(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for the release of Ali Abdulemam, moderator of the discussion forum http://www.Bahrainonline.org, who was arrested by security forces on 27 February 2005. He faces five possible charges, including defaming the king. “Imprisoning someone for their journalistic work or posting an article on the Internet is not acceptable under any circumstances”, […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for the release of Ali Abdulemam, moderator of the discussion forum http://www.Bahrainonline.org, who was arrested by security forces on 27 February 2005. He faces five possible charges, including defaming the king.
“Imprisoning someone for their journalistic work or posting an article on the Internet is not acceptable under any circumstances”, RSF said in a letter to Information Minister Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar.
“This incident demonstrates that the November 2002 press law is in urgent need of reform,” the organisation added.
Bahrainonline gives Internet-users the opportunity to post their comments on political, social and religious issues, and regularly posts messages that are very critical of the authorities. Like http://vob.org, the website of the Movement for the Liberation of Bahrain (MLB), it cannot be accessed from within the country.
The five possible charges facing Abdulemam are: defaming the king, inciting hatred against the regime, publishing information to undermine the country’s security and violating the press and communications laws.
Abdulemam also edits a weblog, http://abdulemam.blogspot.com, which promotes itself as providing “another perspective from Bahrain”.
A diplomat in Bahrain who requested anonymity said Abdulemam had not been imprisoned. “He is being held in custody for a maximum of two weeks, for the purposes of the investigation. If no charge is made against him he will soon be released,” he said.
In November 2002, King Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa promulgated a press law that guaranteed the right to “express one’s opinion and to disseminate it orally or in writing”. However, offences “against the Islamic faith, the unity of the people and the person of the king” and “inciting division or sectarianism” are punishable by six months to five years in prison. While the government has on several occasions expressed its intention to amend the law, which had been highly criticised by the Bahrain independent journalists’ union, it has so far failed to act on its promise.
