BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

8th/ 9th/ 10th August 2014

Three clerics banned
in Bahrain for
spreading hate
Three clerics in Bahrain
have been forbidden from
preaching in mosques
following allegations that
they incited sectarian hate.
Sunni cleric and Bahrain
Quran Society chairman
Adel Hassan Al Hamad was
summoned to the interior
ministry on Thursday where
he was told "he could no
longer conduct Friday
sermons", Gulf Daily News
reported.
Shi'ite clerics Shaikh
Mohammed Mansi and
Shaikh Kamel Al Hashemi
were also given similar
orders, which were issued
by the Justice, Islamic
Affairs and Endowments
ministry.
Read More
Bahrain bans three
clerics from
preaching;
opposition condemns
move
Bahrain has banned three
Muslim clerics from
preaching in mosques,
accusing them of violating
the "ethics and principles of
religious discourse", in what
opposition activists said
was part of a crackdown on
dissent.
State news agency BNA
said the Ministry of Justice
and Islamic Affairs and
Interior Ministry of the Sunni
Muslim-ruled kingdom had
forbidden Sheikh Kamel al-
Hashemi, Adel al-Hamad
and Mohammed al-Mansi to
preach in and around the
capital Manama.
It said the three had ignored
warning from authorities to
stick to rules set for
preachers. Bahrainis said at
least two of them were
Shi'ites. Majority Shi'ites led
mass protests in the island
state in 2011.
Read More
Leaked Data
Suggests Bahrain's
Government Hacked
Its Own Fact-Finding
Commission
Leaked internal documents
allegedly belonging to UK-
based surveillance software
company Gamma
International suggest that
Bahrain's government has
used the technology to spy
on activists, politicians and
members of a government
commission investigating
human rights abuses.
On Aug. 3, an anonymous
Twitter account
@GammaGroupPR began
publishing the 40 gigabytes
worth of information, which
indicated the company's
staff were communicating
with a customer in Bahrain
from 2010 to 2012 about its
FinFisher spy software.
Rights group Bahrain
Watch analyzed a list of 77
computers infected with the
spyware to identify the
people who were targeted.
Read More
Bahraini Opposition
Accuses Monarchy of
Human Rights
Violation
Hundreds of anti-
government Shiite activists
rallied to protest the ruling
Al Khalifa dynasty's
continued suppression of
dissent and its violation of
human rights in Bahrain,
opposition forces reported
today.
A spokesperson from the al-
Wefaq National Islamic
Society, the main opposition
party in Bahrain, said the
demonstration was in the
island of Sitra, 12
kilometers southeast of the
capital, Manama. Protesters
called for the Al Khalifa
royal family to relinquish
power.
They also expressed their
outrage over the recent
measures adopted by the
Bahraini regime to grant
citizenship to foreign
nationals as it deprives
Bahrainis of their nationality
on the grounds of their
political activism.
Read More
Govt FinFisher
spyware exposed
after data breach
An Anglo-German company
that makes and sells
FinFisher spyware to
various European,
American and Asia-Pacic
governments and law
enforcement agencies has
suffered a big data breach,
revealing hundreds of
condential documents.
An anonymous hacker
claimed he had
compromised Gamma
International's network on
Reddit and Twitter on
Wednesday afternoon, and
posted links to a torrent le
online containing what is
believed to be authentic
client records, price lists,
source code, the
effectiveness of the
spyware, support manuals
and a list of classes and
tutorials.
Read More
Report: German Firm
Helped Bahrain Spy
on Pro-Democracy
Activists
Newly leaked documents
show a German spying
company that provides
technology to governments
around the world helped
Bahrain spy on its citizens
during a crackdown on pro-
democracy protests.
Analyzing documents
released by a hacker this
week, the news site The
Intercept reports that the
company FinFisher helped
Bahrain install spyware on
dozens of computers,
including those of human
rights lawyers and an
opposition leader who is
now in prison.
Read More