The government in Sunni-ruled Bahrain announced Sunday an indefinite ban on the independent Al-Wasat newspaper on accusations that it publishes “what sows division” in the Shiite-majority Gulf kingdom. The ministry of information affairs said it had decided to bar the publication and stop its circulation “until further notice”, according BNA state news agency, without specifying … Read more
Hackers temporarily took over the Twitter account of the Bahraini foreign minister on Saturday, just 10 days after a cyber attack on the official news agency of neighbouring Qatar. The hack, which purported to be carried out in the name of a fringe militant group, came after Bahraini authorities dissolved the kingdom’s last major opposition … Read more
Authorities in Bahrain have clamped down on dissent in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf last month — a move that experts say is no coincidence. “The human rights situation was already bad, but the timing of the latest crackdown is striking and it’s unlikely to be coincidental,” said Jane … Read more
A Bahraini court dissolved a secular opposition party on Wednesday, a judicial official said, as authorities in the Gulf state kept up a crackdown on dissent. The decision by the administrative court, just months after the main party representing the kingdom’s Shiite majority was also banned, was swiftly condemned by human rights groups. The justice … Read more
Bahrain on Wednesday warned people against holding protests a day after police shot dead five demonstrators in the home village of the spiritual leader of the kingdom’s Shiite majority. Security forces would “challenge, in accordance with the law, any gathering or incitement” to protest, the interior ministry said in a statement. Dozens were also wounded … Read more
Bahraini police opened fire Tuesday on a protest by supporters of a top Shiite cleric, with at least one demonstrator reported dead in the latest unrest to hit the Sunni-ruled Gulf state. The Britain-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) announced the “tragic death of a peaceful protester in the crackdown” in Diraz, the … Read more
A protester was killed Tuesday in a Bahraini police raid on a sit-in by supporters of a leading Shiite cleric put on trial in the Gulf state, a rights group said. The Britain-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy reported the “tragic death of a peaceful protester in the crackdown” in Diraz, the hometown of … Read more
Bahrain police on Tuesday opened fire on a long-running sit-in in support of a leading Shiite cleric in the Sunni-ruled Gulf state, hit by years of unrest. Eyewitnesses told AFP there were multiple civilians wounded in the raid targeting the months-long sit-in in Diraz, the hometown of cleric Isa Qassim. Qassim was sentenced on Sunday … Read more
Bahrain has referred its first civilian case to a military court following a constitutional amendment approved by the king last month, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. Inspired in part by Arab Spring uprisings, Bahrain has since 2011 witnessed regular protests against the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty which has ruled the Shiite-majority Gulf kingdom for more than … Read more
Bahrain’s King Hamad on Monday approved a constitutional amendment granting military courts the right to try civilians accused of terrorism, state news agency BNA said. The amendment, approved unanimously by the upper house of parliament last month, drops a clause limiting military trials to members of the armed forces or other security branches. It does … Read more