Evil lasts an hour, but truth lasts until the end of time.
– Arabic Proverb
Middle East & North Africa
Bahrain
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| IREX Score: 1.87 | [IREX Methodology] |
| {Higher is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 4.00} |
IREX Description:
Bahrain’s media performance in 2008 mirrored the island kingdom’s deteriorating political and economic situation. Escalating sectarian rifts shook the country, whose native population is mostly Shiite Muslim but whose ruling family is Sunni Muslims. In the hope of restoring their own professional neutrality and exerting an unbiased influence on society, journalists in Bahrain took an unprecedented step, announcing an anti-sectarian professional code of honor signed by more than 200 journalists and other media workers.
A group of website operators sought to fashion a similar code. The Bahrain Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) closed down three websites for their clear sectarian discourse, and while members of the press had renounced sectarianism, they opposed the administrative decision and called for a court ruling.
Another galvanizing issue was the government’s proposal to amend to Press Law 47 of 2002. The amendments that the MOCI proposed and submitted to the cabinet would abolish imprisonment, including precautionary detention, for violations of the press law.
However, they opened the door to much harsher penalties by allowing prosecution of cases against journalists under the penal code and terrorism laws. The proposed amendments frustrated observers, who have long awaited approval of a separate set of amendments that have been tied up in the legislative authority.
| Freedom House Score: 72 (Not Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
| Freedom on the Net Score: 62 (Not Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
Bahrain has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the Middle East, but as more people have gained access to new technologies, the government has increasingly attempted to curtail their use for disseminating and obtaining politically sensitive information. Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995. In 1997, an internet user was arrested for the first time, for sending information to an opposition group outside the country.1 In 2002, the Ministry of Information (MOI) made its first official attempt to block websites containing content that was critical of the government. Today, over 1,000 websites are blocked in Bahrain.
| RSF Score: 51.38 | [RSF Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120} |
Reporters Without Borders Description:
The opening up of the political landscape, driven since 2002 by King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, was coupled with a similar expansion in the press field.
Against this background, the Internet gives the kingdom’s journalists a highly valued space for freedom of expression. But this space is now being brought much more under official surveillance and control.
| Committee to Protect Journalists Description: | [What is the Committee to Protect Journalists?] |
| IFEX News: | [What is IFEX?] |
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