February 16, 2016•Update: February 17, 2016
By Ahmed al-Masri
MANAMA, Bahrain
Four Americans arrested in Bahrain on Monday during the marking of the 5th anniversary of pro-democracy protests have been charged with attending an illegal gathering, disruption of public peace and obstruction of vehicles, according to the official Bahraini news agency.
Chief prosecutor of the capital Nawwaf al-Awadi said the public prosecutor had received a complaint that four Americans – three men and one woman – had been arrested during incidents of vandalism and rioting in the eastern Sitra area.
He said one of the detained was concealing his face during the time of the arrest and that security forces had seized cameras and laptops.
The four have been released pending investigations, Nawwaf said.
Rights activists, meanwhile, say the Americans are journalists who were covering the 5th anniversary of the protests.
Bahrain has been rocked by revolt since 2011, when pro-democracy protests erupted in the tiny Gulf state.
The government blames the opposition al-Wefaq movement for the upheaval, accusing the Shia group of pursuing an “Iranian agenda.”
Al-Wefaq, for its part, denies the allegations, saying it wants to see a “constitutional government” in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
