Bahraini activist Zainab Al-Khawaja has been arrested today while protesting on Budaiya street, according to local reports. Shortly before being arrested, Al-Khawaja, who tweets from the account @angryarabiya, tweeted a message saying, “Sitting in a roundabout on budaiya street, shouting down down Hamad. Until now riot police don’t seem to know what to so.” Her sister, Maryam Al-Khawaja, who also works for the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights confirmed her arrest to Index. More updates to come.
Update 16/12/11: Zainab Al-Khawaja is to be detained for seven days. According to her lawyer, when arrested, Zainab was sprayed in the eyes with something making her unable to see for approximately one hour. Whilst at the police station, Zainab was beaten on her head, arms and legs. While she could not see, she recognised the voice of the policewoman who beat her, but the prosecutor refused to write it down. Zainab was then accused of hitting the policewoman, and refused to sign a statement. Zainab’s lawyer attempted to show the prosecutor the video of her arrest, but he refused to watch it. Zainab is currently waiting to establish what will happen to her.
New York Times journalists Nicholas Kristof and Adam Ellick were briefly detained by security forces yesterday at a protest in the Bahraini village of Sitra. Both journalists tweeted throughout the course of their brief detention.
Several Bahraini human rights activists have been sent threatening twitter messages during the past few days. Hostile messages were allegedly to Mohammed Al-Maskati, President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), and Yousif Almuhafda, who also works for BCHR, from a twitter account (@ADEL_FELAIFEL) allegedly operated by former colonel in the State Security and Intelligence Service, Adil Felaifel. According to Al-Maskati, one tweet, which came from the now deleted account, were directed towards himself and AlMuhafda, and said: “Do not think that because I’m not in the Ministry of Interior, I will shut up about you.”
Another tweet aimed at Maskati and Rajab said: “Maskati and Nabeel Rajab your future death and hell.”
Human rights activists in Bahrain, particularly those active on the popular social media site have endured regular attacks from “trolls” who regularly bombard individuals that send tweets to the Bahrain hashtag. The online attacks, which attempt to fan sectarian differences, are carried out by what activists call “e-thugs”, who are pro-Bahraini government activists as well as accounts believed to be run by government officials.
While twitter attacks have become commonplace for activists, Al Muskati felt that the potential threats from Adil Felaifel, who some believe is one of those responsible for overseeing torture in the 1980s and 1990s, changes the tone of the tweets. He said, “what’s different is that he is an ex-torturer who feels that he can threaten Human Rights Defenders publicly with impunity, knowing that no one will hold him accountable.”
