Bahrain arrests four US journalists on uprising anniversary

Four US journalists have been arrested in Bahrain accused of illegally entering the country and being involved in illegal activities.

One of the reporters was identified as Anna Therese Day and the other three were said to be members of her crew.

Ms Day's family rejected the official allegations, and US officials said they could not comment.

The arrests happened on the fifth anniversary of an anti-government uprising

which was violently put down.

Clashes broke out between protesters and police on Sunday as marches remembering the date were dispersed by security forces.

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Bahrain arrests four American journalists during protests

Dubai (AFP) - Bahraini authorities have arrested four Americans during protests marking the fifth anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising in the kingdom, US and Bahraini authorities said, drawing condemnation from rights groups.

They include an independent journalist named Anna Therese Day and three members of her camera crew, according to a statement issued by Day's family.

Police said four Americans, among them

a woman, were arrested around the Shiite town of Sitra on Sunday during clashes between security forces and protesters, in a statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency.

"One of them was masked and taking part with a group of saboteurs in Sitra in acts of rioting and sabotage and attacks on security officials," it said. "The other three were arrested at a security checkpoint in the same area."

The four entered Bahrain between February 11 and 12 and "provided false information to concerned authorities" claiming to be tourists, police said.

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4 US reporters arrested in Bahrain on uprising's anniversary

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain has arrested four American journalists covering the anniversary of its 2011 uprising amid a long crackdown on dissent in the tiny Gulf nation, witnesses said Monday.

Police said they detained four Americans for providing "false information that they were tourists," while also alleging one took part in an attack on its officers. The U.S. Embassy in Manama

said it was "aware of the arrest of four U.S. citizens in Bahrain" on Sunday but could not discuss the case due to privacy concerns.

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 from Boise, Idaho, who previously had contributed to The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast.

In a statement, The Post told The Associated Press that Day, who had blogged on the website and appeared on its HuffPost Live program, was not on assignment for the outlet at the time of her arrest.

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Four U.S. journalists detained in Bahrain: journalists group

DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. journalist and three members of her camera crew were detained in Bahrain on Sunday, Reporters Without Borders said on Monday, urging Bahrain to release the four American citizens "rapidly and without harm."

In a statement, the group described Anna Day and her three colleagues as experienced journalists, who had most recently worked on virtual reality documentaries in Egypt and Gaza.

Bahraini police said earlier they had detained four foreign nationals. Bahrain's interior ministry said in a statement the four were "suspected of offences including entering Bahrain illegally having submitted false information to border staff, and participating in an unlawful gathering."

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports that U.S. citizens had been arrested but declined further comment.

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BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP15/ 16 February 2016

Four US journalists arrested in Bahrain after being accused of providing 'false information'

The freelance journalist Anna Therese Day and three of her camera crew were covering the anniversary of one of the largest Arab Spring uprisings

Four American journalists have been detained in Bahrain while they were reporting on the anniversary of one of the largest uprisings of the Arab Spring.

American freelance journalist Anna Therese Day and three male journalists were taken on 14 February, according to

the Associated Press.

The group reportedly provided “false information that they were tourists” and one journalist allegedly wore a mask and took part in an attack on an officer alongside other rioters.

The US embassy in Manama confirmed it was aware of the arrest of four US citizens but could not discuss the case due to “privacy concerns”.

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Four American journalists arrested in Bahrain during protests

Independent journalist Anna Therese Day and three cameramen detained while covering anniversary of a Shia uprising

Bahraini authorities have arrested four Americans during protests marking the fifth anniversary of a Shia-led uprising in the kingdom.

The four are reporters and include an independent journalist named Anna Therese Day. The other three are members of her camera crew, according to a statement issued by Day’s family.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports that Americans had been arrested in Bahrain but declined further comment, citing privacy concerns.

A police statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency did not initially specify the identities or nationalities of those arrested, or who they work for. But a later update said the four were American and included a woman.

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Four US journalists arrested in Bahrain

Freelance journalist Anna Therese Day among those arrested, family says, as rights group calls for their release.

