Alwaght- The press freedom advocating group, Reporters without Borders (RSF) says the Bahraini king is the most important violator of press freedom, Bahrain Mirror news site reported.
Through a letter to the visiting British Prince Charles, the group urged him to bring up the issue of press freedom during his potential meeting with the king.
Addressing the Prince, RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire wrote "I am writing on behalf of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) regarding your visit to Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. We have serious concerns about the press freedom situation in each of these three countries, and ask that you take the opportunity to raise these worrying issues during your visit."
"Of the three countries, Bahrain has the worst press freedom record, with a ranking of 162nd out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index. The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, has been a ‘predator of press freedom' since 1999, and was included again on RSF's list of predators published to mark International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November," Deloire added.
The letter added "at least 12 journalists and citizen journalists are currently jailed in Bahrain. Human rights defender Nabeel Rajab remains detained, facing up to 15 years' imprisonment for comments he made on Twitter. Blogger Abduljalil al-Singace, jailed since 2010, is serving a life sentence for allegedly planning to topple the regime. Nazeeha Saeed, a correspondent for Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya and France24, has been charged with unlawfully working for international media, and faces serious jail time if convicted."
As for Emirates, Deloire said "many citizen journalists and activists remain jailed following the ‘UAE 94' trial in 2013, during which a total of 94 defendants were sentenced on politically motivated charges of establishing an organization that aimed to overthrow the government. Among them are bloggers Osama Najjar and Waleed Al-Shehhi. The UAE is ranked 119th out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index."
