10 May 2011
The human rights situation and the problems for those who defend media freedom continue to be extremely worrying in Bahrain. Several journalists have been summoned for questioning including Issa Ebrahim, a photographer for the daily Al-Wasat, who was detained and interrogated for several hours on 5 May.
The following are still detained:
– Al-Bilad editor Jasem Al-Sabbagh, held since 26 April.
– Al-Watan sports reporter Abdullah Ashur, held since 13 April.
– Al-Bilad sports reporter Abdullah Alawi, who was arrested in April.
10 May 2011
The human rights situation and the problems for those who defend media freedom continue to be extremely worrying in Bahrain. Several journalists have been summoned for questioning including Issa Ebrahim, a photographer for the daily Al-Wasat, who was detained and interrogated for several hours on 5 May.
The following are still detained:
– Al-Bilad editor Jasem Al-Sabbagh, held since 26 April.
– Al-Watan sports reporter Abdullah Ashur, held since 13 April.
– Al-Bilad sports reporter Abdullah Alawi, who was arrested in April.
The Bahraini news agency reported that the trial of 21 people accused of belonging to terrorist organizations and trying to overthrow the government began before a military court on 8 May. The defendants include several human rights activists and the bloggers Abdul Jalil Al-Singace and Ali Abdulemam. After the trial opened, it was adjourned until 12 May.
The head of the pro-democracy and civil liberties movement Al Haq, Singace was rearrested on 16 March after being held from September to February. He was previously arrested in 2009 for allegedly trying to destabilize the government because he used his blog (http://alsingace.katib.org) to denounce the deplorable state of civil liberties and discrimination against Bahrain’s Shiite population.
Abdulemam, who is being tried in absentia, is regarded by fellow Bahrainis as one of his country’s Internet pioneers and is an active member of Bahrain Online, a pro-democracy forum that gets more than 100,000 visitors a day despite being blocked within Bahrain. A contributor to the international bloggers network Global Voices, he has taken part in many international conferences at which he has denounced human rights violations in Bahrain. He was also detained from September to February but avoided being rearrested.
Abbas Al-Omran, a human rights activist who obtained refugee status in Britain a few years ago, has also been put on the list of wanted persons. A member of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, he provides the international media with information about human rights violations in Bahrain.
Mujtaba Salmat, a blogger and photographer who was arrested on 17 March for covering the anti-government demonstrations in Manama’s Pearl Square and posting the photos on Facebook, was released on 27 April.
The opposition newspaper Al-Wasat announced in its 8 May issue, previously billed as the last issue, that its board had reversed its decision to close and intended to continue publishing. Closed by the information ministry on 3 May for allegedly disseminating false information that undermined the country’s international image and reputation, it was allowed to resume publishing the next day but three of its most senior journalists – editor Mansour Al-Jamari, managing editor Walid Nouihid and local news editor Aqil Mirza – were forced to resign. Several of its journalists were also arrested.
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