BBC producer's equipment confiscated during 15-hour detention at Bahrain airport

A BBC producer was held for 15 hours at Bahrain International Airport before being let into the country without any equipment, the broadcaster confirmed today.

The BBC was unable to give any information about the member of staff detained.

Journalists within Bahrain have been using Twitter to report on restrictions they claim to be facing as they try to cover protests in the country. Associated Press correspondent for the Middle East bureau Hadeel Al-Shalchi tweeted that 16 foreign journalists had been barred from entering the country at the airport, including reporters for the BBC and CNN.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, journalists attempting to cover protest action are facing escalating attacks and restrictions in both Bahrain and Yemen. ABC reporter Miguel Marquez claimed to have been attacked yesterday while covering events in Bahrain.

According to this report by AFP the incident occurred while Marquez was on the phone with his headquarters in New York.

Difficulties accessing the internet from within Bahrain were also reported this week, with the CPJ claiming that journalists had told them newspaper offices, hotels and homes appeared to be affected.

The press freedom group also reports that at least four photographers have been attacked and had their cameras confiscated.

"Governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa cannot deny their citizens coverage of these momentous events across the region," Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator said in the report.

"Local and international media must be allowed to cover the news."

In Yemen, according to reports by local journalists to the CPJ,

No one was available at the Bahrain embassy in London to comment at the time of writing and Journalism.co.uk has so far been unable to make contact with Bahrain International Airport.

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