Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Within less than 48 hours, the anger of Nasser bin Hamad, the King's son, led to dismissing the head of the sports department at local Al-Ayyam newspaper, Akil Al-Sayed, and appointing Nasser Mohammad in his place.

This is a summary of a simple incident that reveals the extent to which repression of Bahraini public opinion reaches. Due to an issue that discussed a normal sports topic, Al-Ayyam newspaper, owned by the king's advisor Nabeel Al-Hamr, was shaken.

Al-Ayyam newspaper only publishes the opinion of the Government and photos of shaikhs, ministers and their followers. It is a 100% pro-government newspaper, but mistakes happen sometimes. This time the mistake was committed by the sports department, which made the king's son threaten the newspaper and vow to respond. He also accused it of spreading lies and incitement once again.

Akil Al-Sayed was dismissed from his post as head of the sports department at Al-Ayyam newspaper after Nasser bin Hamad, the king's spoiled son, was furious over a poll recording a drop in the national clubs content with the performance of the Ministry of Youth.

Nasser bin Hamad took the criticism on the performance of Minister Ayman Al-Moayed, who is deemed one of his handymen in the sports sector, in a personal manner, and considered the criticism mentioned in the poll to be against the regime's sports policies, which the newspaper should only support.

But the biggest question is whether Akil will remain in his primary position as a senior official in the Student Activities Department at the Ministry of Education.

The space for freedom of expression in the tiny island kingdom has become narrower than ever. Removing the head of the sports department for publishing a subject that irritated the "Shaikh" is clear proof.

Arabic Version