protesters for the bloodshed.
• Libya: Several hundred supporters of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, have gathered in the capital to oppose online calls for an anti-government "day of rage". There are reports that 14 people have been killed in the country across several cities, while Human Rights Watch said 14 writers, activists and protesters who had been calling for protests have been detained. Protests have been reported in Beghazi, Zentana and al Bayda, where an opposition group says four people have been killed.
Gaddafi's regime is reportedly sending out text messages to Libyans in an attempt to quell protests, in a similar move to that seen in Egypt. "Libyan regime sending SMS to citizens threatening them with live bullets if they continue to demonstrate," @libyanfsl tweeted this morning. There will be a demonstration against Gaddafi, expected to be countered by supporters of the Libyan leader, outside the Libyan embassy in London at 3pm.
• Yemen: Security forces have clashed with anti-government protesters in Yemen for a seventh consecutive day. In Sana'a Associated Press reported that 6,000 protesters marched towards the centre of the city, being forced to fight off attacks "by police and government supporters swinging batons and daggers". A dozen protesters and an unknown number of policemen have been injured, while security officials said police arrested about 50 protesters. Clashes have been reported in several other towns, including the port city of Aden.
We are looking for your first-person accounts of protests where you are.
Now you can record your own Audioboo voice recording and send it straight to us.
Click here to record an Audioboo.
Log in using your Audioboo or Twitter account.
If you don't have one, log in using these details:
Username: GuardianMEaudio
Password: GuardianMEaudio
Then click "start recording/upload file".
Once you have recorded your file, we will listen to it and post the most interesting ones on this blog.
Dima_Khatib, an al-Jazeera correspondent who has been tweeting tirelessly for weeks, has this:
Day 1 of Libyan Wrath: in Benghazi police is already reported to be using live ammunition against protesters #libya #feb17
Peter Beaumont is following reports from Iran:
This from Tehran Bureau:
"After the calls this week for the executions of Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, hardliners in the regime have apparently added another big name to the death wish list: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president of the Islamic Republic between 1989 and 1997. Radio Zamaneh reports:
Two days after the February 14 protests, supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, shown on national TV chanting slogans in Qom calling for the death of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. The moderate cleric is the chairman of Iran's two major governing bodies, the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Council.
The attacks against Hashemi Rafsanjani have come despite firm condemnation of the February 14 protests by the Assembly of Experts. The Assembly of Experts has accused the protests of falsely using the recent Arab uprisings to further "seditious" objectives.
The Assembly of Experts is the body that selects the Supreme Leader and (nominally, at least) supervises his activities. The Expediency Council advises the Supreme Leader and, in Iran's complex governing apparatus, adjudicates conflicts between the Majles (parliament) and the Guardian Council, the body charged with vetting the Majles's legislation for conformity with the Iranian Constitution and Islamic law.
Meanwhile Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's Kalame website is calling for new protests for Sunday, February 20 to protest the death of two opposition supporters and to show support for Iran's Green Movement leadership.
A protest is planned for 3pm outside the Libyan embassy in Knightsbridge, London, today (the press release says 1pm but it's been changed) by the British Libyan Solidarity Campaign For Freedom And Human Rights (BLSC). A counter-demonstration is also planned by Gaddafi supporters (such pro-government demonstrations tend to be organised by the embassy) and in the past Gaddafi supporters and opponents have clashed in London.
Two people are in critical condition in Bahrain's Salmaniya hospital, a doctor has told al-Jazeera's correspondent in Manama. He said he fears they could die. The doctor also told the correspondent, whose identity is being kept secret, that there was a refrigerated truck outside the hospital, which he fears the army used to remove more dead bodies, meaning that the death toll could be higher than reported so far.
The Libyan youth movement has more updates on the anti-Gaddafi protests:
benghazi: the protesters now have the upper hand in the area where tomb of omar mukhtar was, security forces leaving the area #Libya #Feb17
Confirmed Reports from #Benghazi, 6 people killed today in the city #Libya #Feb17 and the news still show pro #gaddafi protests.. shocking
There is some footage said to be of the latest protests in Benghazi on Facebook, although it doesn't show any clashes.
More from Peter on Britain's arms trading with Bahrain – he says the weapons supplied included the sort of arms which were used to clear Pearl roundabout this morning.
Following up on Denis McShane's figures about arms sales to the Bahrain police force, I've just spoken to Sarah Waldron at Campaign Against the Arms Trade who has dug out some additional UK arms export licences to Bahrain.
My earlier post talked about the export licences approved for just the third quarter of last year, around the time the government was rounding up 250 opposition members in the run up to elections.
Here's a better picture of what arms exports were approved. In 2010, equipment approved for export included tear gas and crowd control ammunition, equipment for the use of aircraft cannons, rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and sub-machine guns. No requests for licences were refused. In addition Bahrain was invited to attend the UK arms fairs: the Farnborough Airshow in 2010 and Defence and Security Equipment International in 2009.
Here's the first and second quarter license approvals. It includes the kind of weapons that judging by the pictures of the injured and dead in Bahrain's hospital's that we've seen today that were used to clear the Pearl Roundabout, in particular shotguns.
