BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

14th October 2014

Bahrain: The Islamic
State threat within
A recently released IS video
underscores the internal
threat Bahrain's ruling al-
Khalifa family face from the
Gulf kingdom's own security
services.
On rst appearance, the
video is not particularly
remarkable, just another in
a long string of clever
propaganda exercises by
the Islamic State (IS). This
one opens with four young
jihadists striding
purposefully up a desert hill,
Kalashnikovs in hand. But it
is the nationality of these
jihadists that tells the story.
They are all Bahrainis.
It was posted in late
September and it shows a
former Bahraini ministry of
interior ofcer calling on
other ofcers in the police
and military to defect.
Another Bahraini sitting
beside the ex-ofcer
denounces the al-
Khalifas, the rulers of this
troubled Gulf island
kingdom.
Read More
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Call to probe UK firm
over Bahraini 'spying'
claims
The National Crime Agency
has been asked to
investigate a British
company for allegedly
aiding the surveillance of
Bahraini activists living in
the UK.
In a complaint sent to the
NCA by Privacy
International on Monday,
Gamma Group is accused
of supplying software and
providing support to
Bahrain.
Privacy International held a
press conference, where
Gamma Group was not
represented, to announce
the action.
Gamma Group has not
responded to requests for
comment.
Read More
Criminal complaint
filed against UK
software company for
Bahraini activists'
surveillance
An anti-surveillance group
is bringing a criminal
complaint against a
software company after it
was revealed it had sold
software to the Bahraini
government that was used
in the surveillance of
activists in the UK.
Privacy International (PI)
made a criminal complaint
to the National Cyber Crime
Unit of the National Crime
Agency, to request
investigation of the unlawful
surveillance of three
Bahraini activists living in
the UK using technology
previously produced by a
software company called
Gamma International
Andover, Hampshire, but is
produced by a rm based in
Germany.
The technology, a malware
programme called
FinFisher, allows, when
downloaded on to a smart
phone or computer, a user
full access to a targets
infected device and
everything contained within
it, even enabling them to
turn on functions such as
cameras and microphones,
according to PI.
Read More