Bahrain Suppressing Truth by Intensifying Crackdown on Photographers

Bahrain Targets Freedom of Expression and Suppressing Truth by Intensifying Crackdown on Photographers
Thursday, June 2, 2011

Ahlul Bayt News Agency

“A picture is worth a thousand words” a saying proven true once again by Bahrain’s uprising; since February 14, photography spoke out of the peacefulness and nonviolent nature of the Bahraini protesters in pearl roundabout and revealed the legitimacy of their demands for political reforms to the world. It, also, exposed the brutality of the Bahraini government through photos of killing, arresting, torturing and terrorizing civilians.

Photographers, both professional and amateur, have had a vital role in documenting pro-democracy protests in Bahrain. During the first days and through their photos they were able to educate and inform the public of the demands of the protesters by covering their peaceful rallies[1] , events calling for unity like the human chain[2] and informative and educational speeches by Bahraini intellectuals held every night in the pearl roundabout. Bahraini photographers were also active protesters with their own demands which they expressed in the photographers’ rally on 28 Feb 2011; they held signs saying “A Picture delivers an effective message of Justice” and “No for arresting photographers”[3] . Whilst, international media was either banned from entering Bahrain or did not give any priority to covering Bahrain’s events, it was the Bahraini photographers who have covered the violent crackdowns on the protesters by the pearl roundabout, in front of Salmaniya Medical Center[4] , and by Bahrain Financial Harbor[5] by using tear gas canister, rubber bullets and live ammunition against unarmed protesters. Also, their covering exposed the role of the thugs protected by the security men in the attack on the University of Bahrain[6] . These photos and videos were soon distributed via the social networks and some of the media channels.
Their role became even more critical especially after imposing the Martial law on March 15, 2011 which limited media coverage; foreign journalists and photographers have been deported and banned from entering Bahrain and local media coverage was limited to government’s official statements, in order to prevent the dissemination of information about protests. Despite of that, Bahraini photographers continued to cover the atrocities of the Bahraini government by documenting the daily security crackdowns on citizens at checkpoints[7] , vandalizing their cars[8] and exposing the use of army vehicles to seize villages, although, Bahraini officials claimed that their role was to guard the vital institutions of State, not only that but they went as far as demolishing Shiite mosques and places of worship[9] . …more