JOURNALISTS IMPRISONED OR DETAINED IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR
JOURNALISTIC ACTIVITY

Total as of October 24, 1999: 125 Journalists in 30 Countries
...

KUWAIT (3)

-- The Parliament (Majliss) called for Hamed Bouyabes to be charged with "treason" on January 9, 1999. The Kuwaiti journalist had gone to Israel to perform his job (RSF)
-- Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, June 1991, Al-Nida
-- Fawwaz Muhammed al-Awadi Bessisso, June 1991, Al-Nida

Category: Action/Technique
Document date: 94-12-20
Country:
Index number: ACT 77/001/1995
Title: Human rights are women's rights

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE WOMEN'S RIGHTS

The aftermath of the Gulf conflict

Samira Ma'arafi, a 27-year-old woman who ran her own small import/export business and loved to paint, was arrested by Iraqi soldiers in November 1990. She was seized at a checkpoint in Kuwait City during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Since then there has been a wall of silence about her from the Iraqi authorities. Her mother, who has campaigned tirelessly for her release, has had to rely on fragments of news: that her daughter was in jail in Kuwait; that she had been moved to Iraq. The last reported sighting of Samira Ma'arafi was in 1992, when a Lebanese man said he had seen her on a prison bus in Baghdad.

The Gulf conflict of 1990 and 1991 is receding into history, but in Kuwait and Iraq its aftermath continues to dominate women's lives. Some are grieving over the loss of loved ones. As well as the military casualties, hundreds of unarmed civilians were murdered in Kuwait by Iraqi troops. Victims included children shot in the head at close range whose bodies were then dumped outside their homes.

Although UN forces succeeded in evicting the Iraqi troops from Kuwait in February 1991, they did not intervene when Iraqi Government forces crushed mass uprisings by Kurds in the north of the country and Shi`a Muslim Arabs in the south in March 1991. Thousands of people went into hiding in the vast southern marshlands area which has traditionally served as a hiding place for government opponents and army deserters.

Since then, there have been repeated government attacks on the marshes. The government has drained large stretches of marshland, destroying the local economy, and has deliberately attacked villagers, both men and women. Several hundred people were killed or injured on 26 September 1993 during military attacks on villages in the southern marshes. A UN team which visited the area in November announced subsequently that it could not confirm or deny allegations that chemical weapons had been used.

When the Iraqi Government released thousands of prisoners of war and civilian detainees in 1991, it claimed that all prisoners arrested in the course of the conflict had been released and sent back to Kuwait. At least 625 people -- among them Samira Ma'arafi -- simply "disappeared".

In addition, UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq have had a disastrous effect on the Iraqi economy, affecting all but the most rich and powerful. Women, trying to feed and care for themselves and their children, are hit hardest.

In Kuwait itself, following the withdrawal of Iraqi troops Kuwaitin February 1991, scores of people were murdered by Kuwaiti forces and armed civilians in a wave of revenge killings. Victims included Palestinians, Iraqis and Sudanese living in Kuwait who were singled out because of their nationality and shot in public or tortured to death in secret. Almost 1,000 people were arbitrarily detained and at least 62 "disappeared" in custody.

Since then, the Kuwaitis have mounted a series of manifestly unfair trials. Over 120 people -- many of them prisoners of conscience -- have been sentenced to long prison terms for "collaborating" with the Iraqi occupation forces. Among them are 15 former employees of the Iraqi-run newspaper al-Nida'. Their entire trial lasted just one day. Defendants were not allowed to cross-examine the key witness against them, a "secret source" who never entered the courtroom.

Six defendants, including Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, a 35-year-old woman journalist and a prisoner of conscience, were sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. Others were sentenced to long prison terms. Wafa' Wasfi Ahmad, a 23-year-old Jordanian secretary, said that she was forced to work for al-Nida' by Iraqi soldiers. She is a prisoner of conscience, serving a 10-year sentence in Kuwait Central Prison.

Category: Country Reports MDE
Document date: 95-08-05
Country:
Index number: MDE 01/001/1995
Title: Women in the Middle East

WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Human rights under attack

...

The end of the Iraqi occupation did not end the suffering for many women in Kuwait. The returning Kuwaiti authorities and armed Kuwaiti civilians exacted a terrible revenge on many civilians, particularly Palestinians, Iraqis and Sudanese living in Kuwait. Scores of people were slaughtered and women were among the 1,000 or so who were arbitrarily detained, some of whom subsequently faced manifestly unfair trials.

