Bahrain has freed an American journalist and her camera crew after accusing them of participating in an illegal gathering, and they are expected to fly out of the country shortly, the group's lawyer said on Tuesday. Bahraini lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi and media campaign group Reporters Without Borders identified the four as US journalist Anna Day and three members of her camera crew, all of them US citizens.
Bahrain's public prosecution office did not name those arrested, but said it had ordered the release of four Americans after interrogating them. "They are on their way to the airport," the group's lawyer, Mohammed al-Jishi, told Reuters by telephone. A witness said the four appeared to be in good health. Day has reported in the Middle East, north Africa, Asia and Latin America for numerous media outlets, mostly American.
Security forces had arrested the four on Sunday while they were "participating with a group of saboteurs who were carrying out riot acts in Sitra", Bahrain Public Prosecutor for Manama Nawwaf al-Awadi said in a statement. Sitra is a Shia village east of Manama where clashes between demonstrators and security forces have been taking place this week to mark the fifth anniversary of Arab Spring protests in 2011, mainly by Shia Muslims demanding reforms and a bigger share in government.