Ex-editors in Bahrain reject charges of unethical coverage
\nJune 20, 2011 01:29 AM
\nAssociated Press<\/p>\n
MANAMA, Bahrain: Lawyers for three former top editors of Bahrain\u2019s main opposition newspaper Sunday challenged allegations of unethical coverage by their clients during mass anti-government protests in the kingdom.<\/p>\n
The trial of the editors of Al-Wasat newspaper, who were forced to resign from Bahrain\u2019s most widely-read newspaper after the government imposed emergency rule in March to quell dissent, is part of a crackdown on the island nation\u2019s Shiite-led opposition.<\/p>\n
The charges against the three former editors, who pleaded not guilty last month, include publishing false news and endangering public order. If convicted on all charges, they face at least two years in jail and hefty financial fines.<\/p>\n
Two employees of Al-Wasat newspaper told Bahrain\u2019s highest criminal court Sunday that the editors overlooked fabricated information because of the difficult conditions facing the kingdom\u2019s only opposition paper during demonstrations against Bahrain\u2019s Sunni rulers.<\/p>\n
The two employees said the newspaper\u2019s offices had been vandalized and its staff had been threatened, forcing the staff to work from home.<\/p>\n
Al-Wasat\u2019s founder and former chief editor, Mansoor al-Jamri, told the court during last week\u2019s hearing that the paper published the fabricated items after it fell victim to a plot aimed at undermining Al-Wasat\u2019s role as the main voice for pro-reform advocates. …more<\/a><\/p>\n