King Hamad’s crackdown and harassment financially ruins Al Wasat – last of Bahrain’s free press

Bahrain’s Al Wasat daily to shut down next week
Heavy financial losses force Al Wasat newspaper in Bahrain to shut down

By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Published: 18:20 May 3, 2011 Gulf News

Manama: Al Wasat daily, one of the five Arabic dailies in Bahrain, said that it would shut down next week, citing heavy financial losses.

The decision was supported by 18 board members and opposed by 14 at a meeting held on Monday to decide on the paper’s future after it waded into controversy last month and its editor in chief Mansoor Al Jamri resigned.

The daily was accused by the official media authority of misleading the public by publishing stories that were reportedly lifted from Palestinian and Moroccan newspapers and that created negative feelings about the security situation in Bahrain.

The daily’s former editor-in-chief, editor and local news editor were questioned by the public prosecutor over the issue.

Media sources said that the daily started facing advertisement problems and investors did not wish to take further risks and lose money. …more