Bahrain press freedom condemned ahead of F1 grand prix

Press freedom campaigners have accused the government of Bahrain of attempting to stop journalists reporting on the protests that are taking place to coincide with this weekend's Formula One grand prix.

Reporters Without Borders has launched a campaign and a petition condemning the repressive policies of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa's government, and what it said was the "current propaganda focus on the Formula One Grand Prix" taking place this weekend.

Several western journalists have been turned away by the authorities and many others are understood to still be waiting for visas.

Foreign reporters have been banned from entering the country since pro-democracy protests began in February 2011. According to the London-based Bahrain Press Association, there have been more than 140 cases of arrests, torture or dismissals of journalists since then.

Reporters Without Borders said in a release: "Netizens and journalists, especially photographers, are systematically harassed when they go to demonstrations. There have been countless cases of violence, imprisonment, prosecutions and convictions targeting journalists. Two netizens and a media owner have died for defending the right to report the news.

"Website filtering has been widened in order to block all content linked to the street demonstrations. Streaming websites that allow video to be streamed in real-time have been blocked.

"Suppressing photos and video of the unrest has become a question of survival for the regime. It does not want any information about the protests and its brutal crackdown to get out."

The Committee to Protect Journalists is among 50 organisations that have signed a joint letter to Bahrain's king calling for the release of detained bloggers, activists, and human rights defenders and to drop all charges that violate the right to peaceful expression.

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