US journalists return ‘safe’ after release

Manama: A US journalist said yesterday that she and the three members of her camera crew were safe and in good health after being released. They were detained on Sunday after being accused of participating in an illegal gathering in Sitra.

“My team and I feel very fortunate to have been permitted to leave Bahrain last night,” Anna Day, a freelance journalist, said in a statement issued by two journalist colleagues.

According to the statement, they were covering the fifth anniversary of 2011 protests in the Kingdom.

“We are safe and in good health, but we are exhausted and keen to get home to see our loved ones,” Day said. “We are overwhelmed by the events of the past few days and by the support shown to us from around the world.”

Day has reported in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Latin America for numerous media outlets, mostly American.

Meanwhile, the US State Department said in a statement the United States would “continue to raise our concerns with Bahrain about limitations on peaceful assembly and political activism, and the criminalisation of free expression.” The statement did not specifically mention Day’s arrest.

Authorities in Bahrain said the four journalists were found with cameras and computers in Sitra among “a group of saboteurs who were carrying out riot acts.” Demonstrators in Sitra have clashed with security forces in recent days.