Interesting interview in Al-Wasat this morning in which its editor-in-chief interviewed the departing American Ambassador to Bahrain Mr Adam Ereli. The interview had three axes: reflections on his tenure in Bahrain, Freedoms of Expression as exercised (or lack thereof) in Bahrain and the Internet in particular and lastly human rights. It’s surprising and refreshing to …
BAHRAINI authorities yesterday claimed to have blocked a number of websites and blogs by mistake. The Information Affairs Authority (IAA) claimed a technical error resulted in blocking of several sites, but said in a statement it was fixing the problem. […] She said her site www.sillybahrainigirl.blogspot.com was blocked on Tuesday after being incorrectly categorised as …
If there ever was a reason not to trust Internet filters, even from a world authority like McAfee in this case, then the blocking of my friend Amira Al-Hussaini’s website is a case in point. For some reason, the “smart filter”, which is purportedly used by most telcos in the Gulf, has mistakenly categorised her …
With the strange blocking of Silly Bahraini Girl, I can no longer speculate as to what the government’s policy, standards or strategy employed other than a heavy handed approach in stifling speech and them hoping – or actually believing – that such methods actually work in this day and age. Amira Al-Hussaini’s blog’s content is …
I was a bit confused reading the newspapers this morning regarding two human rights societies. You might’ve been too, so let me remove some of the confusion: There is the National Human Rights Commission which is different from the Bahrain Human Rights Society. The first is a government organisation established by Royal Decree and the …