Among several defendants sentenced after an unfair trial that lasted just one day was Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, a 35-year-old journalist. She was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment, for alleged "collaboration" with the occupying Iraqi forces. She was charged with 23 other women and men in connection with her work for the newspaper al-Nida'. All said they had been forced to work for the paper after being threatened by Iraqi soldiers: the newspaper they had previously worked for, al-Qabas, was closed down by the Iraqi authorities shortly after the invasion and replaced by al-Nida' -- the only newspaper allowed to publish during the occupation. Another woman tried in the same case, Wafa' Wasfi Ahmad, a 23-year-old Jordanian secretary, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Both are prisoners of conscience.

Kuwait (5)

Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, Al-Nida
Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso, Al-Nida
Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, Al-Nida
Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Asad al-Husseini, Al-Nida
Ahmad Abd Mustafa, Al-Nida

Sentenced: June 1991

The five journalists were given life sentences for working for the Iraqi occupation newspaper Al-Nida. They were taken into custody after Kuwait's liberation and charged with collaboration. The trials, which began on May 19, 1991, in martial-law courts, failed to comply with international standards of justice. The defendants were reportedly tortured during their interrogations. Their defense - that they were coerced to work for the Iraqi newspaper - was not rebutted by prosecutors. On June 16, 1991, the journalists were sentenced to death. Ten days later all martial-law death sentences were commuted to life terms.

CPJ Delegation Urges Kuwait to Free Remaining Imprisoned Journalists

| News Alert Index | CPJ Home |

Washington, April 2, 1999 -- A high-level delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) met today with Kuwait's Ambassador Dr. Muhammad al-Sabah to urge the release of imprisoned journalists Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, who have been held since 1991. They are the last remaining journalists in prison in Kuwait, which had imprisoned 17 reporters and editors following the Gulf War for their work with the Iraqi occupation newspaper Al-Nida'.

"Nearly a decade after the Gulf War, it is an opportune time for Kuwait to close this painful chapter and release the remaining imprisoned journalists," said Peter Arnett of CNN, a member of CPJ's board of directors, at today's meeting.

Arnett was joined by CPJ executive director Ann K. Cooper, and Middle East program coordinator Joel Campagna. The delegation welcomed the release in February of three Jordanian journalists who were also convicted and sentenced to life for their work with Al-Nida'. The journalists -- Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, and Ahmad Abed Mustafa -- were freed after receiving a pardon from Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah. Fifteen journalists who had been convicted and imprisoned for their work with Al-Nida' have been released since 1996 -- many as a result of the emir's annual pardon, which coincides with Kuwait's celebration of National Day and its liberation from Iraqi occupation.

"The recent releases are a very encouraging sign," said Cooper. "We hope that Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil will shortly regain their freedom."

In June 1991, Bessisso and al-Dakhil were sentenced to life in prison for their work with al-Nida', which was established by Iraq following its occupation of Kuwait in 1990. The two journalists were taken into custody after Kuwait's liberation and charged with collaboration. They were tried along with al-Husseini, Hussein, and Mustafa in a martial law court beginning on May 19, 1991. Their trial failed to comply with international standards of justice. The defendants were reportedly tortured during their interrogations. Their defense -- that they were coerced into working for the Iraqi newspaper -- was not rebutted by prosecutors. On June 16, 1991, Bessisso, al-Dakhil, and the three other journalists were sentenced to death. Ten days later, all martial-law death sentences were commuted to life terms, following international protests.

At the conclusion of today's meeting, the ambassador said, "I am hopeful that we will be in a position to say that there will be no one in jail from the Iraqi occupation in the near future."

Subject: Committee to Protect Journalists Presses Kuwait to Release Five Imprisoned
Journalists

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Source: Direct Submission
Organization: Committee to Protect Journalists
URL: http://cpj.org
Email: mideast@cpj.org
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 99 16:01:57 -0500
Title: CPJ Presses Kuwait to Release Five Imprisoned Journalists

TEXT:

Author: Joel Campagna
Date: 2/16/99 6:01 PM

CPJ Presses Kuwait to Release Five Imprisoned Journalists

New York, N.Y., February 16, 1999 -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today urged Kuwait's emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah to use his power of amnesty to free five journalists currently serving life sentences for their work with the Iraqi occupation newspaper Al-Nida. The letter was sent in advance of the Kuwaiti leader's anticipated annual pardon of prisoners on National Day (February 25) and Liberation Day (February 26).

