4th February 2015

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

UN experts urge
Bahrain to release
jailed opposition
chief
United Nations rights
experts urged Bahrain
Wednesday to free Shiite
opposition leader Sheikh Ali
Salman, on trial for
allegedly trying to overthrow
the country's Sunni regime.
Salman, 49, was arrested
December 28, shortly after
he was re-elected head of
Bahrain's main opposition
party Al Wefaq.

UN rights experts
urge Bahrain to
release arrested
opposition leader
A group of United Nations
human rights experts are
urging the Government of
Bahrain to release
opposition politician and
religious figure Sheikh Ali
Salman who was arrested
in December 2014 on
charges that include inciting
change of regime by nonpeaceful means.
The charges appear to
stem from the
Government's
dissatisfaction with opinions
that Sheikh Salman
expressed in public

He was charged with trying

to incite regime change by
non-peaceful means, and
was denied bail when his
trial opened last week.
"The charges appear to
stem from the government's
dissatisfaction with opinions
that Sheikh Salman
expressed in public
speeches and televised
interviews, in which he
called for the establishment
of a democratic regime and
for government
accountability," the five UN
experts said in a statement.
Read More

speeches and televised

interviews, in which he
called for the establishment
of a democratic regime and
for Government
accountability, the human
rights experts said in a
press release issued earlier
today.
If this is indeed the case,
his arrest and prosecution
would amount to a breach
of his fundamental human
rights to freedom of
expression, freedom of
association and freedom of
religion or belief, they
continued. We have asked
the Government of Bahrain
to clarify the situation and to
provide more information on
these allegations.
Read More

Bahrain revokes
nationality of 72 on
security grounds
A group of UN human rights
experts on Wednesday
urged the Bahrain[press
release] government to
release the peaceful
politician Sheikh Ali
Salman. The religious figure
serves as the main political
opposition to the Bahraini
government, the Al-Wefaq
National Islamic Society
[GU Berkley Center
backgrounder]. He was
charged [JURIST report] in

UN Asks Bahrain for

'Clarification' on
Charges Against
Opposition Leader

January for inciting a

change of regime by nonpeaceful means. The
human rights experts
criticized the arrest and
prosecution as a violation of
Salman's right to freedom of
expression, freedom of
association and freedom of
religion. The experts have
requested that the Bahraini
authorities provide more
information regarding the
details of Sheikh Salman's
offenses, and encourage
the government to release
all individuals who have
been detained for peaceful
expression of their views.
Read More

National Islamic Society,

Bahrains main opposition
political party. In late
December, Salman was
arrested inBahrain's capital
Manama oncharges
ofinciting tooverthrow the
regime.

Several UN independent
experts have called
onBahrain toprovide
detailed information
onaccusations bythe
government againstShiite
opposition leader Ali
Salman, the UN Office
ofthe High Commissioner
forHuman Rights
(UNHCHR) said
Wednesday.

The UN experts suspect

those charges emerged due
to the Governments
dissatisfaction withopinions
that Sheikh Salman
expressed inpublic
speeches and televised
interviews, inwhich he
called forthe establishment
ofa democratic regime and
forGovernment
accountability.

Ali Salman is a SecretaryGeneral ofthe Al-Wefaq

Read More

Sheikh Salman calls

for protests in
Bahrain
In a message released on
the fourth anniversary of the
uprising in Bahrain, Sheikh
Ali Salman said persistence
on demands is the only way
to restore the rights of
people and achieve
freedom in Bahrain.

Four Bahraini
journalists stripped
of citizenship
Bahraini authorities revoked
the nationality of at least
four journalists among a
total of 72 citizens, after
accusing them under article
10 of the country's
citizenship act of supporting
terrorism, the staterunBahrain News Agency
reported.

The message comes a

week after the 49-year-old
senior opposition leader
called for the international
community to support the
people of Bahrain in their
national drive to establish
democracy in the country.
Salmans next court session
has been adjourned to late
February.
Read More
Those named on the
Ministry of Interior list have
been accused of spying for
foreign countries; using
social media to recruit
others to engage in
terroristic acts; attempting
to destabilize the
government through
incitement and spreading of
misinformation; and inciting
the overthrow of the
government, according to
news reports. The
government defended its
decision, saying it was to
"preserve and protect
security and stability," news
reports said.
Read More

Secretary General of alWefaq National Islamic

Society, which is Bahrains
main opposition movement.

Bahrain Blocks Saudi

Channel over
Interview with
Opposition
The unexpected
suspension came a day
after Al-Arab news channel
was launched in the
Bahraini capital, Manama,
and just hours after Al-Arab
broadcast an interview with
Khalil al-Marzooq, a former
deputy Speaker of Bahrain
and an aide to Sheik Ali
Salman, the detained

The Bahraini Akhbar alKhaleej newspaper said

Monday that the
suspension was related to
the failure of those in
charge [in the TV]to abide
by the prevailing norms in
the [Persian] Gulf, including
the neutrality of media
positions and staying away
from anything that could
negatively impact the spirit
of unity in the Gulf.
Read More

Bahrain not ready for

freedom of
expression
The shutdown of the AlArab channel in Bahrain
shows the country is not
ready to have any type of
freedom of speech, neither
for the government
opposition, nor for the local
media, Jawad Fairooz, a
former member of Bahrains
parliament told RT.
READ MORE: Bahrain
gags newly-opened TV
channel after opposition
figure interview

Bahrain closes new

television channel
funded by Saudi
Billionaire
Privately-owned Akhbar alKhaleej newspaper claimed
that the channel was closed
because it didnt abide by
the prevailing norms in the
Gulf, including the neutrality
of media positions and
staying away from anything
that could negatively impact
the spirit of Gulf unity.

RT: The Al Arab channel

was shut down after a
prominent opposition
member was invited on air.
Let's listen to what he
said....In the country where
pro-democracy activists
aren't really allowed on
State TV, we shouldn't
exactly be surprised it was
taken off air so soon should
we?
Jawad Fairooz: Bahrain is
not ready to have any type
of freedom of expression,
neither for the opposition,
nor for any media.
Read More

Al-Arab on its twitter

account stated that it will be
coming back soon as it
claimed that it stopped
broadcasting for technical
and administrative
reasons.
Marzouq, a former member
of parliament, during the
interview criticized the
revocation of the 72
nationalities and also
alleged that the tr
Read More