Storm of rebuke and retribution coming as West feels real pressure to act against al Khalifa’s brutality and deceptions become clear

Bahrain warned over detentions
shiapost | July 20, 2011

One of the founders of al-Wasat daily, Karim Fakhrawi, died in police detention in April.

An international rights group criticizes Bahrain for suppressing journalists critical of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty, urging Manama to end the harassment and legal proceedings against them.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement released late on Tuesday that it had documented cases of two journalists who died while in police custody and many others being detained or tortured in Bahrain since the beginning of anti-government protests in mid-February.

“Bahrain’s government has a responsibility to protect journalists from those who resort to threats of violence, intimidation, or fabricated criminal charges to influence coverage,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem.

“The government should halt the smear campaign in pro-government publications against critical journalists,” he added.

CPJ said in its statement that it “has documented dozens of cases of journalist detentions in Bahrain the death in custody of two journalists … and a large number of physical assaults against reporters.”

The statement added that in the most recent move against journalists critical of the government, Bahrain’s public prosecutors summoned local journalist Reem Khalifa over accusations that she has hit a woman among pro-government supporters during a news conference held by an Irish delegation investigating rights abuses against Bahraini medics. …more