The four Americans were arrested in the Shiite-majority town of Sitra “as they took part with a group of saboteurs in acts of rioting and vandalism”, Awadhi alleged.
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Mohammed al-Jishi told Reuters news agency on Tuesday by telephone that he was there when the Americans were interrogated at the public prosecutor’s office. Hundreds of Bahraini youths shouting anti-government slogans have taken to the streets in Bahrain despite a heavy police presence to mark the fifth anniversary of an uprising calling for political change in the tiny island kingdom.
One of them was masked at the time of the arrest, he said, adding that cameras and computers in their possession were seized.
Bahrain today charged four USA journalists with taking part in an illegal gathering but they were planning to leave the country after being released, their lawyer said.
Bahrain requires global journalists to obtain special media visas before entering Bahrain to work. Following the detention of that individual, police indicated, the other three were arrested at a nearby security checkpoint.
There was no immediate response to the charges from the State Department or USA embassy in Bahrain, which earlier said it was aware of the arrests but could not comment further.
All four Americans entered the country between Thursday and Friday, providing false information that they were tourists, the Bahrain Interior Ministry said.
U.S. Ambassador William V. Roebuck also met with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Monday, according to a late statement on the Bahrain News Agency.
The protesters were driven out by security forces in March 2011, after the king brought in troops from neighbouring Sunni-led Gulf states to restore order and crush dissent.
Jesse Ayala, a friend in NY, said Day and her crew “were not on an exclusive assignment” when they were arrested.
The protests were quashed after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent in reinforcements.
Some low-level unrest continues five years on, particularly in Shia communities.
The demonstration in Sitra was among those marking the fifth anniversary of Bahrain’s 2011 uprising.
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Opposition activists say dozens of people have been killed in ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces, while bomb attacks blamed on Iran-backed militants have left a number of police officers dead.
