Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Four US journalists released in Bahrain

Four American journalists arrested in Bahrain on the weekend have been charged with illegal assembly and then released.

A Bahraini reveller waves Bahraini flag
Bahrain has arrested four American journalists covering the anniversary of its 2011 uprising. (AAP)

A prosecutor in Bahrain says four American journalists have been charged with illegally assembling with the intent to commit a crime.

The prosecutor's statement says the four Americans were released on Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear if they could leave the island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain police said they detained the four Americans on Sunday for providing "false information that they were tourists" and also alleged that one took part in an attack on Bahraini officers.

A friend of one of the journalists, freelancer Anna Therese Day of Boise, Idaho, has said the journalists were simply doing their job and denied they took part in any "illegal behaviour".

Bahrain requires international journalists to obtain special media visas before entering to work. Bahrain is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet.


1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world