This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/witnesses-say-4-american-journalists-arrested-in-bahrain/2016/02/15/a2ab2af4-d3d7-11e5-a65b-587e721fb231_story.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Witnesses say 4 American journalists arrested in Bahrain Witnesses say 4 American journalists arrested in Bahrain
(35 minutes later)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two witnesses say four American journalists have been arrested in Bahrain while covering unrest on the anniversary of the tiny island nation’s 2011 uprising. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Four American journalists who were covering the anniversary of Bahrain’s 2011 uprising have been arrested amid a long crackdown on dissent in the tiny island nation, witnesses said Monday.
Bahraini officials declined to immediately comment. The U.S. Embassy in Manama says it’s “aware of the arrest of four U.S. citizens in Bahrain” on Sunday but that it cannot discuss the case due to privacy concerns. Bahraini officials declined to immediately comment on the arrests. The U.S. Embassy in Manama said in a statement Monday it was “aware of the arrest of four U.S. citizens in Bahrain” on Sunday but that it could not discuss the case due to privacy concerns.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. They say one of the four was arrested in the largely Shiite community of Sitra, south of the capital. They say the other three were arrested later Sunday night. The identities of the journalists and whether they worked for a specific media outlet was not immediately clear. Photographs of the reporters working in Sitra, a largely Shiite community south of the capital that has seen repeated protests, circulated on social media, including one image of a woman being filmed while speaking to a masked protester.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the journalists worked for a specific media outlet. On Sunday, police arrested a photographer working with the group, the two witnesses said. Later that night, police surrounded the area with checkpoints and arrested the other three, the witnesses said. The witnesses spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested.
The 2011 uprising saw Bahrain’s Shiite majority demand greater political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy. The 2011 protests in Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, were the largest of the Arab Spring wave of demonstrations to rock the Gulf Arab states. They were driven by the country’s Shiite majority, who demanded greater political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy.
But while changes swept across the region, Bahrain’s own protests found themselves put down after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent in reinforcements. Bahrain blamed regional Shiite power Iran for stirring up the demonstrations, though a government-sponsored investigation into the unrest said there wasn’t “a discernable link” between the protests and the Islamic Republic based on the information the government gave them.
___
Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap .
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.