Bahrain’s Recent Attacks on Press Freedom

Update: After this post was published, Bahrain’s Ministry of Information Affairs has partially suspended on 16 January 2017 Alwasat, the country’s only independent newspaper. See here for more details.  On 16 January 2017, Bahrain’s prosecution will try the case of journalist Nazeeha Saeed, whom the Public Prosecution Office charged with working for international media without a[…]

Oman Arresting Journalists in Affront to Free Press

In an attempt to stifle freedom of speech, Omani authorities have recently arrested three journalists from Azamn daily newspaper in connection to an article that was published on 26 July 2016. Officials believe the article criticized the country’s judiciary, and used this as the basis for the journalists’ arrests. On 9 August 2016, Oman’s Ministry[…]

Women leaders of Bahrain’s cyberactivist movement

Cyberactivists, those who organize, document or participate in political protests and social movements through online communications, played a large role in the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. The widespread use of social media websites, including Twitter and Facebook, allowed citizens abroad to shed light on the practices of oppressive governments in the Middle East and[…]

ADHRB and other NGOs petition for release of Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Freedom Now, Amnesty International, English PEN, PEN International, and Split this Rock held demonstrations on Thursday, 25 February, in London and Washington to call for the release of Mohammed al-Ajami, a Qatari poet who has been imprisoned since 2011. Qatari authorities arrested al-Ajami in November of[…]

Bahrain quickly releases US journalists, but local reporters remain imprisoned

On Sunday February 14, Bahraini authorities arrested four American journalists including Anna Therese Day during the protests that marked the fifth anniversary of the 2011 mass pro-democracy uprising. Bahraini authorities detained them “as a result of their involvement in criminal acts, and because one was concealing his face at the time of his arrest.” Authorities[…]