BPA’s statistical report documenting 2011-2015 violations

Bahrain ends its fifth year with more than 890 violations of freedom of opinion and expression

London- Bahrain Press Association- Jan. 3, 2016: Bahrain Press Association (BPA) issued a statistical report entitled “Violations of Freedom of Opinion and Expression in Bahrain: Outcomes of 2011-2015” that has documented the violations practiced against the Freedom of Press and expression since 2011.

The report includes all the violations that have been endured over the past 5 years by figures such as; journalists, media personnel, social media activists, human rights activists, politicians and even ordinary citizens.

The results of the report indicate that 2015 has witnessed the highest rate of violations compared to the previous years, including 2011, when the authorities first began arresting media people, journalists and activists. Some of the ones that were arrested were also subjected to torture according to the Human rights reports and the findings of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) which issued its final report on November 23, 2011. The association documented 288 violations within 2015 compared to 255 cases in 2011, whereas the violations of freedom of expression were considerably decreased to less than half the amount.

BPA documented in its report a total of 894 violations against people working in the media sector and against political and human rights activists within the past five years, in which the media people and photographers received the lion’s share of these violations. The report moreover, highlights that 59% of these violations were practiced against media figures and photographers; clearly targeting the freedom of media and press.

The online activists were also among the most prominent victims of freedom of expression. They were subjected to several violations; the finding of the report reveals that 16% of the total recorded violations were practiced against social media activists.

The association mentioned that the types of these violations varied between killing and summoning for investigation. The journalists, media people and activists have witnessed 10 types of violations. The association recorded cases of 3 killings, despite the seemingly small figure, they were in fact the most brutal and violent. 29 cases were subjected to pressure, intimidation and constant fear. Besides, 25 of the violations victims were physically assaulted and 22 others were subjected to torture.

The report reveals that 21 journalists, people within the media industry and activists were forced to leave their country throughout the past five years for fear of being arrested or tortured. Whereas 110 people were summoned for investigation, 109 were imprisoned and judicial measures were taken against 73 of them.

In the framework of its policy against freedom of expression, the Bahraini authorities conducted arbitral dismissing of 69 journalists, media figures and activists who were sacked from their jobs for reasons related to freedom of opinion and expression. Meanwhile, 66 cases faced internal pressure within their jobs.

The association detected in its report five charges; which were the most prominent with respect to the cases of freedom of expression. The charge of inciting hatred against the regime was the most common one followed by the charge of misusing the social media. The charge of insulting the king came in the third place followed by the charge of assembling and insulting a statutory body.

However, with respect to restriction on the media establishments, the report showed that the “Al-Wasat” newspaper was the most targeted by the authorities. The Bahraini government stopped the publication of the newspaper and prevented its circulation twice. The “Al-Arab” channel also fell victim to the government’s policies that target the media. The Bahraini authorities brought the work of the “Al-Arab” channel to a halt in February 2015 over broadcasting an interview held with one of the Bahraini opposition figure.

The BPA affirmed that there is no way to guarantee real freedoms in the field of media and press unless five essential measures are implemented; these measures would make a remarkable shift in this field that is being subjected to ongoing violations.

“A modern law for the press” heads the list of urgent measures to guarantee real freedoms in the areas of media and journalism, in addition to “the government’s break up of monopolies of visual and audio media”, “not interfering in the media contents”, “lifting the ban on websites” and “stopping targeting the media people and internet activists”.

The report on the Violations of freedom of opinion and expression in the last five years was put together from published reports by the following: “Reporter without Borders”, “Human Rights Watch”, “Committee to Protect Journalists,” “Freedom House”, “Bahrain Center for Human Rights” and “Bahrain 19”. In addition to Bahrain Press Association’s monthly and annual publications.