Bahraini blogger arrested for humour

This video says about itself:

Bahrain Blogger Lamees Dhaif

22 June 2011

Bahrain Blogger Lamees Dhaif and her family have been harassed because of Lamees’ posts criticizing the Bahrain government. She is now based outside of Bahrain and unable to blog. She shares her story in the Arab Spring session during Netroots Nation 2011 held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Asked if she’s scared that there will be consequences of her speaking out at Netroots Nations 2011: “I know that I will pay for it with a very high price. But if I keep quiet, more and more people are paying every day.”

From Global Voices Advocacy:

Bahraini Satirist Blogger Takrooz Arrested

Translation posted 5 July 2014 7:19 GMT

The Bahrain Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of yet another netizen, who reportedly faces accusations of “inciting hatred against the regime.”

The satirist micro-blogger, nicknamed Takrooz, was arrested at the Bahrain International Airport, while on his way back from Thailand, said the ministry in a statement on June 18, 2014, without disclosing his name.

A day later, many Bahrainis were fuming on Twitter, saying the arrest was futile and served no purpose other than to further demonstrate the government’s true colours in stifling opposition voices online. Scores of netizens have been arrested by the regime since anti-government protests started in Bahrain on February 14, 2011. Among them are Mahmood Al-Yousif, Mohamed Almaskati and Global Voices author Mohamed Hassan.

Bahrain is regarded as an enemy of the Internet according to the Reporters without Borders’ 2014 report and is ranked second in the number of detained journalists per capita in 2013 according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

With nearly 18,000 Twitter followers and 100,000 tweets, Takrooz has been an active voice in charting the government crackdown on activists. Bahrain Watch, a research and transparency group, reported that Takrooz’ Twitter account was repeatedly targeted for surveillance by the Bahraini government. His tweets, in Arabic, cover abuse by law enforcement personnel, anti-corruption content and everyday concerns of the average Bahraini.