العربية
Bahraini authorities on June 4, 2017, ordered the immediate indefinite suspension of Al Wasat, the country’s only independent newspaper, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Sunday, June 18, 2017. The Bahrain authorities should immediately revoke the order, the international watchdog stressed, while noting that Al Wasat is one of the very few independent news sites in the entire Gulf region.
“A newspaper in Bahrain should be able to comment on and criticize the authorities in Morocco or anywhere in the world,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Shutting down Al Wasat is a prime example of Bahraini authorities’ complete intolerance of any kind of independent expression.”
According to Human Rights Watch, Al Wasat’s suspension is a violation of the right to freedom of expression and an attack on media freedom. It also appears to violate article 28 of Bahrain’s 2002 press law – Decree No. 47 for 2002 – which states that a court order is required to close or suspend a newspaper.