The five journalists--Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso, Ahmad Abed Mustafa, and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil--were convicted by a martial law tribunal in June 1991 for their work with Al-Nida, a newspaper that was set up by Iraqi forces shortly after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The trial of the five journalists, which began on May 19, 1991, fell well short of international fair trial standards, according to international human rights organizations. The defendants have said that they were tortured during their interrogations. Their defense--that they were coerced to work for the Iraqi newspaper--was not rebutted by prosecutors.

The four men and one woman (al-Dakhil) worked in positions including reporter, editor, and proofreader at the Iraqi publication. Among them are two Jordanians, a Kuwaiti, and a Palestinian.

At least 17 journalists were convicted of "collaboration" and sentenced to prison terms as a result of their work with Al-Nida following the Gulf War. In recent years, Kuwaiti authorities have released 12 of them, several in conjunction with the Emir's annual amnesty.

"Since 1992, Kuwait has been the leading jailer of journalists in the Arab world because of the ongoing imprisonment of journalists forced to work for Al-Nida," said CPJ's executive director, Ann K. Cooper. "It is past time for the Emir to grant amnesty to the five remaining jailed journalists."

A copy of the letter is attached.

###

BY FACSIMILE
February 16, 1999

His Highness Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah
Emir of the State of Kuwait
Al-Diwan al-Amiri
Al-Safat
Kuwait City, Kuwait

Your Highness:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization of journalists devoted to upholding press freedom worldwide, wishes to bring to your attention the plight of five journalists currently serving life sentences in Kuwait for alleged collaboration with Iraq, and to urge Your Highness to ensure their release from prison as Kuwait prepares to celebrate National Day and Liberation Day later this month.

For several years, CPJ has closely followed the cases of journalists Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso, Ahmad Abed Mustafa, and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil and appealed to Kuwaiti authorities for their release. The five journalists were convicted by a martial law tribunal in June 1991, for their work with the Iraqi occupation newspaper, Al-Nida. Their trial, which began on May 19, 1991, failed to comply with international standards of justice. The defendants said that they were tortured during their interrogations. Their defense--that they were coerced to work for the Iraqi newspaper--was not rebutted by prosecutors. On June 16, 1991, the journalists were sentenced to death. Ten days later, following international protests, all martial-law death sentences were commuted to life terms. CPJ views their convictions as violations of the right to free expression as guaranteed under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We last wrote to Kuwaiti authorities on December 14, 1998, when we learned that one of the five journalists, Jordanian citizen and former KUNA editor Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, was suffering from a variety of ailments including heart disease and a dislocated disc in his spine. Mr. al-Husseini suffers from diseased arteries which increase his risk of heart attack. In the letter, addressed to His Excellency Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, we urged the prime minister to examine all possible legal options to ensure the release from prison of Mr. al-Husseini and his four colleagues in accordance with free expression guarantees under international law and in light of humanitarian considerations.

In recent years, our organization has welcomed the release of 12 journalists who were sentenced by martial law tribunals and state security courts between 1991 and 1992 and imprisoned in Kuwait for their work with Al-Nida. Several of those set free were pardoned as part of the annual amnesty decreed by Your Highness in conjunction with your country's celebration of National Day and Liberation Day--the latter commemorating Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation in 1991. It is in this context that we call on Your Highness to use your power of amnesty and guarantee the release of Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso, Ahmad Abed Mustafa, and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil and to close this unfortunate chapter in Kuwait's history following her liberation from occupation in 1991.

I thank you for your attention to this most important matter and look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director

cc:

His Excellency Ambassador Mohammad Al-Sabah
The Honorable James Lorocco
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Canadian Committee To Protect Journalists
Congressional Committee to Support Writers and Journalists
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Association of Broadcasting
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Newspaper Publishers
International Journalism Institute
International PEN
International Press Institute
National Association of Black Journalists
National Press Club
Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Guild
North American National Broadcasters Association
Reporters sans Frontieres
Overseas Press Club
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Press Freedom Committee

Bulgaria, Kuwait, Pakistan: WiPC Special Action for International
Women's Day, 8 March 1999

To: Multiple recipients of list THRACE <thrace@demokritos.cc.duth.gr>
Subject: Bulgaria, Kuwait, Pakistan: WiPC Special Action for International Women's Day, 8 March 1999
From: Panayote Elias Dimitras <dimitras@ceu.hu>
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 05:56:22 +0200

IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ACTION ALERT - INTERNATIONAL

12 February 1999

WiPC Special Action for International Women's Day, 8 March 1999

SOURCE: Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), International PEN, London

(WiPC/IFEX) - The following is a WiPC Special Action for International Women's Day, 8 March 1999.