Here are quarter one and two:
Q2, 2010
assault rifles (2); components for submachine guns; crowd control ammunition; equipment for the use of aircraft cannons; equipment for the use of small calibre artillery; gun mountings; non-sporting shotgun ammunition (2 licences); small arms ammunition (4 licences); tear gas/irritant ammunition (2 licences); wall and door breaching
projectiles; weapon sight mounts; weapon sights. No refusalsQ1, 2010
all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection; equipment for the use of sniper rifles; gun mountings; gun silencers (2 licences); rifles (1); shotguns (2); small arms ammunition (3 licences); sniper rifles; submachine guns (2); submachine guns (3); technology for the use of sniper rifles; weapon sight mounts; weapon sightsAnd here's what Sarah Waldron had to say: "Government ministers claim they wish to support open and democratic societies in the Middle East but at the same time are aiding authoritarian regimes and providing the tools for repression. They don't just approve the sale of this equipment - they actively promote it.
"There should be an immediate arms embargo – but more importantly we should be asking why these exports were ever licensed in the first place."
The deputy chairman of the Bahraini parliament, Adel al-Moawda, told al-Jazeera there were "mis-calculations on both sides". He also repeated the claims on Bahrain TV that protesters were armed: "It [the protest] was peaceful, we have to admit. but we have seen swords, guns ... There are some people who want the clashes, who don't want the situation to be calm."
Owen Bowcott writes:
Difficult to gauge the scale of the Libyan protests but Twitter is now carrying messages about more serious clashes and demonstrations calling for Ghadafi's departure in towns such as Shahat near the ancient Roman city of Cyrene.
RT @ShababLibya: Benghazi: protesters clashing with security armed with weapons where the tomb of Omar Al Mokhtar once was #Libya #Feb17 #qaddaficrimesless than 20 seconds ago via web
RT @ShababLibya: BREAKING: Ajdabiya Interior security building burning, smoke covering the sky in the city#Libya #Feb171 minute ago via web
Mark Tran is at the Libyan embassy in Knightsbridge, London. He says there are "hundreds" of protesters, who have come from as far as Glasgow and Manchester to voice their discontent at Muammar Gaddafi's rule.
Half way through the audio Mark passes over to Abdu Razek, a Libyan currently living in Glasgow who has travelled down to protest.
_
Video of violence at Yemeni protests.
A gallery of protests in Yemen.
Libya's regime must now fear its people's anger, writes Muhammad min Libya.
Today, 17 February, is the Libyan "day of anger". It coincides with the anniversary of what started as a peaceful demonstration in 2006 being met with various forms of repression, including live bullets and tear gas. The Libyan youth have chosen this day to express their anger and demand their rights, despite the very real threat of violence.
The Libyan regime has tried to preempt these protests to salvage anything that can be salvaged and to discourage Libyan youth. The regime, after all, has the best knowledge of the deteriorating conditions of Libyans and their lost rights.
Mark Tran on possible worries the Bahrain situation might cause for the US and its fifth fleet:
US navy officials have said there is no sign that crowds intend to direct their hostility toward the roughly 4,200 service members who live and work there.
"The protests are not directed at the US military presence," Jennifer Stride, a spokeswoman for US Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, told the Stars and Stripes, the official paper of the US armed forces. The protests were not taking place in the vicinity of the naval base, she said.
NSA Bahrain occupies 24 hectares (60 acres) in the centre of Manama, the capital. It has 2,250 personnel and civilians who live off the base. There are no plans to withdraw them to the base.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has described the violence in Bahrain as "deeply troubling":
Violence should not be used against peaceful demonstrators ... Those who were responsible must be brought to justice ... There should be no violence from any quarter ... I urge all parties to exercise restraint.
Ban also said the UN had been urging leaders in the region "to listen attentively to the people and to listen to their legitimate concerns". He said: "I will say once again the situation calls for ... reforms not oppression."
A caller, who gave his name only as Abdullah, has just been on al-Jazeera from Benghazi, Libya, saying six people were shot dead just "five minutes ago". He said: "The police are shooting at everyone and six of the protesters, they've got killed right now."
He said criminals had been released from jails specifically to attack Gaddafi's opponents.
"They have knives and they have swords and guns. They're killing everyone."
Here is Ian Black's full report on Bahrain's security forces, large numbers of whose personnel are recruited from other countries.
Reuters has a useful round-up of reaction to the violence in Bahrain:
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state: Clinton telephoned her Bahraini counterpart to express deep concern after police stormed a protest camp in central Manama, killing three people, the state department said. "She expressed deep concern about recent events and urged restraint moving forward. They discussed political and economic reform efforts to respond to the citizens of Bahrain," a senior state department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.
US military officials: The Pentagon called Bahrain an important partner but also urged restraint after police stormed a protest camp in central Manama, killing three people. "As a long-time ally and home to the US navy's fifth fleet, Bahrain is an important partner and the department is closely watching developments there," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said. "We also call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from violence."
Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary general: Ban called on the leaders of Bahrain not to use violence against civilians and journalists. "The reports from Bahrain overnight are deeply troubling," he told reporters, adding that he was disturbed by the violent methods being used to disperse demonstrators.
William Hague, British foreign secretary: "We are greatly concerned about the deaths that have occurred and ... stress the need for peaceful action to address the concerns of protesters, the importance of respect for the right to peaceful protest and for freedom of expression. I have also said to the foreign minister that it is a time to build bridges between the different religious communities in Bahrain and I've also said that we would strongly oppose any interference in the affairs of Bahrain by other nations or any action to inflame sectarian tensions between Bahrain's Sunni and Shia communities."
Michele Alliot-Marie, French foreign minister: "We regret the excessive use of violence by security forces when breaking up the demonstrators at the Pearl roundabout." She said she was also concerned by latest developments Yemen and Libya and reiterated the need for the freedom of expression and right to protest. "It is vital that the political systems and governments listen to the expectations of their people."
