Bahrain: Crackdown on Political Activists Continues

Freedom House released a statement yesterday expressing concern over the continued crackdown on political activists and human rights advocates in Bahrain. The statement cited the recent arrest of pro-democracy blogger Ali Abdulemam – on charges of spreading “false news” on a pro-democracy website – as indicative of a wider campaign against media freedom, political opponents, and religious minorities. Acting executive director at Freedom House Paula Schriefer linked the uptick in repression to the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October, and demanded the release of Abdulemam, Shiite opposition leader Abdeljalil al-Singace, and other detainees.

In the Wall Street Journal, Margaret Coker reports that Bahrain has accused 23 more Shiite activists (including supporters of al-Singace’s Haq party) of terrorism and plotting against the government, which could “further alienate disaffected Shiites.” Bahraini officials have banned the local media from reporting on their cases. Human rights activists say the move is part of the government’s efforts to undermine political opposition, which has been growing. She writes that, “Bahrain’s experiment with limited democracy is often viewed as a barometer of political and sectarian tensions in the wider region, where Sunni regimes fear an expansionistic Iran and the growing clout of Shiites in Middle East affairs.”