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Bahrain Editors Face Trial for Â«Fabricating NewsÂ»

12 April 2011 01:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Three former editors of an opposition newspaper in Bahrain will face trial for charges of publishing â€œfabricated news,â€ in the latest government crackdown against anti-government protests, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency said Monday the former editor-in-chief of Al Wasat newspaper, Mansoor al-Jamri, along with two of the newspaper’s other former editors, were questioned about what the government called the paper’s â€œunethicalâ€ coverage of protests in Bahrain.

Authorities charged them with publishing false news, disturbing the peace and harming state interests.

Officials have not set the trial date.

Jamri has rejected accusations that they knowingly published false news and has called the government’s actions an attempt to â€œsilence independent newsâ€ in Bahrain.

Earlier Monday, Bahrain accused a leading human rights activist of fabricating photos and summoned him for questioning.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency says Nabeel Rajab is accused of tampering with images of a man who died in custody last week. The activist claims the man died from the effects of torture and posted a photo online that shows his body covered with cuts and bruises.

Authorities claim the detained protester died after struggling with guards. BNA says a military prosecutor will question Rajab about the photo.

Rajab is the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Opposition protesters in Bahrain have been demanding the resignation of Bahrain’s Sunni-led government and creation of a political system that gives a greater voice to the country’s majority Shi’ites.