Mark Tran is at the Libyan embassy, where pro- and anti-Gaddafi demonstrators have massed. He said:
There are two sets of demos. The pro-Gaddafi contingent are about 400-500 strong; they have a big banner of Gaddafi and are waving green flags, but they don't seem as animated as the anti-Gaddafi lot; they are just standing around looking quite subdued.
There are around 200-300 anti-Gaddafi protesters. They're waving their version of the Libyan flag, which is green, black and red.
An Englishwoman called Sharon, married to a Libyan man, is here with her daughter. I asked whether there was any prospect of reform in Libya with Gaddafi's son in the wings. She said: "I don't think Libya with a younger face would be much of a difference. It's a total dynasty ... Libya has 40 years of grievances. There is so much money going out of the country. For an oil-rich country to be so poor is criminal."
A pro-Gaddafi demonstrator called Mohammed was unimpressed with the anti-Gaddafi protesters. "They are idiots; they are stupid," he said. "They don't know what Gaddafi has done for us."
Another pro-Gaddafi demonstrator said "before Gaddafi we were an Italian colony, now we're free", which isn't how most historians view the country's history.
Reuters is now estimating that at least 40 people on both sides in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a today "after around 800 government loyalists armed with daggers and clubs confronted about 1,500 protesters, who responded by hurling rocks".
The Egyptian military's call for an end to labour unrest continues to fall on dear ears. There are 1,500 workers from the Suez Canal Authority on strike in three cities straddling the strategic waterway, the Associated Press reports.
Reuters says factories have been idle today because a nationwide bank shutdown stopped manufacturers buying supplies and selling their goods.
Earlier Peter Beaumont referred to Britain's role in arming the Bahraini region. Britain also has a Royal Navy presence in Bahrain. Bahrain is home to the the UK Maritime Component Command, which supports Royal Navy warships (there are 12 warships in the Gulf, according to the Plymouth Post), aircraft, and out-stations in the region. There are also Royal Navy personnel within the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces, a 25-nation naval partnership committed to maritime security in the Middle East through anti-piracy and counter-terrorism operations. The defence secretary, Liam Fox, visited the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command (UKMCC) HQ last year.
A gallery of pictures from Bahrain.
A protester has been shot dead in Yemen, Reuters reports:
A protester was killed by "random gunfire" as police tried to disperse an anti-government demonstration in southern Yemen, a local official said on Thursday.
"At least one person has been killed and there reports are eight others that were wounded by random gunfire," said the official, who is a member of the municipal council, declining to be named.
The former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is in a coma in Saudi hospital following a stroke two days ago, a source close to him has confirmed to French agencies.
A worrying tweet has been posted by the Libyan youth movement:
URGENT if anybody can make contact with AJDABIYA city please message me or any news agency Reports of a massacre #Libya #Feb17
Of all the countries we are covering today, Lybia is the most difficult to report. In Bahrain, correspondents were already on the ground; photographs and first-hand accounts are plentiful. But there is very little independent media presence in Libya, and there's virtually nothing outside the capital, Tripoli.
There are only a small number of Twitter users publishing in English, and their reports are frantic in tone and have an unreliable feel to them. But it's clear there have been flashes of trouble all day.
We reported earlier about a confrontation in Baida between government supporters and relatives of two young men killed during a protest yesterday. Fighting broke out soon after the two were buried.
Reuters says snatches of information are trickling out from parts of the country on an Arabic-language Facebook page used by opposition activists, but it said the sources were not clear and it was not possible to verify the details.
One post said that protesters in Ar Rajban, near the border with Algeria, set fire to a local government headquarters. In Zenten, south-west of Tripoli, protesters shouted: "We will win or die," said another post, which also had a photograph of a building on fire. Sky News is also reporting clashes in Zenten.
There are reports that anti-government protests are happening in Tripoli now. Earlier, it seemed that there were only pro-Gaddafi forces out in strength in the capital as opposed to other Libyan cities like Benghazi, Zentan, Ajdabiya and Al Baida but all that could be changing:
• @bintlibya #tripoli has joined #benghazi in the protests against #Gaddafi LETS DO THIS!!! #Libya
• @ShababLibya confirmed: 400 in the streets of #Tripoli, come on guys let it snowball #Libya #Feb17
Mark Tran is back in the office after his trip down to the Libyan embassy. Here's an extract from his report, which we are preparing for publication:
The ripples from the unrest in Libya reached Britain today as pro- and anti-Gaddafi supporters held simultaneous demonstrations outside the Libyan embassy in London.
By mid-afternoon in Knightsbridge, the police estimated the pro-Gaddafi contingent to be 400-500, mostly young male students, and the anti-Gaddafi camp, at about 300. While they were slightly more numerous, the pro-gaddafi supporters, holding green flags and a huge banner of their leader, were noticeably less animated, standing around quietly as they listened to an organiser, helped by a loudspeaker system, castigate, the rival demonstrators.
The anti-Gaddafi group, a much more diverse crowd with women, schoolgirls, older and younger men, waved the pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag – red, green and black – and shouted: "Down with Gaddafi" and "Gaddafi is a murderer". A white police van separated the rival groups on the edge of Hyde park.
"Things are happening in Libya as we speak," said Abdurazek, a 53-year-old anti Gaddafi protester, who had come from Glasgow. "People are coming out to protest in cities in Libya and we are waiting for Tripoli to come out. It is important that the capital is on our side."
Issandr El Amrani on the Arabist blog has had consistently good analysis of the situation across north Africa in the past month. He's posted another good piece, this time about Libya. He writes:
My gut feeling is that the most important protests now taking place in North Africa are those in Libya. I say this with no disrespect to those in Algeria, where the regime certainly deserves to be brought down, or my own native Morocco, where the palace and Makhzen need a wake-up call that the status quo (and indeed, the regression of the last few years) is not acceptable.
