Bahrain bows to muzzled newspaper in one day

A major newspaper in Bahrain has returned to the presses today, after yesterday’s reports that the government had shut it down on Monday amid ongoing protests in Iran. Though officials didn’t give a reason for the forced closure, many suspect the move was prompted by a recent article that criticized Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali ...

584499_090623_newspaper5.jpg
584499_090623_newspaper5.jpg

A major newspaper in Bahrain has returned to the presses today, after yesterday's reports that the government had shut it down on Monday amid ongoing protests in Iran. Though officials didn't give a reason for the forced closure, many suspect the move was prompted by a recent article that criticized Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A major newspaper in Bahrain has returned to the presses today, after yesterday’s reports that the government had shut it down on Monday amid ongoing protests in Iran. Though officials didn’t give a reason for the forced closure, many suspect the move was prompted by a recent article that criticized Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Despite the backtracking of the Bahraini regime, the episode has further inflamed already-brittle tensions between the Sunni-minority government and the Shia majority in the country.

AFP/Getty Images 

Brian Fung is an editorial researcher at FP.

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