International Women's Day falls on 8 March 1999. The WiPC has traditionally highlighted the cases of women writers and journalists who are facing persecution and who may benefit from publicity on their cases. A number of Centres have requested examples of women writers under attack in response to media interest, and this year we are highlighting the cases of four women journalists: in Bulgaria, Pakistan and Kuwait. These cases serve to illustrate the differing forms of attacks upon free expression in three very different circumstances.

You may send appeals on these cases, as recommended in the case outlines attached, and to promote their cases in your national media on and around 8 March Women's Day. Photograph of the Kuwaiti prisoner, Ibtisam al-Dakhil, and the Bulgarian journalist, Tatiana Vaksberg are available on request. Unfortunately we have no photos of the other cases.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information about these or any other case.

...

Kuwait: Life imprisonment
Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman Al-Dakhil

Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman Al-Dakhil, aged about forty, is a journalist currently serving a life sentence in prison in Kuwait.

Before the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, she was a journalist working for the Kuwaiti newspaper "al-Qabas." During the Iraqi occupation, however, the paper was shut down and replaced with an Iraqi-controlled paper, "al-Nida." Although she did not wish to collaborate with the occupying forces, she was apparently given no option: she was detained twice, and by her own account was told that if she refused to cooperate, she and her children would have to face the consequences.

After the Iraqi defeat, the Kuwaiti government initiated many trials against alleged "collaborators," including members of "al-Nida"'s staff. Those who, like Al-Dakhil, were not Kuwaiti by birth faced especially severe sentences (Al-Dakhil was once married to a Kuwaiti but is originally from Iraq). In June 1991, a martial law court sentenced her and five of her colleagues to death. This was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Amnesty International (AI) has condemned the trial as "manifestly unfair": defence lawyers were denied access to their clients and some are believed to have been convicted solely on confessions extracted under torture. All were denied the right of appeal, in contravention of international standards for due process.

In 1996, four other women who were sentenced to ten years each in the same case were amnestied. Al-Dakhil, however, remains in Kuwait Central Prison; apparently, all Iraqis thus detained, if amnestied, are to be deported to Iraq - a fate which al-Dakhil wishes to avoid. She is allowed to telephone her family regularly and is reported to be in reasonable health. She is an AI Prisoner of Conscience.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to his Excellency:
- appealing to the Kuwaiti government to grant Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil an early release from prison, and additionally requesting that, once amnestied, she not be required to leave Kuwait, her adopted country, against her will

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Shaikh Jaber al-Ahmad al Sabah
Amir of the State of Kuwait, Kuwait
Fax: + 965 539 6434

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact the WiPC, International PEN, 9/10
Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K., tel: +44 1 71
253 3226, fax: +44 1 71 253 5711, e-mail: intpen@gn.apc.org.

The information contained in this action alert is the sole responsibility of WiPC. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit WiPC.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
__________________________________________________________________

Amnesty International's Worldwide Appeals
November 1996

An appeal from you to the authorities can help the victims of human rights violations whose stories are told below. You can help free a prisoner of conscience or stop torture. You can bring liberty to a victim of "disappearance". You may prevent an execution. Every appeal counts. (Reminder: AI members should not send
appeals to the authorities of their own countries). Here are the worldwide appeals for November. An index of earlier appeals is available.
...

Kuwait

IBTISAM BERTO SULAIMAN AL-DAKHIL, a 38-year-old Kuwaiti woman, was convicted of "collaborating" with the Iraqis during the occupation of Kuwait and is serving a life sentence in Kuwait Central Prison. She is a prisoner of conscience.

Ibtisam worked as a journalist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas before it was closed down during the occupation and replaced with the Iraqi-controlled newspaper al-Nida'. She refused to work for al-Nida', but was forced to work on it after twice being detained by the Iraqis. Shortly after the Iraqi forces withdrew, Ibtisam told the police what had happened.

In April 1991 Ibtisam was summoned for interrogation and she was later arrested. In June 1991 Kuwait's Martial Law Court convicted Ibtisam of "collaboration", together with 14 other people who had also worked at al-Nida'. Ibtisam and five others were sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. Four other prisoners of conscience, all women, who had been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in connection with the same case were granted an amnesty by the Amir earlier this year (see AI News, July 1996).

