Blogger Escapes from Bahrain, Government Responds

Photo Credit: AP

Bahraini blogger and free-speech advocate Ali Abdulemam recently escaped from the Kingdom of Bahrain after more than two years in hiding. A team of people and outside supporters, including artist Tyler Ramsey and human rights groups Amnesty International and the American Islamic Congress, planned “to sneak Abdulemam out of the country in plain view and with the cooperation of his would-be captors.” After a successful escape, Abdulemam has been granted asylum in the U.K. and awaits his wife and children, who are still in Bahrain.  In response to the escape, the Bahraini government released a statement to CNN describing Abdulemam as “the founder of Bahrain Online, a website that has repeatedly been used to incite hatred, including through the spreading of false and inflammatory rumors.” The statement added, “The government of Bahrain respects the right of its citizens to express their opinion…However, free speech does not equate to engaging in, or actively encouraging, violence.”

In other news, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa granted citizenship to 240 British expats living in the Kingdom. In a recent speech, the King stated, “I am proud to say that, by due legal process, we have granted Bahraini nationality to 240 British citizens as they themselves had requested and whose loyal service more than justified it.”

Human Rights Watch researcher Nicholas McGeehan argues that “Britain’s lack of support for freedom of expression in Bahrain is a flawed and self-defeating policy.” McGeehan points at two articles posted to the website of the British Embassy in Bahrain on World Press Freedom Day “that argued against freedom of expression, denigrated Bahraini rights groups and justified government repression of sections of society.” He argues, “The embassy in Manama leaves itself open to the criticism that it cares less about promoting freedom of expression in Bahrain than cosying up to the country’s repressive government.”