Bahrain: Released Prisoners to Face Trial; Al-Jazeera Banned

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) said on Tuesday that 137 people would be released from Bahraini custody, of which at least 2 former Members of Parliament Matar Matar and Jawad Fairooz, have already been released. Despite the announcement, Fairooz noted that many of the released likely had their pictures taken to “prove” that torture had not occurred, and that many will likely face trial in civilian court.

Mansoor al-Jamri, the former Editor-in-Chief of Bahrain’s only independent newspaper, al-Wasat, has been reinstated, despite pressure from his opponents. He was dismissed after Bahraini state media “carried out an intense campaign alleged that he had published false information about events in the uprising.”

Also, according to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain has denied entry to any staff of Al-Jazeera in retaliation for the “Shouting in the Dark” documentary, a “shocking account of the pro-democracy protest in Bahrain.” The New York Times reports that Al-Jazeera has unexpectedly changed its plans to rerun the documentary. An Al-Jazeera spokesperson said the documentary will be rerun on Thursday, but in conjunction with an “Inside Story” discussion of the documentary immediately following the show. The Al-Jazeera website had listed times for rerun on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but over the weekend, these times were mysteriously deleted. Al Anstey, Al Jazeera‘s managing editor had hoped this documentary would counter critics of Al Jazeera‘s coverage of the Bahraini uprising.