Post date: Apr 03, 2011 3:5:43 PM
Bahrain suspends the country's main opposition newspaper after accusing it of falsifying news about recent sectarian unrest and a government crackdown on protests.
MANAMA, BAHRAIN (APRIL 3, 2011) REUTERS - Bahrain suspended the Gulf Arab state's main opposition newspaper on Sunday (April 3), after accusing it of falsifying news about recent sectarian unrest and a government crackdown on protests.
The official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and government newspapers said Al-Wasat was suspended.Mansoor al-Jamri, Al-Wasat's editor-in-chief, said it was not clear if its print license would be revoked or not.
Al-Wasat's printing press was damaged during the unrest and on March 17 a group of plainclothes men with weapons were in the streets around its offices, holding up production.
Bahrain has seen the worst unrest since the 1990s after mostly Shi'ite protesters took to the streets in February, inspired by uprisings that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, to demand a bigger say in the Sunni-ruled country.
There are no private broadcasting stations in Bahrain and the Shi'ite opposition has accused Bahrain TV of fomenting sectarian division by what it says was one-sided coverage.
Analysts say that most of Bahrain's state-owned media is under the control of hardliners in the royal family.