Mansoor al-Jamri

Mansoor al-Jamri
al-Jamri in July 2011
Born (1961-12-17) 17 December 1961 (age 62)
Bahrain
Education
Occupation(s)Columnist, editor, author, publisher and human rights activists.[1]
Years active
OrganizationAl-Wasat
SpouseReem Khalifa
Parents
Awards
Website

Mansoor al-Jamri (also Mansour; Arabic: منصور الجمري; born 17 December 1961) is a Bahraini columnist, author, human rights activist and former opposition leader. He is the editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat, an Arabic language independent daily newspaper. He is also the second son of the Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, who died in 2006.

A few months after he was born in the village of Bani Jamra, al-Jamri moved with his family to Iraq where his father continued his religious studies. To his delight, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain in 1973 and five years later graduated from high school. In 1979 he moved to the United Kingdom (UK) to continue his higher education. Between 1987 and 2001, al-Jamri lived in self-imposed exile in UK where he became the spokesman of a UK-based opposition group. Following a series of reforms of which he was initially skeptical of, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain in December 2001. He co-founded Al-Wasat in September 2002 and became its editor-in-chief since then. The newspaper, said to be the only one offering independent and non-sectarian coverage in Bahrain was a success, becoming the country's most popular and profitable. Al-Jamri writes daily columns described to be moderate and non-sectarian.

When the Bahraini uprising started in February 2011, Al-Wasat and al-Jamri covered both sides of the conflict. Al-Jamri was involved in reconciliation talks until 15 March when Saudi troops entered Bahrain. That day, Al-Wasat printing facility was destroyed. Its employees which already faced harassment by groups of youths began remote work. The next month, the newspaper was charged by government to publishing fabricated news about the uprising and was suspended. Al-Jamri acknowledged his mistake, but said he was set up and downplayed the impact of the false news. He resigned from his position and the newspaper was allowed to publish the next day. He was subsequently charged and convicted of publishing false news. In August, Al-Wasat board of directors reinstated him back to his position. In June 2017, the Information Affairs Ministry indefinitely suspended the newspaper, forcing the paper's closure. Amnesty International termed the government's actions an "all-out campaign to end independent reporting".[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference RtNV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Mansoor al-Jamri (8 August 2005). تحرك الثمانينات أسس لتحرك التسعينات. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CPJ 2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "2012 Awards". International Media Awards. 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Bahrain authorities must rescind decision to close only independent newspaper al-Wasat and cease all-out campaign to end independent reporting" (PDF). Amnesty International. Retrieved 21 December 2017.