Bahrain Live Blog

 

One year after the pro-democracy uprising began on February 14, protests against the ruling al-Khalifa monarchy continue across Bahrain. 

Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

 

Marietje Schaake, a member of the European Parliament, addressed the plenary session in Strasbourg, France yesterday on the situation in Bahrain. The full text of the motion put forward by Schaake and other parliamentarians is available here

Tags Bahrain

Video reportedly taken in Sitra yesterday shows riot police physically abusing men after detaining them. Opposition protets have been reportedly happening on a daily basis in areas like Sitra, an island in the east of Bahrain. 

This video uploaded to YouTube was reportedly shot in Juffair, Bahrain, and shows a riot police officer throwing stones and a petrol bomb presumably at opposition protesters.  

 

Brian Dooley, director of the Human Rights Defenders Program at the US-based Human Rights First, was finally allowed into Bahrain (see this Al Jazeera report on human rights activists and journalists being denied entry by the government in Bahrain last month:” Suppressing the narrative in Bahrain”)

However, Dooley has posted a message to Twitter that while in Bahrain his requests to meet with prisoners, including hunger striking human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, are not being granted by the authorities.

 

dooley_dooley

Protests are reportedly taking place in areas around Bahrain to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the start of a three-month state of emergency declared by the king. The state of emergency was called for one day after thousands of Saudi troops entered Bahrain to help the monarchy crush the pro-democracy uprising that began one month earlier. 

The below tweet is from Mazen Mahdi, a photographer in Bahrain:

MazenMahdi

Bahraini anti-government protesters dodge tear-gas canisters fired by riot police during clashes in the village of Diraz (top photo).

Protesters take cover in front of riot police, who block their path to Pearl Square in Manama.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Bahrain crackdown

[Reuters]

Bahrain rejected a new report by an international media watchdog describing the Gulf Arab state as an "enemy of the internet" after it crushed a pro-democracy uprising last year.

"Bahrain offers a perfect example of successful crackdowns, with an information blackout achieved through an impressive arsenal of repressive measures," the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report published this week.

The report cited exclusion of the foreign media, harassment of human rights defenders, arrests of bloggers and internet activists, prosecutions and defamation campaigns against free expression activists, and disruption of communications after mass protests first erupted in February 2011.

It said Bahrain slowed down the internet and increased filtering during the uprising, which was put down by force after one month in March 2011.

Bahrain fell in RSF's 2012 press freedom index to number 173, seven places from the worst offender, Eritrea, the watchdog said.

In its response, the Bahrain government said it was in the process of improving media standards, according to the recommendations of a commission of international legal experts which criticised media policy in a hard-hitting report in November.

"The government of Bahrain remains committed to meeting international media regulation standards and is working hard to improve its domestic media environment. Nevertheless, reform is a process and not an event," the government's Information Affairs Authority (IAA) said.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Bahrain crackdown

Large crowd of mourners participated in the end of funeral ceremony of the 22 year old protestor who died due to a direct shot of tear gas at his head.

Mourners were dispersed by security forces using tear gas, and were also tracked and chased for the purpose of detention, tear gas was also shot inside houses as a part of the collective punishment, which caused burning of a car belonging to a citizen living in the same area. [Wefaq International]

Bahrain has rejected on Wednesday a new report by an international media watchdog describing the Gulf Arab state as an "enemy of the Internet" after it crushed a pro-democracy uprising last year. "

Bahrain offers a perfect example of successful crackdowns, with an information blackout achieved through an impressive arsenal of repressive measures," the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report published this week. [AP]

Jailed Bahraini activist Abdulhadi Alkhwaja is reportedly on his 33rd day of hunger strike.

angryarabiya

Fatma_alhayyan

Content on this website is for general information purposes only. Your comments are provided by your own free will and you take sole responsibility for any direct or indirect liability. You hereby provide us with an irrevocable, unlimited, and global license for no consideration to use, reuse, delete or publish comments, in accordance with Community Rules & Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.