19th December 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain Jails Activist for Covering Protests on Twitter
Bahrain jailed a leading rights activist for posts on Twitter documenting a protest on Monday in the capital, Manama, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said in a statement. The activist, Said Yousif alMuhafdah, is the centers head of documentation and the second member of the group to be jailed for using the social network in the past six months. A photograph of Mr. Muhafdahs arrest was laterposted on Twitter. In July, Bahrain sentenced Nabeel Rajab, the rights centers president, to three months in prison for joking on Twitter that supporters of Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Sulman alKhalifa, who was appointed to his post in 1971, cheered him only after being bribed. Read More UK, and Fahad al-Binali have stepped down amid an apparent move to centralise media functions within the Gulf states media regulator. Sheikh Abdulaziz and Mr Binali have spent much of the past year-and-a-half responding to often critical media coverage of prodemocracy protests led by the majority Shia population against the minority Sunniled government. Read More

Bahrain: Human Rights Activist Arrested

Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha and I stood in the main street of Muhazza Village not long before the tear gas canisters exploded. He was there representing the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), preparing to document the police response to anti-government protests. I was there to report on the rally and, hopefully, avoid getting hit by police bullets.

Many of the residents knew and respected Muhafdha from previous visits here to Muhazza, just a few miles outside the capital of Manama. This night police did re tear gas at the peaceful crowd, but partially because of the presence of international media, the attack was relatively light. Both Muhafdha and I escaped without injury or arrest. He wasnt so lucky several weeks later. On Dec. 17, police arrested Muhafdha at another demonstration, investigating him for disseminating false information on Twitter. Read More three women, were detained by security forces during a rally called by the February 14th opposition coalition for commemorating the killing of the two protesters in 1994. The BCHR indicated attending the rally to "monitor and document the situation". Incidentally, Bahraini security forces had closed most roads leading to Manama on Monday as part of their efforts to prevent opposition supporters from gathering in the capital city for the protest rally. Read More regime protesters in order to solve the ongoing crisis in the Persian Gulf country, an analyst tells Press TV. Read More

Bahrain pair depart in media shake-up

Two Bahrain government spokesmen have left the troubled Gulf kingdoms information affairs authority as the western ally struggles to overcome continuing unrest. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, a former Bahraini ambassador to the

Bahrain denies using "toxic gas" against protesters, refutes Iran

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) conrmed Tuesday that its vice-president Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha and several other activists were arrested during a protest held in capital Manama a day earlier to mark the extra-judicial killing of two Bahraini protesters eight years ago. According to BCHR, Muhafdha and 27 other prodemocracy activists, including

Bahrain: Child held without charge in adult prison

The detention of a 16-yearold Bahraini boy in an adult prison has been extended for a further week despite the Bahraini authorities failure to bring any charges against him, which Amnesty International said violates international standards of justice. On 11 December, police raided the family home of

Mohammad Mohammad Abdulnabi Abdulwasi in Sitra an island east of the capital Manama and arrested him, despite failing to produce a warrant. Family members present at the time allege that riot police broke the main door and took money and other possessions with them.

Bahrain regime must listen to protesters Since his arrest, the 16-year- demands: Analyst
old has not been allowed to see his family or a lawyer, and his unlawful detention in Dry Dock Prison a facility for adults has been extended until 26 December. Read More The Bahraini monarchy must meet the demands of ant-