A libel case brought against a popular Bahraini Internet blogger for criticising a government minister began on Tuesday and was swiftly adjourned to May 8.
Mahmood al-Yousif was taken to court for criticisms he made on his blog about Minister for Municipal and Agricultural Affairs Mansur bin Rajab.
In the blog entry in question Yusif lashed out at bin Rajab for saying that his ministry did not shirk its responsibilities following floods in December.
We “should not be cowed into a status of never questioning or criticising a government official no matter how high that position is,” Yousif wrote on his blog on the eve of the trial.
He went on to criticize Bahrain’s penal code and press laws, claiming that they “criminalise” the “civic responsibility of criticism.”
The site, called “Mahmood’s Den,” is one of thousands of blogs that have sprung up across the Middle East in recent years, providing an avenue for dissent often lacking in the region’s established media.
In 2005, the Bahraini moderator of an online discussion forum and two web technicians were detained for two weeks on charges of defaming King Hamad.
Bahrain’s information ministry in 2002 censored Internet sites on the grounds of inciting sectarianism or propagating lies, sparking protests by activists. Several sites were also censored last year for discussing an alleged plot to maintain Sunni domination of the Gulf kingdom.
Yahoo News – AFP