But Libya shares something important with Egypt and Tunisia: an aging leader (41 years in power) faces a looming succession crisis in which the leading candidates are his own sons. I simply don't think that's an acceptable outcome for any republic in the 21st century, and was a key aspect to the revolt against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, and to a lesser extent in Tunisia (with the rumored heir apparent being his nephew).
Ian Black has been speaking to people in Libya, and has this round-up of the day's events:
Libya's government brought out its supporters to express their loyalty today to try to stifle a planned "day of rage" but sporadic violence continued in the east of the country, far from Tripoli.
Unconfirmed reports said 15 people in all had now died in the unrest. Clashes were reported for a second day between supporters of Muammar Gaddafi and the relatives of two young men killed during a protest in al-Bayda on Wednesday, when unrest also erupted in Benghazi, Libya's second city and opposition stronghold.
Snipers were reported today to have killed four more protestors in Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, where six dead were reported by the Libya al-Yawm news website. "There are thousands of people in the centre of town, and it is spreading, and they are being repressed," Ramadan Jarbou, a leading local journalist told the Guardian. "Libya is free and the colonel can leave," crowds chanted outside the city's central court.
Libyan state media maintained a news blackout, but opposition groups used Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks to send out reports and images of demonstrations and clashes.On the eve of the planned protests, SMS messages were sent to mobile phone subscribers saying: "From the youth of Libya to all those who are tempted to touch the four red lines: come and face us in any square or street in Libya."
Helicopters were reported to have killed five demonstrators in al-Bayda, now said be running short of medical supplies. Libya al-Yawm reported security forces firing automatic weapons. Internet access was blocked.
A protester was killed in Yemen today, Reuters is reporting. The death is the third in the last two days of demonstrations in the country.
Thousands took to the streets in Yemen on Thursday and a third protester was killed, as unrest spread and demonstrators called for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three decades of rule.
In a seventh straight day of protests in Yemen, 3,000 people marched in the southern port town of Aden and police tried to disperse the crowd.
"At least one person has been killed and there are eight others that were wounded by random gunfire," said a local official who declined to be named.
It was the third death in Aden in the last two days of rallies. On Wednesday, two protesters were killed in gunfire.
"No to oppression, no to corruption, the people demand the fall of the regime," demonstrators chanted. They had rallied on Thursday afternoon in protest against what they said was excessive police violence the previous day, when two men were killed by stray bullets as police fired in the air.
In Sanaa at least 40 were wounded as hundreds of Saleh loyalists, some armed with guns, charged around 1,500 protesters, who hurled at rocks at them. Several journalists told Reuters they were beaten by loyalists, and the streets of Sitteen, where clashes took place, were stained with blood.
Giles Tremlett, the Guardian's man in Madrid, emails:
Angeles Espinosa, a correspondent for Spain's El País newspaper, has posted a photograph on the paper's Eskup service of Yemeni regime thugs with their pistols out.
The Yemeni journalist who took the photograph had his glasses broken – presumably by the same people – just after taking the picture. Espinosa says the picture was taken this morning. The time and date code on the bottom show it was taken shortly after 1pm.
Twitter user @lbnOmar2005, who has been pretty reliable so far, has posted this video apparently showing a man who has been shot in the arm.
@lbnOmar2005 says this shows "Gaddafi's men are using live rounds against protesters".
Tom Finn is in Sana'a, Yemen, where there have been clashes between pro and anti-Saleh demonstrators at the capital's university.
Tom reports that some of the pro-Saleh protesters, dressed in civilian clothing, produced Taser-like devices and used them to disperse some of the anti-Saleh crowd. He says the fact protests are continuing tonight is significant – the first time it has happened since demonstrations began seven days ago.
Bahrain's foreign minister has said the crackdown on anti-government protesters this morning, which left four people dead, was "regrettable", AP is reporting.
Bahrain's top diplomat says the pre-dawn crackdown on anti-government protesters was justified because the demonstrators were pushing the kingdom to the "brink of the sectarian abyss."
Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa said Thursday the violence that occurred during the raid that swept away a protest encampment and left at least four people dead in Manama's central Pearl roundabout was "regrettable."
Speaking to reporters after meeting with his Gulf counterparts, al Khalifa said the protesters were pushing the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority nation to the "brink of the sectarian abyss" and "polarizing the country."
This is David Batty, I'll be taking over the liveblog for the rest of the evening.
Two senior figures in the Obama administration, secretary of state Hilary Clinton and defence secretary Robert Gates, have spoken to their counterparts in Bahrain, expressing their concern and alarm over the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Clinton said she "directly conveyed our deep concerns about the actions of the security forces" to Bahrain's foreign minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. She also expressed hope that funerals and prayer meetings tomorrow would "not be marred by violence", AP reported.
"We call on restraint from the government to keep its commitment to hold accountable those who have utilized excessive force against peaceful demonstrators and we urge a return to a process that will result in real meaningful changes for the people there."
Meanwhile Gates "discussed the current security situation" with Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain, deputy commander of Bahraini defence forces, on the phone this morning, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
Reuters is now reporting that three people have been killed and 231 injured in Bahrain today.
Opposition leaders said dozens of protesters were detained and about 60 were missing, the news agency added. "They are killing us!" said one demonstrator.
Two former ministers from the Mubarak government, including an official from his NDP party, have been arrested, security officials have told AP.
Reuters has more on the arrest of two ex-ministers from the Mubarak regime.
