The State; holder of the prominent and final opinion
Bahrain press association – London – 11th November 2016: A warning by the Bahrain’s Interior Ministry was issued to its citizens in making any statement or position contrary to any form or shape to that of Bahrain’s stance regarding its participation in the war on Yemen March 2015 or the execution of Saudi prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr in January 2016. Therefore the state forbids any criticism or comment, or even expressing an opinion unless it is of a positive nature that abides with the official opinion of the Kingdom. The official excuse used by the ministry claimed that tweeting or issuing statements “threatens the security and safety of the community and puts it at risk, the situation requires alignment nationally in an united and strong internal front in order to preserve security, public order and stability,” according to the internal ministry’s statement.
Despite the fact that the Bahraini Constitution states that any participation in a war outside the borders of the homeland is something that has to be taken a vote upon in and be approved by parliament, yet the decision to join the Allied coalition in the war on Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, came in early morning when the operations began without the knowledge of the parliament nor the people, or even the of government.
The state government has banned any attempt to discuss the matter or protest against it as politicians, journalists or online activists and even as ordinary Bahraini citizens, whose country has intervened in a war thousands of miles away from home with their wealth, resources and destiny.
Those who opposed and expressed an opinion that objected Bahrain’s participation in the coalition, faced a sentence of five years imprisonment, some of these were later reduced to three years, like the secretary general of the National Democratic unity Bahraini Association Fadhel Abbas and online activists the tweeters; Hussein Khamis and Yousif Alaam.
Abbas, Khamis and Alaam were accused of “offending forces that are participating in the coalition, and intentionally broadcasting statements in a time of war, and resorting to the use of dramatic propaganda, that would harm preparations for war to defend Kingdom of Bahrain and the military operations of the armed forces, and to spread panic among the people” according to a statement by the Bahraini interior ministry.
Abbas was also accused of “publishing a statement of the association in the media, which included objections against the military actions currently being taken by Bahrain with a number of brotherly countries in order to restore legitimacy and stability of the situation in Yemen, which would cast doubt on the legality of the Kingdom’s political and military position”; also according to a statement of the interior that.
The tweeters who have expressed their rejection to the execution of the Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr faced the same fate, where the Interior Ministry issued a statement threatening to take legal action “against any abuse or negative engagement through a statement or a quotation on the implementation of court rulings issued in the Saudi Arabia Kingdom, as this is a stirring of disunity, sedition and a threat to civil peace”.
The first victims of this ban was Dr. Saeed Samahiji, who was sentenced to one year imprisonment for “Retweeting” a tweet that condemned the execution, where he appeared at the lower court and then appeal upheld the sentence to spend 12 months behind bars.
The Bahraini authorities are used to arresting online activists, tweeters, politicians and journalists and prosecuting them for their political views that are contrary to government policies or functioning, but the authorities’ threats and inhibiting expression via official statements, using civil peace and sovereignty as a reason is a new level of gagging practiced by these authorities for more than a year.