Bahrain Press Association publishes its twelfth annual report: Bahrain 2021: You only see what we see!
London, United Kingdom – 3 May 2022 – Bahrain Press Association: On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2022, the Bahrain Press Association publishes its twelfth annual report titled, Bahrain 2021:You only see what we see!
During the year 2021, the Bahrain Press Association documented 49 infringements of media freedoms and freedom of expression in Bahrain. Thus, the number of documented acts of infringement since the February 2011 uprisings until December 2021 rose to about 1755 violations freedom of expression.
The title “You only see what we see” is an expression of the state’s policy that citizens are obliged to perceive and interact with the various realities through the state’s lens and in compliance with its vision. Any deviation or opposition to the state’s vision, policies, or decisions is therefore deemed as a punishable crime. Half of the rights violations occurred during 2021 (26 cases) were the state’s responses to Bahrainis who did not clearly endorse its policies.
The Chairman of Bahrain Press Association Adel Marzooq said that all state policies, priorities, perceptions and procedures have become immune to criticism through an integrated structure of laws and harsh penalties against journalists, politicians, human rights defenders and civil society activists if they have different views.
Marzooq further added that “What is being established in Bahrain is an integrated industry for a state with one colour, one understanding and one direction that aims to glorify the state and its representing individuals, institutions and policies. What is surprising is that the state colors its severe policies, backed by strict sanctions, with international propaganda that promotes and markets Bahrain as a model state committed to a culture and policy of tolerance, openness and rejection of extremism.
According to the annual monitoring carried out by the Association for the eleventh year in a row, violations this year were mostly about summoning citizens for interrogation by the police and the public prosecution. 31 Bahrainis were summoned for expressing their opinions using various means, especially social media. In addition, the Association has documented 6 arrests, 7 judicial proceedings, as well as 4 other incidents of various infringements.
Figures mentioned in this report indicate about %50 decrease compared to the figures documented in the 2020 report, which reached 111 infringements the Bahrain Press Association documented. The BPA believes that this significant drop is due to a kind of citizen’s self-censorship—a sense that has been developed in Bahrainis over the past years and the apparatus of laws that sues journalists, human rights defenders, and activists on social media.
The Bahraini government’s arbitrary measures have placed thick walls around free speech and drawn bold red lines for what should not be talked about. Consequently, and in order to avoid arbitrary charges, those with independent or dissenting opinions have resorted to choosing cautious and carefully chosen words that keep them away from algorithms used by the Cybercrime Directorate to identify its targets.
The decrease in infringements is essentially a result of decreased critical voices and limited willingness to involve in public issues. The leaders of the Islamic Nationalist Association, Wifaq, are just an example. Since the Association’s dissolution in 2016, they have been refraining from expressing their opinions about public affairs on the Internet. They used to lead the country’s largest political association but now have no option but to succumb to the new reality created by the crackdown.
It was remarkable that the Parliament passed in 2021 a decree prohibiting members of the Parliament (MPs) themselves from “criticizing, blaming or accusing” the government. The decree is one further step on the way of making criticism of the government and its associated agencies and individuals a costly venture.
The Bahrain Press Association regrets the serious decline the country has reached in terms of media freedoms and freedom of expression. Meanwhile, it continues its appeal to the authorities to reconsider its stand and adopt a new reconciling approach that brings the country out of the tensions created by the 2011 crisis. Despite the positive image the Bahraini government was able to project through the Alternative Penal Code those convicted in cases related to freedom of expression—especially opposition political leaders, journalists and civil society activists— In addition, the state still refuses to do justice to journalists whose citizenships were revoked during 2011, in violation to the provisions of the constitution and the law.
Resolving these issues ensures putting the country on the right track. Therefore, the Bahrain Press Association urges the Government of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to take a bold decision to stop the deterioration in media freedoms that has continued since 2011.
The Bahrain Press Association condemns the government’s systematic and widespread behavior of targeting journalists, bloggers and people of opinion. The Association calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and all international organizations and bodies concerned with defending the freedom of opinion and expression, press and media freedoms to exert urgent pressure on the Bahraini government to:
• Immediately and unconditionally release all photographers, media professionals, and activists detained for practicing their work in covering protests or exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression.
• Stop arbitrary prosecutions and arrests and judicial trials on charges of “inciting hatred of the regime”, “misusing social media” and all what restricts freedom of expression.
• Secure freedoms of media and the press and reconsidering the work priorities of the Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security Administration, especially with regard to scope of work.
• Put an end to the authority’s monopoly of the television, radio and print media, and enabling the voice of opposition in the media—including reauthorizing the publication of Al-Wasat.
• Call on the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression to schedule an urgent visit to Bahrain.
The Bahrain Press Association would like to express sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the completion of this report, and to The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in particular, for funding this report.
To read the full report, click here