Martial Law Court proceedings were manifestly unfair. Many defence lawyers were denied access to their clients and were not allowed to cross-examine prosecution witnesses; some people were convicted solely on the basis of "confessions" extracted under torture; and all were denied the right of appeal. After the lifting of Martial Law, "collaboration" cases went before the State Security Court, whose proceedings also fell short of international standards for fair trial.

Please write, appealing for the immediate and unconditional release of Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil, to: His Highness Shaikh Sa'ad al-'Abdallah al-Sabah/
Prime Minister/ Al-Diwan al-Amiri/ Kuwait.

| Country and Regional Reports | Press Freedom Database | CPJ Home |

The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although the press in these countries is largely in private hands and among the most technologically advanced in the Arab world, independent reporting on local affairs remains hindered by state controls and self-censorship. Saudi Arabia, the largest and most influential member of the GCC, tolerates no dissent from journalists. The Ministry of Information approves the hiring of editors and can dismiss them at will. Criticism of the royal family and reporting on sensitive political topics are taboo. Fear of reprisal from authorities--notorious for having one of the region's worst records on human rights--helps to keep journalists in line. The state closely monitors foreign publications entering the kingdom, censoring news deemed to cast the kingdom in a negative light or offend Islam. Foreign journalists continue to face impediments in gaining entry to the country.

In April, the London newspaper The Independent reported that Saudi writer and journalist Zuheir Kutbi had been arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for several weeks by the country's religious police, because of a recently published book in which he criticized their arbitrary and often brutal treatment of civilians. According to the report, news of his arrest was quashed in the Saudi media, and Kutbi was permanently banned from writing books or for the press.

Saudi Arabia also exerts considerable influence over the Pan-Arab media, which over the last eight years have come under the control of Saudi businessmen with links to the royal family. Saudi-owned publications include the influential Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayat and the weekly magazine Al-Wasat, both based in London and owned by Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, a nephew of King Fahd. Another influential Pan-Arab paper, the London-based daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, is owned by Prince Ahmad Bin Salman. And the popular Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), with a regionwide viewership in the tens of millions, is owned by prominent Saudi businessman Sheikh Walid al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of King Fahd. The other main broadcasting networks that service the region, such as Arab Radio and Television (ART) and Orbit, are also Saudi-owned. News and programming from these sources rarely, if ever, disseminate criticism of the Saudi regime or report on issues regarded as sensitive in the kingdom.

While such media outlets are ostensibly independent, the fear of alienating Saudi advertisers and the threat of being banned in the country typically prove sufficient disincentives to unfavorable coverage.

Throughout the Middle East and North Africa, criticism of Saudi Arabia often triggers swift official responses--a result, some journalists say, of informal agreements between Saudi Arabia and the other Arab states.

In Kuwait--where the press has gained a reputation for being among the freest and most lively in the Arab world--journalists increasingly have come under attack. In the year's most prominent case, a Kuwaiti criminal court in June handed down a six-month prison sentence against Muhammad Jasim al-Saqr, editor in chief of the daily Al-Qabas, and Ibrahim Marzouk, a free-lance journalist based in Egypt, for writing a four-line joke about Adam and Eve. Al-Saqr, a 1992 recipient of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award, and Marzouk were charged with "insulting the essence of the Divine Being." Al-Saqr remained free pending the outcome of his appeal.

In a separate threat to free expression, a government committee in September drafted a law proposal to censor satellite television programming that is deemed offensive to Islamic norms. At year's end, no action had been taken to enact the law.

CPJ continued to press the Kuwaiti government for the release of five journalists who remain prison for their work with the Iraqi occupation newspaper Al-Nida. CPJ learned in November that one of the journalists, Jordanian national and former KUNA editor Abdel Rahman al-Husseini, was suffering from several ailments including heart disease and was at risk of a heart attack. In a December 14 letter to Kuwait's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, CPJ urged for the release of al-Husseini and the other four imprisoned journalists--Usamah Suhail Abdallah Hussein, Fawwaz Muhammad al-Awadi Bessisso, Ahmad Abed Mustafa, and Ibtisam Berto Sulaiman al-Dakhil.

In Bahrain, the local press remained submissive--voluntarily censoring news of the country's ongoing political unrest, details of which remained largely off the pages of newspapers. Journalists who exhibited more independence provoked authorities' anger. The Ministry of Information banned Hafedh al-Sheikh, a columnist for the daily Akhbar al-Khaleej, from writing for local or international papers throughout much of the year. The ban stemmed from an article al-Sheikh submitted for publication in April titled, "When the Universities Fall in the Hands of the Tribal Militarist Mind," which indirectly criticized the state's meddling in universities.