A prosecutor who deals with financial crimes said the former tourism minister, Zuhair Garana, former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi and steel magnate Ahmed Ezz had been detained for 15 days.
More details on the news that Britain is to review its arms export licences to Bahrain in light of the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said tonight that hundreds of cartridges of tear gas and other riot control equipment have been licensed for export to Bahrain in the past nine months.
He said they and other licensing decisions now face being "urgently revoked" if they are found to breach UK and EU export criteria.
"We closely consider allegations of human rights abuses. We will not authorise any exports which, we assess, might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, which might be used to facilitate internal repression, or which would in any other way be contrary to the criteria.
"In light of events we are today formally reviewing recent licensing decisions for exports to Bahrain. We will urgently revoke licences if we judge that they are no longer in line with the criteria.
"In the last nine months we have approved a range of licences for Bahrain. These include two single export licences for 250 tear gas cartridges to the Bahrain Defence Force and National Security Agency that were for trial/evaluation purposes. In addition there are a number of open individual export licences that have been approved. One of these includes equipment that can be used for riot control.
"The approval of these applications were judged to be consistent with the criteria at the time and followed precedents set by previous governments. As with all export licences for Bahrain, these are being urgently reviewed."
Amnesty International says protesters detained by the Egyptian military during the unrest that led to Mubarak's departure were forced to strip to their underwear, whipped and subjected to electric shocks.
The human rights group has urged the military to release all protesters still in detention and halt their mistreatment.
Amnesty's regional director, Malcolm Smart, said: "The Egyptian military authorities have committed publicly to creating a climate of freedom and democracy after so many years of repression. Now they must match their words with direct action."
Those protesters held in military detention centres told the human rights group that they suffered harsh mistreatment in the days before Mubarak's fall.
A 29-year-old man said he was detained on February 3 and initially held in an annex to the Egyptian Museum overlooking Tahrir Square.
"They called me a traitor and a foreign agent and forced me to take off my clothes except my underwear and to lie face down on the floor. Then they beat me with a whip and stepped with boots on my back and on my hands. They kicked me."
He said he was then moved to another location, subjected to electric shocks and threatened with rape before being transferred to a military prison northeast of Cairo where he was repeatedly beaten before being released a week later.
An 18-year said he was detained Febuary 3 at Tahrir Square and released with hundreds of other protesters a week later.
"Then I was taken for interrogation where they insulted me and my family. They said things one should not say. They took off my handcuffs, because they ordered me to take off my clothes, except my underwear, but I remained blindfolded."
The teenager added that he was then tied by the legs and repeatedly dunked into a barrel of water. "They told me to confess that I was trained by Israel or by Iran. They also put electric shocks to my body and I fainted," he told Amnesty.
Mohamed El-Khatib, a 53-year old government employee from the city of Suez, told AP that he was interrogated at a military detention centre and accused of trying to overthrow the regime.
El-Khatib, who was arrested on February 2 for allegedly violating the nightly curfew enforced by the military before Mubarak's departure, said he was blindfolded, beaten with sticks and whipped and threatened he would never leave alive.
On February 10, he and dozens of other detainees appeared before a military court and were given suspended three-month sentences.
"It was as if they were telling us 'accept the sentence, so we can let you out. The honourable people in the military have to get our rights back. I will not be silent. I want my right."
More on the arrest of some of Mubarak's former ministers. Reuters is now reporting that an Egyptian prosecutor has ordered the detention of three ex-ministers and a prominent businessman on corruption charges.
The prosecutor said former interior minister Habib el-Adli, former tourism minister Zuhair Garana and former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi must be held for 15 days, along with steel magnate Ahmed Ezz. All four have denied any wrongdoing.
Here's the Guardian's latest news story on today's protests in Libya.
The article notes that, while sporadic violence has continued in the east of the country, there was no sign of any organised protests in Tripoli, where state TV showed crowds waving green flags and shouting pro-regime slogans.
Here's the Guardian's latest news story on the crackdown on protesters in Bahrain.
The story notes how there are fears that sectarian aspect of Bahrain's violence – its Shia Muslim majority is ruled by a Sunni monarchy – could fuel discontent among the Shia minority in oil-producing areas of eastern Saudi Arabia.
The former Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali is in a coma in hospital in Saudi Arabia after suffering a stroke two days ago, according to French agencies.
French journalist and Tunisia expert Nicolas Beau reported that Ben Ali had been admitted to a Saudi hospital favoured by the royal family but had been registered under a false name for security reasons. He said that Tunisia's interim president had been informed of Ben Ali's predicament two days ago.
A Saudi Arabian prince has called on King Abdullah to step up the pace of reform or risk the unrest that has spread across the Arab world in recent weeks.
Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, a half brother of the king, told BBC Arabic that the Saudi government still had time to take steps to avoid protests. He also said the king is the only person who can bring about major changes.
However, it seems unlikely that the king would pay heed to Talal's views as he holds no government posts and is considered something of an outsider within the royal family.
He was forced briefly into exile in the 1960s amid reports at the time that he planned a revolt, AP reports.
In light of the government's decision to review its arms export licences to Bahrain, it's worth mentioning that the Kind of Bahrain is a Sandhurst alumnus and patron of the Sandhurst Foundation. This Arabic website has more details of the military relations between Sandhurst and Bahrain.
This report of the House of Commons' defence select committee has more information about the UK's military links to various Gulf states. A number of Gulf states' rulers have been educated at the military academy, including the Emir of Kuwait, the Sultan of Oman, the Emir of Qatar, and various members of the Saudi royal family.
The latest report on the unrest in Libya from AP states that at least 20 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with pro-government groups.
