Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) said that 3-month jail term issued against Bahraini journalist Faisal Hayyat over a tweet he published his Twitter account "reflects deterioration in press freedoms".

In a statement it issued, the Forum demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Hayyat and removal of the case from the court's records, explaining that the authorities make use of the invented legislations to punish the prisoners of conscience and journalists through unjust trials.

BFHR added "the Bahraini authorities have adjusted a number of laws to silence political activists, human rights defenders, people working in the media field and other dissidents. Among the most important rules are the penal code, terrorism law, citizenship law and assemblies' law. The authorities changed the laws until expressing opinions in the social media outlets and criticizing the authorities and their institutions have become an "incitement of hatred against the regime", demanding a democratic transition has become an "incitement to change the government's system by force" and calling for peaceful protest has become an "encouragement to disobey laws". It seems that the authorities adjusted some of these laws' articles to attribute criminal or terrorist charges to activists.

Arabic Version