Bahrain regime continues targeting Journalists

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expressed its concern for the continuation of the Bahraini authorities in its campaign against media professionals, journalists, photographers and practitioners of freedom of expression, after months of being subjected to campaigns of arrest, dismissal from work, and torture in detention centers since February and March, as many of them started, during these days, receiving summons to appear before the judiciary in the criminal courts in a move aimed directly to criminalize their exercise of a fundamental right to freedom of expression which is guaranteed by charters of human rights, and threatened by these trials to undergo imprisonment if convicted.

According to Bahrain Center for Human Rights, four of the photographers who were arrested in the past months had been summoned to attend the trials in the Criminal Court on charges related to taking pictures of events and demonstrations, posted on the Internet and social networking site "Facebook", and participating in peaceful demonstrations that have been described as un licensed gatherings. Of these photographers was Mohamed AlSheikh, Mohamed AlAradi, Zouhair Aoun AlShama\', Mojtaba Salmat, Sadiq Marzooq, Basema AlQassab and others.

Dates of upcoming trials of some media professionals:

1 Sayed Ali al-Moussawi - TV correspondent of AlAlam Channel- October 18, 2011
2 Abdullah Allawi - a journalist - October 19, 2011 (previously appeared before a Military Court)
3 Mohammed AlSheikh - photographer - October 23, 2011 (previously appeared before a Military Court)
4 Mohamed AlAradi - photographer - November 2, 2011 (previously appeared before a Military Court)
5 Sadiq Marzouk - photographer - November 14, 2011
6 Mojtaba Selmat - a photographer - November 14, 2011 (previously appeared before a Military Court)
7 Basima AlQassab - Blogger - November 14, 2011
8 Zuhair Aoun AlShama\' - photographer - November 22, 2011 (previously appeared before a Military Court)
9 Faisal Hyatt - a journalist and independent media professional - November 29, 2011

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights believes that the trials of journalists, writers and photographers are criminalizing their right to exercise freedom of expression and dissemination of their ideas, opinions and circulation of information, and considers the trials merely a reprisal for their role they played in spreading the true situation in Bahrain during the last period,
Also considers the arrest and criminalization of media practitioners of this right is a flagrant violation of the international covenants on human rights, and in particular Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that "every human being has the right to freedom of expression. this right includes freedom to seek various forms of information and ideas, receive and impart to others regardless of frontiers, either in writing or in print, in the form of art or any other media of his choice".

Bahrain Center for Human Rights called the Bahraini regime for the following:
1 - release of all journalists convicted on charges related to the exercise of freedom of expression in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2 - Stop all the trials of journalists, writers and photographers, bloggers, and the defendants on charges related to the exercise of freedom of expression guaranteed by human rights conventions and in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3 - put an end to ill-treatment and physical and psychological torture in prisons, and carry general and impartial investigation into allegations of torture and other abuses and to bring offenders to justice.
4 - Cancel all measures that restrict freedom of opinion and expression or prevent the dissemination of information.
5 - commitment to the international covenants and respect all forms of freedom of expression and publication as provided for in the covenants and international charters.