March and April 2017: Terrorism Crimes Prosecution investigates charges of opinion and speech, photographer Mazen Mehdi hit by a tear gas canister and a French reporter detained at the airport

London – Bahrain Press Association – April 27, 2017: The security authorities continued their violations of media and freedom of opinion and speech during March and April 2017 against journalists, activists and tweeters. Dozens have been summoned for investigations. Strikingly, some were called in for investigation at the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution, such as Ibrahim Sharif, the former Secretary-General of the “Waed Association”, as well as the journalist for the Al-Wasat Newspaper, Jaafar Al-Jamri, in connection to their views published on some social networking sites. This marks a very serious development in terms of besieging independent opinions, and those who express views that criticize the public interest and are not aligned with the government’s own views.

Such investigations have been generally followed by violating measures such as travel bans, a trend that has been on the rise since the beginning of 2017. Victims of such sanctions included, in addition to Al-Jamri, sports journalist Faisal Hayyat and journalist Ahmed Radhi.

The courts, in turn, pursued their work in support of the Public Prosecution and the security agencies. Satirical artist Mansour “Sankima” was sentenced to two and a half years in prison following a video he posted on the social networking sites that ridiculed a former MP. Journalist and AFP correspondent Mohammed Al-Sheikh was arrested in Bahrain International Airport upon his return home from a personal leave in India. While the photographer for German News Agency, Mazen Mahdi, was shot by a tear gas canister, which led to his head injury.

Here are the details below:

Ibrahim Sharif summoned by the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution

(March 20, 2017) Former Secretary-General of the Waed Association and member of its current Central Committee, Ibrahim Sharif, appeared before the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution. The Cyber Crime Directorate at the Ministry of Interior had summoned him on March 18, 2017, to appear before the prosecution. The appeal he received did not mention any charges, it only read that “his presence was requested by the police”. However, it turned out that his interrogation focused around the charge of “inciting hatred of the regime through tweets”

AFP photographer arrested

(March 22, 2017) AFP photographer Mohammed Al-Sheikh was arrested by the Authorities of Bahrain International Airport while returning to the country from a special leave in India. Al-Sheikh contacted his family and notified them of his transfer to the Criminal Investigation Building immediately after his arrest at Bahrain International Airport without knowing the reasons. The security authorities released him on March 23, 2017, after around one day of his arrest.

Photographer Mazen Mehdi hit by a tear gas canister to the head

(March 25, 2017) German Press Agency photographer Mazen Mehdi was shot by a tear gas canister directly to his head while covering the funeral of Mustafa Hamdan, (Aged 18), who died two months after being shot in the back by masked gunmen who opened fire on demonstrators in the village of Diraz in January. Mehdi was reportedly wearing a vest that clearly identified him as a member of the press, according to reports by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

First appeal session for photographer Sayed Ahmed Al-Moussawi held

The Court of Appeal held its first hearing in the case of photographer Sayed Ahmed Al-Moussawi after the Court of Cassation had annulled, on January 16, his sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and the revocation of his nationality. The court decided to extend the case until 23 April 2017. On November 23, 2015, a local court had sentenced Al-Moussawi to imprisonment on charges of “establishing a terrorist cell through telephone” as well as “illegal rallying” and “rioting”. The photographer’s family confirmed that he had been subjected to “stripping from all his clothes, torturing by suspension, electric shocks and being forced to stand for long hours over the course of 4 days.”

Reduction of Bou Khamis’ sentence from 5 to 2 years

The Court of Appeal has reduced the sentence of tweeter Hussain Khamis, who owned the Twitter account “Bou Khamis” from 5 to 2 years. A local court had convicted him with charges of “offending the nation’s martyrs on the social networks” in reference to the five Bahraini soldiers killed in Yemen on September 5 while participating in the Saudi-led war coalition in Yemen.

The arrest of tweeter Mahmoud Abdel Hamid for “calling for a march against the traffic law”

(April 2, 2017) The Security Forces arrested the social media activist Mahmoud Abdel Hamid (Aged 41 years) from the village of Bani Jamra after raiding his house at dawn. The authorities accused him of “calling for a march in Riffa against the new traffic law”. Abdul Hamid admitted the next day that he had published the invitation to the Riffa march but was not the one who initiated it. Upon his referred appearance in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, he denied the charges and said he was “beaten and received threats of assaulting his wife and sister if he did not confess to the charges”. Abdel Hamid was released on April 3, 2017, after being investigated, but it is not yet known whether his case will be referred to the court or it will be archived.

Satirical artist “Sankima” sentenced to two and a half years in prison

(April 4, 2017) The Second Minor Criminal Court sentenced satirical artist Mansour “Sankima” to two and a half years in prison with a fine of 50 Dinars for charges of defaming former MP Mohammed Khaled on the social networking sites Facebook and Instagram, with a bail bond of 1,000 Dinars.

Regarding the charges, the Public Prosecution stipulated that “Sankima”, in 2014, first he publicized facts that would cause punishment and disrespect to the plaintiff; Second: he publicly defamed the plaintiff by using specific words and expressions (that were set out in the appeal’s record but no specific incident was referenced); Third: he deliberately annoyed the victim through the misuse of the telephone; Fourth: he published news and comments relating to the private life of the plaintiff and his family, even if true, in the aim of harming him. The court sentenced him in absentia to one year in prison for the first charge, three months for the second charge, one year for the third charge, and three months in prison and a fine of 50 Dinars for the fourth charge. A bail bond of around 1,000 Dinars was set.

The Public Prosecution summons social media activist Saleh Al-Khanna

(April 19, 2017) The Public Prosecution summoned the social media activist Saleh Al-Khanna on charges of “attacking MP Hamad Al-Dosari”.

Jaafar Al-Jamri summoned for investigation

(April 23, 29017) The Public Prosecution summoned “Al-Wasat” Newspaper’s journalist Jaafar Al-Jamri. Al-Jamri had mentioned through his account on the social networking site “Twitter” that he had been summoned for investigation by the Cyber Crime Directorate, explaining that “the call came without a formal appeal”. Al-Jamri was investigated in relation to his postings on Twitter. The Prosecution issued a ban on his travel.

Journalist Faisal Hayyat summoned for investigation

(25 April 29017) The Public Prosecution summoned sports journalist Faisal Hayyat for investigation. Hayyat announced through his account on the social networking site “Twitter” that the prosecution accused him of “participating in an unauthorized march in the Diraz village”, and he confirmed that he did not actually enter the village.

Journalist Ahmed Radhi summoned for investigation

(April 26, 2017) The Public Prosecution summoned journalist Ahmed Radhi for investigation. He was charged with “rallying in the Diraz area” and “participating in an unauthorized march” on October 6, 2016. Radhi denied all charges against him, and announced that he had stated to the prosecutor that he was “a victim of torture, unjustly imprisoned more than once and prevented from traveling repeatedly, and that these new charges were invalid and unfounded.