18th December 2012

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain extends detention of rights campaigner held in rally
Bahrain has extended by seven days the detention of a leading human rights activist who was arrested on Monday during a demonstration in the Gulf Arab island kingdom, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Sayed Yousif al-Muhafda, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was being investigated on charges of spreading false news on Twitter after he was arrested by police during a march in the capital Manama, Mohammed al-Jishi said. All rallies and gatherings are banned in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and which has been in turmoil since pro-democracy protests led by its Shi'ite Muslim majority erupted last year. Read More demonstration held in the capital city of Manama to mark the anniversary of two protesters who were killed in 1994. On December 18, the Public Prosecutor remanded him in custody in Hooth AlJaff prison for seven days pending an investigation on charges of spreading false information on Twitter. The Observatory highlights that the arrest took place on the eve of a visit to Bahrain by a delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with a focus on human rights issues. Read More demonstrators. Among those detained was Yousef alMuhafedha, the acting head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, whose founding president, Nabeel Rajab, is currently serving a two-year term. The U.S.backed Bahraini monarchy banned all public demonstrations earlier this year. Read More

Bahrain human rights activist detained at Manama rally

The vice-president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has been detained, the organisation has said. Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha was arrested at a protest on Monday in the capital,

Manama, which commemorated the killing of two Bahrainis in 1994, it added. Prosecutors ordered that Mr Muhafdha be held for a week pending an investigation into an accusation he broadcast false information on Twitter. Last week, a court rejected an appeal by the BCHR's president, Nabeel Rajab. Read More democracy activists, including 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

Bahrain: Arrest of Mr. Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdhah

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arrest of Mr. Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdhah, Acting Vice President and Head of Documentation Unit of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). According to the information received, on December 17, 2012, Mr. Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdhah was arrested while he was monitoring a

Prominent Human Rights Activist Detained In Bahrain

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 pro-

Police attack protesters

Security forces in Bahrain red tear gas and arrested protesters on Monday during marches in the market area of capital Manana. The Interior Ministry said it made a number of arrests. Among them was rights activist Yousef al-Muhafedha, the acting head of the

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said his wife Zainab al-Saira. Mr Muhafedha's arrest could stir a further backlash less than a week after a Bahrain court rejected an appeal to overturn the jail sentence of rights centre director Nabeel Rajab. The court merely cut a year from his three-year sentence on charges of encouraging "illegal gatherings." Read More

Bahraini Forces Fire Tear Gas, Arrest Demonstrators at ProDemocracy Rally

In Bahrain, government forces cracked down on a pro-democracy rally in the capital Manama on Monday, ring tear gas and arresting

Bahrain breaks up protests, arrests campaigners

Bahraini police red stun grenades to break up dozens of protesters and arrested around 25 people including a prominent campaigner during antigovernment rallies in the capital Manama on Monday, activists said. Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafda, a leading gure at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was detained for joining the opposition marches marking the death

of two activists in the 1990s - his second arrest since November, another campaigner told Reuters. The island kingdom, the base of the U.S. Navys Fifth Fleet, has been in turmoil since pro-democracy protests led by its Shiite Muslim majority erupted last year inspired by revolts across the region. Earlier this month, Bahrains opposition groups welcomed a call by the Crown Prince for dialogue. But meetings have not started and the unrest has continued. Read More many countries in the world, has laws and regulations governing visits of journalists and media delegations to the country by applying for a visa in advance. She stated, as an example, that the United States of America does not allow entry to any journalist without a visa applied for in advance, as not any journalist can acquire a visa. Read More Read More

Shia protest Sunni rule in Bahrain

New York Times columnist Nick Kristof tweetedhe has been "detained" in Bahrain at the airport but should be leaving soon: "I'm on a morning ight out. They say they'll give my my passport back at gate. They're very pleasant as autocrats go."

Kristof arrived in Bahrain where he was denied entry and then detained at the airport. He had traveled to the country to report on human rights abuses and "repression in Shia villages" there. Two weeks ago, TV reality star Kim Kardashianmade a controversial trip to the Middle Eastern kingdom to open one of her Millions of Milkshakes restaurant chains. Read More from her tweets if she was aware of the riot police and tear gas her visit inspired. Kardashian was there to open a milkshake shop and pose with some camels. The New York Times Nick Kristof says he was there to report on human rights and was therefore denied entry. When we say trapped, we mean stuck at an airport Starbucks. Read More And "top level gures" at the sport's Paris based governing body "are already nervous" that the 2013 edition, scheduled for next late April, will be "another horrifying embarrassment", according to Times correspondent Kevin Eason. "It was a public relations disaster on every level," Eason quoted an unnamed source as saying. "The race will go on but you have to wonder what will happen this time. Read More

Minister of State for Information: Bahrain welcomes journalists and reporters. Requesting them to abide by the procedures required
The Minister of State for Information and Government spokesperson stated that the Kingdom of Bahrain, like

New York Times Nick Kristof trapped in Bahrain airport; Ben Afeck to therescue
Kim Kardashian recently had such a fun day in the Kingdom of Bahrain that she wanted to move there, though its unclear

F1 : Continued political unrest in Bahrain has Formula 1 governing body nervous

FIA 'nervous' about Formula 1's return to Bahrain - The FIA is "nervous" ahead of Formula One's still controversial return to Bahrain in 2013. After the 2011 race was cancelled due to civil unrest in the island Kingdom, the sport's return to Sakhir this year was hugely controversial.

Monarchy depriving Bahrainis from minimum civil rights: Redwan Rizk

The Bahraini regime must engage the people in dialogue in order to solve the ongoing crisis in the country, a political analyst tells Press TV.

Bahraini forces fire tear gas on Manama protests

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have red tear gas to disperse anti-regime protesters in the capital as Manama's crackdown on the opposition continue. Read More UK government to stop supporting despotic Al Khalifa regime. Read More

UK urged to stop supporting Al Khalifa

Bahraini activists living in Britain have called for the