Bahrain10 November 20153 min read

Channel against Bahrain gets a taste of UK justice

By Muhannad Mansour/DTNN ,muhannad@dt.bh. A UK-based political channel has been shut down by British authorities for harassing the staff of the Embassy of Bahrain in London. The decision was apparently taken following a complaint against the staff of the channel, who repeatedly harassed the embassy and its visitors. Spea

Editorial Team Legacy

Published 10 November 2015, 8:00 · Updated 21:30

Link copied

Channel against Bahrain gets a taste of UK justice

A UK-based political channel has been shut down by British authorities for harassing the staff of the Embassy of Bahrain in London.

The decision was apparently taken following a complaint against the staff of the channel, who repeatedly harassed the embassy and its visitors.

Speaking to DT News, Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, National Security and Defence Committee Head Abdulla Binhowail welcomed the decision and described Bahrain Al Youm channel on Youtube as an inciting channel, as “it continues to insult the Kingdom and threaten its national security”.

“These channels insult Bahrain in its programmes and continue to harm the Kingdom’s achievements. They have no credibility and follow certain foreign agendas aimed at harming and destabilising the national security of Bahrain,” Binhowail said.

“These channels are not favoured by Bahrainis. We have nothing to hide here in Bahrain. They’re claiming that there are human rights violations in Bahrain. We’ve taken many positive steps in this field such as the establishment of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), the Ombudsman Secretariat General and passing the NIHR law by Parliament.

“What’s happening in Bahrain is terrorism and it’s directly supported by Iran. It was proven more than once in suspects’ confessions during interrogations,” Binhowail said. He also stressed that the House of Representatives was open for all complaints of all citizens, noting that it consisted of more than 30 newly-elected MPs.

Escaped Convicts

“The founder of the channel is among a group of people who are wanted for security cases in Bahrain. They have escaped jail terms of up to 15 years and are currently seeking political asylum in the UK,” Binhowail said.

“Is this criminal seeking asylum or investment in the UK?, ” the MP asked.

“These people receive facilitations to open channels that insult Bahrain on a daily basis through its programmes. They’re financed and supported by the enemies of the country.”

The lawmaker called upon the European countries, who embrace such escaped convicts, to reconsider their decisions.

“Considering the historic relations with the UK, we were hoping for stronger stances towards such inciters. There are more than 16 convicts that are currently residing in the UK who are sentenced to 15 years by Bahrain’s judiciary authority, and they were apparently granted political asylum. Some of them got their citizenships revoked because of the gravity of their crimes against Bahrain,” Binhowail commented.

Meanwhile, DT News has found that the channel’s site on Youtube has been removed and isn’t accessible. However, the channel didn’t mention anything about the suspension on its Twitter page, which is still active.

Channel against Bahrain gets a taste of UK justice

Editorial Team Legacy

Share your reaction!

Comments