Bahrain warned over detentions
\nshiapost | July 20, 2011<\/p>\n
One of the founders of al-Wasat daily, Karim Fakhrawi, died in police detention in April.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBahrain\u2019s government has a responsibility to protect journalists from those who resort to threats of violence, intimidation, or fabricated criminal charges to influence coverage,\u201d said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government should halt the smear campaign in pro-government publications against critical journalists,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CPJ said in its statement that it \u201chas documented dozens of cases of journalist detentions in Bahrain the death in custody of two journalists \u2026 and a large number of physical assaults against reporters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement added that in the most recent move against journalists critical of the government, Bahrain\u2019s 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<\/a><\/p>\n