28th February/ 1st/ 2nd March 2014

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahraini police clash with protesters after funeral
Bahraini police red teargas and stun grenades at hundreds of protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs in a Shi'ite Muslim village on Friday after the funeral of a young man who died in custody, a Reuters witness said. The Gulf Arab nation, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has suffered low-level civil unrest since mass protests in 2011 led by majority Shi'ites demanding reforms and a bigger share of power in the Sunni-led island kingdom. Jaafar Mohammed Jaafar, 23, who was detained in December and accused of smuggling weapons, died of illness in custody on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said, the second death of a person held on security-related charges this year. Read More The Shiite village of Daih was holding a funeral for a 23-year-old Mohammed Jaafar who died in custody, after being accused of smuggling weapons. His death is the second in 2014 of a person held on security-related charges. The main opposition alWefaq group said that the young man was denied medical treatment in custody, while one activist said he had been tortured, Reuters reports. The accusations have been denied by the authorities. Read More opposing sides in the tiny Middle East kingdom.

Bahrain police, Shiites clash at jailed youth's funeral

Bahraini police and demonstrators clashed Friday during the funeral of a jailed Shiite youth who the authorities say died of natural causes and whose family said had been tortured, witnesses said.

Bahrain has suffered from chronic, often deadly, violence since the authorities brutally suppressed an Arab Springinspired movement in 2011 calling for a constitutional monarchy. The demonstrators near the capital Manama hurled rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, the sources said. Read More

opposing sides in the tiny Middle East kingdom.

Bahrain Protests: Three Years On And Nothing Has Changed

After hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Bahrain and fought with security services to mark the third anniversary of the Arab spring-inspired uprising this month, there still appears to be no sign of resolving the difference between

The build-up to the anniversary saw many roads to Shiite villages blocked by makeshift barricades, in a bid to protect civilians from the possibility of attack by the many government deployed security forces. Protesters threw stones at the police who retaliated with tear gas rounds and small shots, injuring some of the demonstrators. Read More

Bahrain police clash with crowd after funeral

A funeral in a Bahraini village of a man who died in police custody has ended with police using teargas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd that engaged them with stones and petrol bombs, according to the authorities.

Freed Bahraini Activist Zainab Alkhawaja on Her Year in Prison, Continued Detention of Her Father
We go to Bahrain to speak with human rights activist Zainab Alkhawaja, just after she was released from prison by the Bahraini

government. "One year in prison is nothing," Alkhawaja says of her time behind bars. "Because its nothing compared to what were willing to sacrice for our goals, for democracy in our country." On March 3, she could be sent back to prison after appearing in court to face charges of damaging police property, defacing a picture of the king and insulting a police ofcer. Read More

Why Is the UK Facilitating Oppression in Bahrain?

After hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Bahrain and fought with security services to mark the third anniversary of the Arab spring-inspired uprising this month, there still appears to be no sign of resolving the difference between

The build-up to the anniversary saw many roads to Shiite villages blocked by makeshift barricades, in a bid to protect civilians from the possibility of attack by the many government deployed security forces. Protesters threw stones at the police who retaliated with tear gas rounds and small shots, injuring some of the demonstrators. Read More

Bahrain arrests 4 for religious insult on Instagram

Bahraini authorities said Thursday that four cyberactivists have been arrested for posting insults about companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on Instagram.

The four are accused of posting on the smartphone photo-sharing service texts and pictures damaging to companions of the Prophet, state news agency BNA reported. It said they were arrested after an investigation of users of the Instagram account and would be put on trial, without identifying the suspects. Read More

governments ofcial Spokesperson, slammed the report as lacking the needed objectivity and impartiality.

Bahrain hits back on US report

A top government ofcial hit back today on a report by the US State Department downplaying Bahrains human rights achievements. State Minister for Information Affairs Sameera Ebrahim bin Rajab, the

Speaking at a press conference today, following the cabinet session, she said " no objective report contains only drawbacks based on fabricated reports issued by some parties that have an interest in distorting the truth." Read More