Human Rights Watch also reports that Libyan internal security forces have arrested at least 14 people.
That's it for the live blog today but join us again tomorrow for the latest updates on the unrest across the Arab world.
Here's a round-up of today's main developments:
•Bahrain: Five anti-government protesters have been killed and more than 200 wounded in violent clashes with the regime. Britain announced a review of licences granted for arms exports to the Gulf state.
•Libya: At least 20 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with pro-government groups in the east of the country.
•Yemen: There were fresh clashes between thousands of pro- and anti-government protesters in the capital Sana'a. Dozens of pro-democracy protesters have been injured, including two who suffered gunshot wounds.
•Egypt: Amnesty International called on the military to to stop using torture and other ill-treatment, releasing a report of protesters allegations of torture.
•Tunisia: Former leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali is in a coma in hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Brian Whitaker's best blogs and analysis from the Middle East
From Feed for Arabist.net
Comments in chronological order (Total 462 comments)
17 February 2011 1:57PM
The ambiguity of the messages sent by the West towards the protest in Egypt, has obviously given the regimes across the Middle East the opportunity to crush any protests in their respective countries, before the West have to show their hands.
17 February 2011 1:59PM
@hubbahubba
It gives them political cover but I imagine they'd have taken the opportunity anyway
17 February 2011 1:59PM
Boycott the Grand Prix
17 February 2011 2:03PM
F1 Boycott Bahrain? when there's money to be made? Bernie what do you think
Yes lets all Boycott Bahrain F1
17 February 2011 2:05PM
Hmm..boycott the UK until they eject the Bahraini ambassador who can be contacted on; 020 7201 9170 or by fax: 020 7201 9183
17 February 2011 2:07PM
I can imagine lots of western regimes are very worried about what is happening at the moment in the middle-east. For all their bluster about 'promoting democracy' i'd guess that facing multiple events over which they have little control they may seek to support the status quo in private whilst uttering banal messages in public.
Years of arming and supplying these regimes with all kinds of internal weapons to crush populaces are of course going to leave them looking like the disgusting little oafs they really are.
I hope all these people are brave and fight for real representation and do not stop when they are offered a few crumbs from up on high.
And who knows, maybe the people of the UK will find it in themselves to ask for their democracy back from the bankers and oligarchs who run this isle.
17 February 2011 2:07PM
Repression only proves the fragility of these regimes; the response of the people will show their strength.
We have every reason to believe that, just as in Tunis and Cairo, the strength of the people’s resistance will be greater than that of the regime’s repression.
17 February 2011 2:11PM
Hold the front page, trouble on the grid!
17 February 2011 2:13PM
Bernie Eccleston - what a nefarious little money grabbing capitalist pig.
17 February 2011 2:14PM
tents on a roundabout ≠ riot
17 February 2011 2:15PM
for the rest of the coverage...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2011/feb/17/middle-east-protests-live-updates
17 February 2011 2:16PM
Article here on Ian Henderson, the 'Butcher of Bahrain', referred to in the previous liveblog. Apparently he was installed with the collusion of British diplomats
BAHRAIN BUTCHER can't hide any more
17 February 2011 2:18PM
so the americans have had a base there for 50 years and not bothered to press the regime for democracy
it was a waste of money and up to a million lives invading iraq
what we should have done is followed the egyptian/ tunisain/ bahranian/libian?/saudi? model and and propped up saddam by selling hm billions of dollars worth of millitary equipment and turning a blind eye to torture corruption secret police etc and just waited till the populace got so pi$$ed off with the leaders they had their own revolution and actually installed democracy themselves
17 February 2011 2:19PM
Where is the international criminal court? Sending threats to people in a country they will be attacked and already attacking them is a crime against humanity. These people should be arrested on setting foot anywhere in the World where the ICC has the right to arrest them.
17 February 2011 2:23PM
If this keeps up we are going to have to have a discussion about whether George Bush was actually right. Afterall he did say that invading Iraq would stir democracy throughout the Middle East.
17 February 2011 2:23PM
Anyone know of any word on a protest outside the Bahrain embassy in London?
17 February 2011 2:23PM
bob15: There's a long queue for the ICC - unfortunately, these leaders are as likely to see the inside of it as Blair and Bush, who wholeheartedly supported them whilst they were in government and have continued to do so ever since.
17 February 2011 2:24PM
Speaking of farce, hypocrisy and bullshit, how about Colin Powell pretending to be shocked at the lies of I-wouldn't-buy-a-secondhand-camel-from-him 'Curveball?
17 February 2011 2:24PM
Offering immoral support to the murderous regime perhaps.
Great if it happens. I think it will be marketed as a healing factor.
17 February 2011 2:24PM
Firstly, thanks, Guardian, for providing so much extensive coverage. If ever there was proof needed that the BBC licence fee is a Goebbels-esque propaganda tax, then wikileaks and ME riots (v.v. the lack of adequate BBC coverage of both) have proved it.
The overall picture is becoming more apparent. There is an increasingly clear link between the UK government->BBC+Murdoch mouthpieces->banks->ME oil money->offshore (non) taxation->pseudo-democracy->persecution of Assange. And it stinks.
Thank goodness I live abroad.
p.s. recommended reading: Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"...
17 February 2011 2:26PM
@ konakimbers
Just got around to understanding how imperialism works?
17 February 2011 2:26PM
Egypt Libya
\ /
ICC ---------------------------------------US foreign policy - Bahrain
/ \
Kuwait Iran
17 February 2011 2:27PM
I dont think anyone in this country would willingly do anything he called for, let alone Iran.
