H/T Dave
Thanks to the internet, nothing really ever disappears.
As such, here’s a screen capture of a Guardian report on Jan. 30 titled “Bahrain has failed to adopt reform: So why is the Grand Prix going ahead?“, which is no longer on their site.
A rather important story for genuine human rights activists in the Arab world, don’t you think? The arrest and torture of human rights activists and political dissidents: Apartheid practiced against an indigenous population; a complete lack of due process, and outrage by activists at the attempt to legitimize such a despotic regime by allowing them to host an internationally prestigious sporting event?
Such a story, which holds Arab rulers accountable for their continued violations of basic human rights, and make a mockery of the spirit of the much vaunted “Arab Spring”, is very much outside the box given the Guardian’s Judeocentric view of human rights abuses in the region.
However, when you go to the link now, this is what you find:
What happened? Well, per the report’s authors, Nabeel Rajab and John Lubbock, the Guardian is being threatened with legal action by Bahrain.
Here’s Lubbock’s Tweet:
Truly remarkable. An institution which prides itself on “speaking truth to power” caves to pressure from a Bahrain PR Firm (perhaps the PR firm responsible for promoting the Grand Prix event?), or the regime itself, and completely removes a piece critical of the country.
The hypocrisy is stunning.
While, based on Lubbock’s Tweets, it appears that the piece may be re-posted in some form, can anyone remember a similar case involving Israel, where the Guardian removed a defamatory piece about the Jewish state due to threats from the Israeli government, or even following substantial evidence of factual errors?
Yes, it’s a rhetorical question.