Four US journalists have been arrested in Bahrain, accused of entering the country illegally, joining protests and lying to border staff.

Bahraini police said on Monday that they had detained four "foreign nationals", while the US State Department said it was aware of reports that US citizens had been arrested in the Gulf nation.

A statement from Bahrain's interior ministry said the four were "suspected of offences including entering Bahrain illegally having submitted false information to border staff, and participating in an unlawful gathering".

An earlier statement from the interior ministry said the four were Americans.

The freelance journalist Anna Therese Day was among those arrested, according to a statement from Day's family.

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American Journalist Anna Therese Day Detained In Bahrain

Award-winning reporter Anna Therese Day and three other journalists have been detained in Bahrain and have not been released.

Four journalists, including at least one American, were detained in Bahrain on Sunday, according to U.S. officials. The group had been in the country reporting on the fifth anniversary of a popular uprising there that was put down by security authorities.

A spokesperson for the family of one the journalists, Anna Therese Day, an award-winning reporter who has lived and worked throughout the Middle East, said that Day and her camera crew hadn’t been released and disputed allegations by Bahraini officials that one of the reporters was arrested while “wearing a mask and participating in attacks on police alongside rioters in Sitra,” an island off Bahrain’s eastern coast.

“The allegation that they were in any way involved in illegal behavior or anything other than journalistic activities is impossible,” the spokesperson said.

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Bahrain Detains Journalist Anna Therese Day

American journalist Anna Therese Day, as well as three members of her camera crew, have been arrested and detained in Bahrain, according to a statement from Frontline Freelance Register, an organization for conflict journalists that Ms. Day helped start.

The four journalists were detained on Sunday while working in Bahrain and were, according to the statement, recently working on a virtual reality film in Egypt and Gaza.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said in a statement that the four were “suspected of offenses including entering Bahrain illegally having submitted false information to border staff and participating in an unlawful gathering,” Reuters reported.

An experienced journalist, Ms. Day had reported on conflicts from all over the world, including the Middle East and North Africa, India, Brazil and Mexico.

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Four American journalists arrested in Bahrain

New York, February 15, 2016 - The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of four American journalists arrested in Bahrain yesterday while reporting on the anniversary of the launch of mass opposition protests on February 14, 2011.

A statement issued by the family of one of the four journalists today identified her as freelance journalist Anna Therese Day. The statement

did not name the three others, who have not yet been identified in media reports, but said they had previously worked with Day in creating virtual reality documentary films in Gaza and Egypt. It is not clear whether the four were on assignment for a particular news outlet at the time of their arrest.

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Bahrain arrests 4 Americans as unrest marks anniversary of pro-democracy uprising

Reporters Without Borders is calling on the Bahraini monarchy to release four American journalists without delay. They were arrested Sunday on the fifth anniversary of Bahrain's short-lived pro-democracy uprising.

Bahraini police say they arrested four American journalists Sunday as hundreds of Bahraini's took to the streets to mark the fifth anniversary of

their short-lived pro-democracy uprising.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry acknowledged the arrests on Monday on their web site, saying, "our foreign nationals were detained yesterday in Bahrain. The four are suspected of offenses including entering Bahrain illegally, having submitted false information to border staff and participating in an unlawful gathering."

"They have been afforded full legal rights in line with the Kingdom's procedures and constitution while investigations continue."

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Bahrain: 4 Journalists Detained

Press freedom advocates protested to Bahrain on Monday over the arrest of four American journalists who had been reporting on the fifth anniversary of the political opposition uprising in the Gulf monarchy, an ally of the United States. The Bahrain authorities, who seized the four on Sunday, did not identify them by name, but the family of one identified her as Anna Therese Day, a freelance journalist and Fulbright Fellow who has reported for The Huffington Post and other media outlets. The Bahrain policewebsite said the four were suspected of having

entered Bahrain illegally and “participating in an unlawful gathering.” The Committee to Protect Journalists in New York called for their immediate release.

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