Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) condemned the recent ruling issued against Nazeeha Saeed, and called "on the Government of Bahrain to revisit her case and to immediately cease all intimidation and judicial harassment of journalists and media."

"A Manama appeals court confirmed the verdict of a lower Bahraini court in the case of Nazeeha Saeed, correspondent for Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya and France 24, who was charged on 17 July 2016 with "practicing journalism without a license," the center stated.

She was met with a fine of 1,000 dinars (2,320 euros) in a Bahraini lower court. She was also banned from leaving the country without explanation.

Nazeeha Saeed had a Bahraini press accreditation for 12 years. She applied to renew this in March 2016, in accordance with the Bahraini press law. The Ministry of Information Affairs rejected Saeed's license renewal without providing legal grounds.

Saeed's trial is just one out of many examples of Bahrain's systematic crackdown on the press. Most recently, in June this year, Al Wasat, the last independent newspaper in Bahrain was shut down by way of a court order, the BCHR added.

"Most of Bahrain's television and newspapers are state-controlled and this new wave of media repression is taking place in a broader context of shrinking space for any dissenting voice, criminalization of activists and a significant rise of credible allegations of torture in police and military detention," the center stated.

Arabic Version