Bahraini police have arrested four American journalists for providing “false information that they were tourists,” while also alleging one took part in an attack on its officers.
Police said one of the journalists was a woman and three were men. Witnesses identified the woman as Anna Therese Day, an American freelance journalist and the other three as her camera crew.
An interior ministry statement alleged one of the four journalists “was wearing a mask and participating in attacks on police alongside other rioters in Sitra.” The statement also said the journalists entered the country between Thursday and Friday on tourist visas.
“At least some of the arrestees were in the country as members of the international media but had not registered with the concerned authority and were involved in illegal activities,” the statement said, without elaborating on what those activities were.
Bahrain requires international journalists to obtain special media visas before entering to work. The island kingdom allows citizens of many countries, including the US, to get a tourist visa on arrival.
A statement on the state-run Bahrain News Agency said the journalists had “been afforded full legal rights in line with the kingdom’s procedures and constitution while investigations continue.”
The US Embassy in Manama said it was “aware of the arrest of four US citizens in Bahrain” on Sunday but that it could not discuss the case due to privacy concerns.
*Associated Press and Reuters