Bahrain Mirror: The Public Prosecution decided on Monday (October 10, 2016) to detain journalist Faisal Hayyat for 7 days pending investigation.

The Bahraini authorities arrested on Sunday (October 9, 2016) Hayyat, few days after writing an open letter to the Minister of Interior Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa related to torturing in the Bahraini prisons.

The Ministry of Interior claimed that Hayyat insulted one of the sects in the country through a tweet he posted on Twitter.

Hayyat posted a tweet in which he rejected the authorities interrogating Ashura preachers who offended Yazib ibn Muawuya and Banu Umayya who killed Imam Hussein, the Shiites' third Imam.

The General Director of Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security Bassam Al-Me'raj announced "the arrest of a man suspected of posting a tweet containing defamatory statements against a particular sect in Bahrain," adding that "legal proceedings are being taken to refer the case to the Public Prosecution."

Hayyat had addressed the minister of interior about the torture he was subjected while in prison in April 2011. Faisal Hayyat's letter came in response to the minister's statement in which he said that people working in his ministry "are believers and fear God. Those who fear God don't oppress people."

Arabic Version