Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): A tumult is a state of noisy confusion. This is exactly what happened on Sunday (September 19, 2020) when the people of Bahrain woke up and read the Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper front-page report, which seemed to be reporting news from the Interior Ministry, entitled "huge terrorist attack aimed at blowing up a number of public and security installations in Bahrain".

The report mentioned that the Interior Ministry investigations revealed that a number of what it described as terrorist elements in Iran had begun to form a new organization called "Soleimani Brigades."

This is a sample of the propagation of lies that has been going on since 2011. The source of this lie is the interior ministry's so-called "evidence", which is based on public prosecution investigative files, and falls into the category of confessions extracted from citizens who have been brutally arrested and tortured, as documented by reports of international human rights organizations.

What is new this time is that Akhbar Al-Khaleej, one of the state's tools for spreading lies, exposed the reality of the region's media outlets, especially Bahrain's media allies.

The lie started with Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper and then it was widely circulated, starting with Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera channels, the Saudi Al-Ekhbariya, then a lazy Reuters reporter copied the news which was circulated around the world through various media platforms. Many of which cornered the Bahraini Ministry of Interior by flooding it with requests for comment or clarification. The ministry was forced to admit that: the news was old and that the details were inaccurate.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement "Concerning inquiries received by the Police Media of the Interior Ministry about a front-page report on "Akhbar Al Khaleej" newspaper on Sunday 20 September 2020 entitled "Major Terrorist Plot Foiled", the case is dated back to the beginning of 2020, and it is now at the concerned court; hence it isn't a new case."

"Releasing inaccurate details about the case and in this way would affect its trial process, and it had been better if the newspaper considered the correct and logical timeframe of the incident. Media resources are urged to follow professional standards of the sector, as the way the report was published created regional and international confusion."

"The security authorities are committed to performing their national security protection duties."

The ministry did not end its statement by saying that it "reserves its right to take legal action", which should have been stated. Akhbar Al-Khaleej is a mere tool for fabricating lies, thus it will neither be punished nor held accountable. The law in Bahrain does not apply to everyone and does not treat everyone equally. It is rather laughable that Akhbar Al-Khaleej published the Interior Ministry's comment; however, the report remained to be circulated under the name of Reuters, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and CNN Arabic. 

Arabic Version