Bahrain declared enemy of Internet freedom
\n12 March, 2012 – Al-Akhbar<\/p>\n
Bahrain has been declared an enemy of the Internet by a prominent campaign group in a report on Monday to mark World Day Against Cyber Censorship.<\/p>\n
Reporters Without Borders condemned the Gulf state’s continued arbitrary arrests of online activists, while criticizing Saudi Arabia and Syria for continued online censorship.<\/p>\n
Bahrain was one of only two countries to be called an “enemy” for the first time this year, the other being Belarus.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo countries, Bahrain and Belarus, have been moved from the \u201cunder surveillance\u201d category to the \u201cEnemies of the Internet\u201d list,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey combine often drastic content filtering with access restrictions, tracking of cyber-dissidents and online propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report said the ongoing arrests of activists and the lack of international news coverage had succeeded in suppressing the protests in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
It added that the upcoming Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix was an attempt by the ruling regime to pretend the protests are not happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cBahrain is an example of a news blackout succeeding thanks to an impressive combination of technical, judicial and physical censorship methods,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBahrain is spending millions to polish its image abroad and give the impression that the country has returned to normal. This has been capped by the announcement that the 2012 Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, canceled last year, will go ahead in April,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
A video emerged online over the weekend parodying attempts to organize the Grand Prix despite growing opposition due to human rights concerns in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
The video, entitled “Bernie No F1 in Bloody Bahrain” after Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone, shows a computer simulation of the race, but as the drivers reach the finishing line they are greeted by Bahraini activists.<\/p>\n