The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Bahraini government ordered three journalists from the British television network ITV to leave the country today, according to news reports citing an ITV spokesman. The journalists, who were also briefly detained on Thursday, are in the process of leaving the country.
The ITV crew was composed of correspondent Rageh Omaar, and a cameraman and producer, who have not been identified, according to news reports. The journalists were covering the political unrest in Bahrain that coincided with a major Formula One race this coming weekend, the reports said.
An ITV spokesman said in a statement on Thursday that police stopped the crew from filming on Thursday and took them to a local police station. She said the police held “discussions” with them before saying they could continue to film. The ITV journalists filed a story on the protests later that day.
In a statement today, the ITV spokesman said the team was stopped again today and taken to a local police station, where they were asked to leave the country. It was not clear as of Friday afternoon if the journalists had left the country.
Read full article on the Committee to Protect Journalists website.
