Bahrain 1st-Hand: Smuggled Footage of Crackdown & Interview with Ala'a Shehabi (Channel 4)

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In a separate feature posted earlier today, we wrote about the Bahraini regime's public-relations efforts and assessed, "Far from taking the initiative, however, the regime has appeared to be on the defensive over events."

Here's a vivid example of developments on the ground overtaking spin. Amidst the regime effort to highlight a Grand Prix free from discord and controversy last week, Britain's Channel 4 sent a crew into the country. By the end of the weekend, reporter Jonathan Miller and his cameramen had seen protests, the police response of tear gas and arrests, and the effects on residents. They had followed the story of slain activist Salas Abbas Habib. They had been briefly detained, along with Bahraini activists Ali Al A'ali and Ala'a Shehabi, before they were deported late Sunday night.

The follow-up interview with Shehabi: