Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain Press Association called for the immediate release of former MP Ali Al-Asheeri, stressing that his arrest was "due to expressing his opinion on a general matter."

"The continuation of such policies causes intimidation in citizens and increases the severity of the violations committed in the country," it said in a statement on Thursday (November 15, 2018).

On Tuesday (November 13, 2018), the Public Prosecution in Bahrain arrested the former parliamentarian that represented Al-Wefaq bloc because of a tweet, in which he said that his family and himself would boycott the elections.

The head of the public prosecution, Muhanna Al-Shayji, head of the committee investigating electoral crimes, said the prosecution "ordered holding him in pretrial detention pending investigation on the case after he was charged with violating the freedom of referendum and disrupting the electoral process, before referring him to the competent court."

The Bahraini Press Association considered that the Ministry of the Interior's statement (October 6, 2018) on "monitoring any news or messages calling for non-participation in the elections" represented the first official statement declaring that the call for abstaining from voting is a crime that requires legal action against those who call for boycotting and referral to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

"It was an official declaration prohibiting the expression of opinion either written or oral on the subject of elections," it added.

"These measures clearly demonstrate that there is no tolerance in Bahrain with freedom of expression on subjects the authorities do not want to discuss publicly," it highlighted.

"Such measures represent a continuation of policies to suppress the freedom of opinion and expression in the country," the Association said, calling for "the immediate release of former MP Ali Al-Asheeri, who is detained by the authorities for expressing his opinion on a general matter."

The tweet over which Al-Asheeri was arrested read:

"Some still ask whether I will vote in the elections, as if they do not witness and do not follow the political situation in Bahrain. I am a Bahraini citizen deprived of my political and civil rights, so my family and I will boycott the parliamentary and municipal elections; No to the political isolation law."

Arabic Version