DUBAI, 1 July 2003 — Reporters Without Borders urged Bahraini authorities yesterday to call off the trial of two journalists accused of publishing without authorization a report that three suspected terrorists had been freed on bail.
Mansur Al-Jamri, editor of Al-Wasat, and reporter Hussein Khalaf “are facing six months in prison or a fine of 1,000 dinars, or both,” the group said in a statement.
The possible sentences “are disproportionate to the alleged offense,” it added, calling for the trial, which opened on June 21 and is due to resume today, to be dropped.
A new press law issued last November stipulates that “everyone is free to express his opinion and broadcast it orally or in writing.” But it lays down prison terms for journalists who slight the “Islamic faith, the unity of the people or the king, or create division or religious differences.”
