Bahrain deports American human rights activist

Bahraini authorities have deported a US human rights activist for allegedly posting “radical” articles on social media websites, thus tightening the noose on all forms of dissent.

According to Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BHCR), Erin Kilbride, who worked as a teacher, left the tiny Persian Gulf Sheikdom for the United States on Saturday.

In a statement on Saturday, Bahrain’s Ministry of State for Communications said Kilbride violated her visa by working “illegally as an unaccredited journalist.”

The US woman was “using Twitter and a number of websites to publish articles on Bahrain that were deemed to incite hatred against the government and members of the royal family,” the ministry added.

On Friday, Maryam al-Khawaja, a prominent Bahraini rights activist was barred from boarding a British Airways flight from Copenhagen to her homeland upon a request from Manama authorities as the Persian Gulf nation prepares for a major anti-regime protest.

Maryam, who holds dual Bahraini-Danish citizenship, was due to visit Bahrain to monitor the situation ahead of planned anti-regime protests set to take place on August 14. She is the acting president of the BHCR.

The Manama regime has already warned that anyone participating in protests would face the “force of the law.”

Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th fleet, has been the scene of demonstrations since mid-February 2011. Bahrainis demanded political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.