Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said that "Bahrain press today enjoys complete freedom of expression and opinion," expressing his appreciation of all journalists and columnists for raising key issues which serve the interests of the country and its citizens."

Responding to the Minister of Information's letter regarding the signing of the Charter of Press Ethics by the editors-in-chief, the king said: "The Charter of Press Ethics reflects everyone's devotion to push the Bahraini media forward so it could continue its crucial role in enlightening the public opinion and raising all political, economic and social issues," reiterating his unwavering support for the press and journalists.

It is noteworthy that organizations concerned with freedom of expression and press have ranked Bahrain throughout the four past years as a non free country in terms of freedom of press and opinion, after it launched a campaign against journalists and bloggers that led to the killing of blogger Zakariya Al-Ashiri, journalist Karim Fakhrawi and photojournalist Ahmad Ismail.

The Bahraini authorities punished opposition journalists living outside Bahrain by revoking their citizenships (journalist Abbas Busafwan, writer Ali Al-Dairy, bloggers Ali Abdulimam and Hussein Youssef) within a list that included dozens of Bahrainis stripped of their citizenships over political reasons.

A few days ago, a Bahraini court sentenced photojournalist Sayed Ahmad Al-Mousawi to 10 years in prison and revoked his citizenship.

Arabic Issue