17 February 2011 2:28PM
Its important to tie whats happening in Bahrain with wikileaks --
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/150213?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
"King Hamad and Sheikh Khalid have lofty ambitions for this ministerial. Their number-one security concern is Iran. They support our tough stand toward Tehran and hope that this GCC plus 2 gathering will galvanize regional cooperation to contain the regime there. Sheikh Khalid told us his goal for the meeting is to demonstrate that "we have an alliance that will not stand by and watch countries fall to Iran one by one." In this context, the presence of Foreign Minister Zebari should send a clear to message to other Arab states that the time has come to embrace Iraq."
Hopefully the protests will escalate and the monarchy will be replaced by a democratic government. King Hamad and Sheikh Khalid will become the first country to "fall to Iran". Its time for Shis and Sunnis and Persians and Arabs to unite. This problem will only be sorted out by unity.
17 February 2011 2:28PM
Anonymous ... if you're reading this, get on the job /b/rothers
pass on to 4Chan
for lulz or for right
17 February 2011 2:28PM
Haven't any of these countries heard of "kettling". Theres a fortune to be made training these police forces on how to handle demonstrations.
17 February 2011 2:29PM
timx
Oh for God's wanking sake!
The effect of contagion in the spread of democracy has long been known; many people think that the existence of a single functioning democracy in the Middle East could have a huge effect on all other states in the region. But that doesn't justify invasion!!!! Nor is Iraq a functioning democracy.
17 February 2011 2:29PM
timx: I suspect that the protests initially had more to do with rising food prices, on top of decades-long brutal repression of all dissent under vicious and infinitely corrupt dictatorships and regimes which Bush, Blair and previous and subsequent US and British (and other allied nations') governments were and are fully supportive of as long as they were/are expedient.
I think that whichever poster on here backed Mohamed Bouazizi for Time's Man of the Year was absolutely right - he was the petrol on the long-smouldering embers across the Middle East (crappy metaphor, but you know what I mean).
17 February 2011 2:30PM
The British have a special responsibility in for establishing Al Khalifa. Let us see them evade it.
The Americans have a special responsibility for maintaining Al Khalifa. Let us see them evade it.
No "help" will come from imperialism. And none is wanted. And none is needed.
The democratic struggle in Bahrain and Libya is in the hearts of Arab revolutionaries across the nation. Workers across Europe must fight for the boycott of all regimes that spill the blood of the fighting Arab people.
17 February 2011 2:32PM
blueblossom: Hear hear - there have also been protests in Iraq against the many failiings of the government there which haven't been covered at all.
17 February 2011 2:33PM
The ambiguity of the messages sent by the West towards the protest in Egypt, has obviously given the regimes across the Middle East the opportunity to crush any protests in their respective countries, before the West have to show their hands.
The US has "state" media. As an example , day before yesterday it was reported in the Guardian that Curveball's statements , which were the foundation for the Iraq war , were lies.
The Guardian reported that Curveball was told he could not see his family in Morocco if he didn't "cooperate".I thought this was a big deal and tried to put it up on my FB. It would not go through for some reason. Managed to do it with the Guardian FaceBook link. I am elderly and not techie.
Yesterday Huff Po and Democratic Underground reported the story as Curveball lied . Big difference with the spin. I came to the Guardian because the US was not reporting WikiLeaks information.
HuffPo, very popu;ar US website, was recently bought out by AOL. AOL's HQ was in Langley,Va. originally. CIA HQ is located there. They are known as a very criminal outfit. As an example , if you sign up for internet services and the payment deducted from your bank account....changed your mind afterwards. AOL would not stop with the deductions. Very very difficult to just discontinue an account. They eventually went under with that. CIA has gone mushy in the head.
17 February 2011 2:34PM
Yes, our beloved leaders here in the West pontificate about 'democracy' while selling repressive weapons to tyrants the world over.
"Respect the Human rights of the protestors", they say in public... but I'll bet what they're saying in private is: you'd better crush your people, or i) the gravy train is over for you, and ii) any real democracy would throw out the US 5th Fleet.
17 February 2011 2:34PM
My Mates in Bahrain haven't been out of there place in 3 days.
The Guardian flagged that the UK sold the flash bangs, tear gas and batton rounds.
I am not surprised our Westend offices in London are full of small hedge funds and small arms dealers but at risk sounding a bit insensitive I am glad they are using those rather than more live ammo than birdshot.
17 February 2011 2:35PM
I feel deeply sorry for any oppressed group or individual who perishes fighting for their freedom. However, the British Empire is long gone; our influence has diminished; therefore, William Hague's comment regarding his deep concern and call for the authorities to display restraint is as bout effective as a kitten's fart.
Why oh why, do we still believe in our own self importance? The constant pendulum of British politics between Labour and the Tories and their basic inability to run the county intelligently has left us on the outskirts of all important decisions. We are that persistently annoying fly that had been previously gouging itself on a freshly disposed dog turd that suddenly takes an interest in your outside restaurant table.
17 February 2011 2:35PM
US hypocrisy is becoming crystal clear. Preaching "democracy" while cozying up to despots who support the US war machine in the area. And it is also falling apart. Hence the paralysis of comment from Washington that knows not what to say. The immense gap between US ideals and US practice could not be more apparent. Let us hope that people power in the Middle East drives the US warmongers out of the area. (At least we can hope.)
17 February 2011 2:37PM
Sorry for reposting from the other thread (and for being unable to format for some reason):
''WASHINGTON — US House Speaker John Boehner assured Israel [on Wednesday] that the United States would back its staunch ally and work to "maintain peace and stability" in the Middle East amid far-reaching unrest.
