Sunday, April 3, 2011

Bahrain bans main opposition daily

The Bahraini government has banned the publication of a leading independent newspaper due to its coverage of the popular revolution in the Persian Gulf littoral state.


Bahrain's Information Affairs Commission suspended Al-Wasat daily, which has been critical of the government's brutal crackdown on demonstrators in the country, BNA state news agency reported without giving further details.

The commission also ordered a case to be opened for further investigation by the Public Prosecution.

Masur al-Jamri, a former opposition activist during the uprising in the 1990s, is the editor-in-chief of the Bahraini newspaper.

Last week, Bahrain's state television accused Al-Wasat of publishing "fabricated and false news" about the "security developments in Bahrain."

The Bahraini police, backed by Saudi and UAE troops, have intensified the clampdown on anti-government protesters who demand a constitutional monarchy.

Rights groups and opposition parties say hundreds of people have been detained or have gone missing since the protests began in mid-February, with at least 25 people killed and 1,000 others wounded so far.

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