The trial of the editors of Al Wasat newspaper, who were forced to resign from Bahrain’s most widely read newspaper after the government imposed emergency rule in March to quell dissent, is part of a sweeping crackdown on the island nation’s opposition.
The charges against the three former editors, who pleaded not guilty last month, include publishing false news and endangering public order. If convicted on all charges, they face at least two years in jail and hefty financial fines.
Two employees of Al Wasat newspaper told Bahrain’s highest criminal court on Sunday that the editors overlooked fabricated information because of the difficult conditions facing the kingdom’s only opposition paper during anti-government demonstrations.
The two employees said the newspaper’s offices had been vandalized and its staff had been threatened, forcing reporters and editors to work from home.
Al Wasat’s founder and former chief editor, Mansoor Al-Jamri, told the court during last week’s hearing that the paper published the fabricated items after it fell victim to a plot aimed at undermining Al Wasat’s role as the main voice for pro-reform advocates.
Another hearing in the case is set for July 3.
At least 31 people have been killed since February, when Bahrain’s opposition started its campaign for greater freedoms and rights. The protests were inspired by uprisings in the Arab world.
Violence by Bahrain’s authorities has been widespread and well documented since martial law was imposed March 15. Hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders, human rights activists and professionals like doctors and lawyers have been arrested. Dozens have been tried in a special security court that had sentenced two activists to death.
The emergency rule was lifted June 1. Trials of suspected oppositions supporters continue in the special security court that was set up under martial law and has military prosecutors as well as military and civilian judges.
The official return to civilian rule was part of the government’s efforts to make Bahrain once again an attractive destination for tourists and foreign investors.
The government also proposed opening talks with opposition delegates July 1, but the outreach has met a cool reception from opposition leaders demanding that authorities roll back security measures and halt trials against activists.
On Sunday, opposition supporters blasted the decision of one political group to apologize for its role in the uprising in a statement, issued late Saturday. The apology prompted numerous resignations from the Waad Society. The government reversed a ban on Waad after it issued the apology.
