Bahrain Shuts Out Media as Anniversary Approaches

Bahrain has denied visas for multiple journalists who requested to be in the country for the February 14 anniversary of the uprisings. Denied media outlets include the New York Times, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and Al Jazeera. Several of the correspondents were vocal on Twitter about their rejected applications. All those refused entry said the visas were denied due to an “unusually high volume of requests,” and they were invited back at the end of February, once the BICI recommendations were fully implemented. Brian Dooley of Human Rights First, one of those denied entry, said “this is the hallmark of a repressive regime — not allowing journalists into the country.” President of the Information Affairs Authority (I.A.A.) His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa released a statement clarifying the visa denials, saying that “media that did not specify exact dates with their requests, or those who were late in applying, were asked to delay their visit, in order to insure their safety and chances of securing interviews with key figures.” The full press release can be found here.

Meanwhile, two activists, Naser al-Raas and Fadhila al-Mubarak have been released from jail. Al-Raas, a Canadian citizen, “was facing a five-year prison sentence after being convicted in October 2011 of illegal assembly, rioting and incitement in the Arab Spring protests,” but was released after a plea from his lawyer. Al-Mubarak “was jailed for listening to a revolutionary song in her car has been released and given a hero’s welcome by a 10,000-strong opposition rally.” Additionally, the prisoner hunger strike has come to an end after eight consecutive days. Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), said “the inmates’ families only discovered that the strike had been called off on Tuesday, when prisoners were allowed to phone their relatives.”

The Editorial Board at the Washington Post recently published an opinion piece titled “U.S. Must Bring Pressure to Bear on Bahrain,” which sheds light on President Barack Obama‘s inconsistent policies in the Middle East. Obama condemned the atrocities being committed in Syria by saying, “we stand for principles that include universal rights for all people and just political and economic reform.” The opinion piece argues that in order for that stance to be effective and ring true, it must be applied consistently – which is why the policy in Bahrain has been “disturbing.” The international community has described the Russia and China veto of the U.N. Security Council resolution as giving the Syrian regime a “license to kill.” Although the Obama administration did not go through with the $53 million arms sale to Bahrain, it is still continuing to push through a smaller sale of under $1 million. “U.S. criticism of Russia for continuing to arm the [Syrian] regime will sound more credible when American military aid to Arab allies engaged in repression comes to a complete and unambiguous halt,” wrote the Board.