"Israel is one of America's strongest allies. We share common values, and fight common enemies in the form of violent extremism," Boehner said in a statement after talks with Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren.
"The people of Israel have sacrificed for the sake of peace and stability. With change coming rapidly to the Middle East, the United States is committed to standing by our close ally to maintain peace and stability in the region," he added.
Boehner's meeting and comments came amid worries in the US Congress that the ouster of longtime Egypt president Hosni Mubarak, as well as protests in Bahrain and throughout the region, could ultimately endanger Israel.
US lawmakers have notably raised concerns that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood could drive an anti-Israel agenda.''
Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gotDuSBqyRssLLgZj_74Ceo_8Pow?docId=CNG.527c915435c26814aef6a943e8f70089.161
So settle down Libyan protesters, haud yer wheesht Bahrainis, zip it Yemenis, Algerians, Iranians - ''instability'' could mean that Israel might get upset, so we'll sell the brutal regimes (bar Iran maybe) more arms to keep people quiet and keep Israel happy. And they're still repeating their pish about the MB being the problem. Truly fucking unbelievable.
17 February 2011 2:39PM
Oh dear. Is everything all our fault again?
17 February 2011 2:40PM
17 February 2011 2:41PM
------- -------
o
(_____)
17 February 2011 2:43PM
I hope the poeple blaming the West understand that we are pretty powerless against our own nasty Govts.
1 million people marched through London against the Iragi war, we were ignored.
However hypocrital our Govts are, the vast majority of our populations support these events in the Middle East.
17 February 2011 2:43PM
jessmum: Well perhaps if our governments (every party) didn't support and arm brutally repressive regimes when expedient (including Saddam's while he was useful), that might just possibly help their people to have freedom? Could it be that Britain's rulers' historical and contemporary support of these regimes has something to do with our country? Or was it a big boy who did it and ran away?
17 February 2011 2:44PM
this is frightening ! our values and freedom is taken away to the middle east ! our best rich allies will go to !
17 February 2011 2:46PM
@NigelDavenport Sorry to hear about what your friends are going through. If they wanted to get in touch with the live blog, they can leave a message for us using this service http://audioboo.fm/channel/middle-east-live-blog username: GuardianMEaudio and password: GuardianMEaudio )
17 February 2011 2:47PM
@Bauhaus
Er, what happened to the other 61 million in the UK?
17 February 2011 2:47PM
So is everything our fault at the moment because we did something or nothing? I am still not clear.
17 February 2011 2:48PM
@use2fly
have you even looked at the BBC website? they have a live feed on the middle east protests that is probably more extensive than this one.
17 February 2011 2:51PM
Probably doing overtime in the arms factorys, couldnt get the day off
17 February 2011 2:52PM
jessmum: It's our governments' fault - since we elect our governments, we have to pressure them - if we don't, then yes, we're helping those regimes out. Much of the weaponry used by these regimes is sold them by our governments, which have supported these regimes to the hilt (bar the current one in Iran, which is apparently magically unique in repression in the region). Our governments are pretty much indifferent to our opinion anyway, but not doing anything, not saying anything, means we are tacitly supporting their support of brutal repression of freedom.
And I get awfully tired of the wide-eyed disingenuous approach from adults, though if you are a child, fair enough.
17 February 2011 2:53PM
Brutality at Its Best:
I have been living in Bahrain for 9 years and I would have to say this has been the worst day I have lived here if not in my life. Bahrainis are the best humble people but unfortunately the vast of them are deprived of their rights to even join any of the military or selected ministries strictly because of their faith. People are brought from outside to take these positions instead and given citizenship solely for those purposes.
HOwever, I never imagined in my days in Bahrain that the government would ever get to the level of invading helpless people in their sleep in a public area where they were contesting and committ man slaughter with no mercy. Pictures on facebook on the site of the Bahrain revolution are beyond description. It looks like it was war zone.
The government claims that they should have had a license for the protest. Why did you let them go there in the first place. The king went on TV saying we allow protests. As if they asked for a license to protest for demands that have not been implemented for the past 10 years although they were agreed to, the government would allow them.
Words cannot really describe what is happening here, it is very sad to even see the press in this region like Al Jazeera not being supportive like they were in Egypt. I wonder WHy? because Hamad does not agree to it as Bahrain is a GCC state. They can be brutal with their people but that is fine.
We really need a change in this new world order that has done nothing but bring poverty, sorrows, hunger, pain, and struggles to this world.
17 February 2011 2:55PM
Sinexus6
I agree that our international standing/influence is greatly diminished. But we still have one of the largest economies in the world, we still have our nuclear weapons (whether or not we should), we're still a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we still have formidable armed forces. Whilst we have no empire, we do have the means to punch above our weight (or rather, our size) in international relations.
Anyway none of this is to the point. The point is: William Hague isn't speaking out because he thinks it's going to have an immediate material effect. In life generally (and international relations in particular), one doesn't speak only when one expects to be heeded. One speaks simply to register an opinion, to reiterate what is important, to gain or maintain the moral high-ground, to be on the right side of history, or whatever. And the rights words (not that Hague is uttering them) can give succour, can show moral support. It matters what is said. Denmark called for Mubarak's resignation. Denmark! They're even less significant than us! Doesn't matter. It was still news, and it was still well-received by some in Egypt.
It matters to West Papuan resistance fighters that Vanautu is the only country in the world to recognise West Papua as an independent nation. You'd be hard-pushed to think of a state less 'significant' than Vanuatu and yet their moral support is a source (a smallish source, but a source nevertheless) of strength.