Bahrain suspends online version of opposition-linked newspaper
 

DUBAI: Bahraini authorities have suspended the online version of the opposition-linked al-Wasat newspaper until further **tice, accusing it of publishing materials that threaten national unity, state news agency BNA reported on Monday.

Bahrain´s only independent daily is associated with the opposition, which has been facing a government *****down since last year.

It is the second time the newspaper has been closed since last August.

“The newspaper has repeatedly published and broadcast material that causes a rift in society and promotes a spirit of division that harms national unity and public order,” the information ministry said in a statement carried by BNA.

A newspaper employee confirmed that the online edition, including online services, had been suspended but said the print edition had been allowed to continue.

Western-allied Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, crushed mass protests by the country´s majority in 2011.

The government has been waging a *****down on the opposition since last year, closing down the main opposition al-Wefaq group, increasing a prison sentence against its leader, arresting prominent activist Nabeel Rajab and revoking the citizenship of spiritual leader Ayatollah Isa Qassim.

On Sunday, Bahrain put to death three men convicted of a bomb attack that killed three policemen, including an Emirati ******r, in the first such execution in years.

Al-Wasat, founded by private investors in 2002, was briefly closed in 2015 and the government cited similar reasons then.

It was also briefly shut in 2011 following anti-government protests in the Gulf island kingdom, and its senior staff were ******* and prosecuted.

The paper is headed by Mansoor al-Jamri, one of three senior editors who was tried on charges of fabricating news when the paper reported the protests against the government of the ruling family.

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