Bahrain: Silence Is a War Crime

[The following report was issued by the Bahrain Press Association on 2 May 2013.] 

Bahrain: Silence Is a War Crime

Forward

The 2012 Annual Report comes to mark the second year running of the coverage started with the incorporation of the Bahrain Press Association (“BPA”) in July 2011 in London, the United Kingdom.

The report, named ‘Bahrain: Silence Is A War Crime,” represents a testament intended to be comprehensive and impartial in describing and documenting the diverse violations pertaining to the freedom of expression and media in Bahrain in the period spanning January to December 2012. It is the third report issued by the BPA following “Bahrain: Word Leading to Death,” issued in October 2011, and “Hunger for Freedom,” issued in May 2012.

The bilingual report is comprised of chapters that summarize the obstacles and challenges that have been, and are, in existence faced by media and press professionals in Bahrain. It also includes, among other things, personal testimonies, a table documenting violations, and some reportage with closer look on the commitment the Bahraini authorities have shown to implement the recommendations set by the Bahrain Independent Commission for Inquiry (“BICI”), and the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council. The report also highlights very widely the violations and intimidation witnessed by the journalists, photojournalists, reporters, and bloggers in Bahrain as have been largely condemned and documented by leading international human rights advocates and other NGOs concerned with the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press.

The Report further sheds light on the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press in Bahrain by documenting the violations faced by tens of local and foreigner journalists along with several organizations, newspapers, media outlets, and news agencies. The Report also stresses the 2011 inherent dilemma that has more than 145 media and press professionals had been subjected to murder, torture, and mass dismissal.

The murder of photojournalist Mr. Ahmed Ismail on March 31, 2012 by live ammunition in the village of Salmabad while filming a peaceful protest to mark the top worst moment of the year. Mr. Ismail’s murderer, as well as the case of the murderers of Publisher Kareem Fakhrawi and Blogger Zakaria Al Asheeri, is still unknown, as the Bahraini judicial authority is still temporizing on the trial of those responsible of their murdering.

The major violations reported in 2012 are as follows:

1. Intimidation and direct targeting policy against media professionals was on the rise; it led to the murdering of photojournalist Mr. Ahmed Ismail and reported incidents of bodily assaults and arbitrary arrests to many Bahraini media professionals. The list of violations also includes either the arrest or deportation of foreign reporters.
2. The Bahraini authorities are still temporizing to show adherence to the commitments undertaken before the international community as reflected in the straightforward implementation of the BICI’s recommendations and those of the UN Human Rights Council.
3. The Bahraini authorities are still prosecuting media professionals; the judicial authority is being placed to be the ultimate punisher against media professionals.
4. The regime did not fulfill its promises to introduce a new journalism and media law and is enforcing Law 47 for 2002 pertaining to the regulation of journalism, print, and publishing. This has enabled the regime to widen its fist on the media realm of the country and bringing media professionals and human rights advocates before courts in trials labeled by international NGOs as lacking due process and basic human rights.
5. The regime is still monopolize TV and radio broadcasting, not allowing opposing voices to appear on the state-run TV and radio channels. While the regime still refuses to give a license to any independent national TV and radio channels, it has granted a license to a TV channel owned by a member of the Saudi royal family.
6. The regime still interferes directly in the content of the national papers. It also censored many opinion columns and media coverage by opposition parties.
7. The judicial authority, headed by the country’s king, still temporizes promoting justice through sham trials. Those military officials responsible for the killings and torturing of media professionals are not brought to justice with employees of lower ranks being tried instead. In most incidents tried, the violators were granted innocence.
8. No media professional was reinstated to their work amid the arbitrary dismissals that came along the way with the brutal crackdown early in 2011. The Information Authority has reinstated some of those arbitrarily dismissed into posts not matching their expertise and qualifications.
9. The state, backed by pro-regime groups, continued the spread of media and press sectarian content. The state-run TV station has gone on to broadcast provoking material with racist connotations against opposition leaders and human rights advocates in the country.
10. The judicial authority, by its supreme cessation court, upheld very severe rulings against cyber bloggers (Dr. A.Jaleel Al Sangice & Mr. Ali Abdulemam).
11. The Bahraini regime continued its crackdown against those media professionals living in exile. It circulated their names in blacklists among Arab countries which, in turn, led to the ban of those professionals from entering countries like Egypt, Kuwait, and the Untied Arab Emirates.
12. The Bahraini regime still refuses to grant entry visas international NGOs concerned with the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press including, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Federation of Human Rights. 

[Click here to download the full report.]