MANAMA, 1 November 2006 — Bahrain has censored local and foreign Internet sites for discussing a report by an alleged British spy who claimed to have uncovered a plot to change the country’s demographics.
Newspaper reports quoted Ministry of Information official Hassan Aoun as saying “the sites in question transgressed a ruling by the high court banning publication of any information or commentary on the matter.”
Bahraini activist Nabil Rajeb slammed the move as “a flagrant violation of the right to free speech”, saying “the censorship affected around 17 Internet sites, mostly Bahraini.”
“It’s regrettable that this measure comes shortly before legislative and municipal elections (on Nov. 25). It will give a negative image of our country and damage its reform projects,” he said.
Bahraini newspaper editors on Oct. 15 demanded the earlier court ruling be reversed to “uphold freedom of expression for responsible and committed opinion.”
The day before that, 100 Bahraini figures including members of Parliament called on King Hamad to “address the people publicly to answer all the serious questions” raised in the report which alleged the involvement of a top official.
“The danger of this issue is embodied in the direct involvement of a high-ranking official in this plot,” they said, referring to State Minister Ahmad bin Atiyatullah Al-Khalifa who was reportedly named in the report.
Salah Al-Bandar, a British natioanl who was expelled from Bahrain last month, said he had uncovered a secret organization operating within the government to “deprive an essential part of the population of this country of their rights”.
Bandar’s accusations prompted a wave of opposition protests.
King Hamad has reassured the leadership of the country’s Shiite opposition that there will be no attempt to rig elections later this month.
Bahrain, which was shaken by a wave of sectarian unrest in the 1990s, revived its elected parliament in 2002, although the opposition continues to object to dividing legislative power equally between the elected chamber and an appointed consultative council.
