Reports from Bahrain say that security forces launched an attack on the camp at Pearl Roundabout early this morning and cleared it of protesters (photographs here).
Helicopters were reported overhead and tents were set on fire. It is unclear whether the attack involved any of the Saudi...
Blog archive: Bahrain
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16th March 2011
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8th March 2011Amid all the political turmoil in Bahrain, there hasn't been much coverage of a court case last week in which 49 men were given jail sentences ranging from one to six months, in connection with a gay party. About 200 people were initially arrested "due to immoral activities" on...
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21st September 2010In the continuing crackdown in Bahrain, Ayatollah Hussein al-Najati – a prominent Shia religious figure – has been stripped of his citizenship. The passports of his wife and three children have also been revoked. Najati is the local representative of the Iraqi grand ayatollah, Ali al-Sistani...
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8th September 2010The Gulf Cooperation Council – of which Bahrain is a member – has called on Britain to expel two Bahraini Shia opposition figures. The pair – Hassan Mushaima of the Haq movement and Saeed al-Shehabi of the Bahrain Freedom Islamic Movement – are among 23 activists who were...
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7th September 2010Tension in Bahrain ahead of the elections scheduled for next month. Twenty-three people, reportedly Shia activists, have been accusedof "forming an illegal organisation" aiming to "overthrow the government and dissolve the constitution", inciting people to "overthrow and change the...
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27th May 2010Khadija Ahmed, a 32-year-old mother who owns what is thought to be Bahrain's first sex shop (discreetly known as "Khadija Fashion House"), was up in court on Monday, accused of insulting a customs officer during a dispute over the types of items she is allowed to import. The case was...
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21st May 2010Bahrain has "temporarily frozen" the activities of al-Jazeera television inside the country for "breaching professional media norms and flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing". The ban came to light on Tuesday when a team from al-Jazeera were prevented from...
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9th May 2010Bahrain's unelected upper house of parliament has blocked a move by the lower house (elected and Islamist-dominated) to impose a total ban on the public sale and consumption of alcohol. With backing from Bahrain's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Shura Council last week ...
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8th August 2009At long last, the system of employers’ sponsorship for foreign workers – a major cause of exploitation in the Arab Gulf states – seems to be coming to an end. Sponsorship, in effect, ties foreign workers (and their continued residence in the country) to a single employer, often with dire...
