Bahrain: Scores of Websites Blocked

Google Translate page blocked
Scores of websites have been blocked in Bahrain, following a new crackdown by the Ministry of Information. The latest sweep makes sites ranging from Google Translate to those of social, religious, human rights and political groups inaccessible to people in Bahrain.

The Bahrain Human Rights Society, whose site is also blocked in Bahrain, provides the following list of banned websites:

BCHR listing of the blocked website by Bahrain Ministry of Information

حركة الحريات والديمقراطية حق
1. [www.haaq.org]
ملتقى الجنوب المقاوم
2. [www.bintjbeil.org]
موقع بروكسي
3. [proxify.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
4. [nofilter.biz]
موقع يزود بروكسي
5. [www.proxyworld.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
6. [www.anonnow.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
7. [www.anonworks.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
8. [www.proxywars.net]
موقع يزود بروكسي
9. [www.opencity.us]
موقع يزود بروكسي
10. [www.poro6.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
11. [www.bind2.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
12. [www.zendproxy.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
13. [zoxy.info]
موقع يزود بروكسي
14. [www.seenoip.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
15. [www.ibypass.org]
موقع يزود بروكسي
16. [www.ipzap.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
17. [kproxy.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
18. [www.attackcensorship.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
19. [mrnewguy.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
20. [www.unblockwebsites.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
21. [spysurfing.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
22. [www.stupidcensorship.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
23. [www.evilsprouts.co.uk]
موقع يزود بروكسي
24. [www.bypassbrowser.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
25. [www.proxymouse.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
26. [www.fsurf.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
27 [www.browseatwork.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
28. [www.surfonym.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
29. [www.iamnewguy.com]
موقع يزود بروكسي
30. [www.ninjaproxy.com]
منتديات أحرار البحرين
31. [www.ahraralbahrain.net]
منتديات البحرين للحوار الحر
32. [www.montadayatbh.org]
منتديات المحفوظ
33. [www.almahfood.com]
منتديات الجفير
34. www.juffair.org/
منتديات على الأصغر
35. www.alialasghar.net
شهداء البحرين
36. www.shaheed-bh.com/
الصرح الوطني
37. www.wattaninet.org/
ملتقى المالكية
38. www.malkiya.net/vb/
ملتقى بني جمرة
39. www.banijamrah.org/
كرباباد
40. www.karbabadiat.net/
حركة احرار البحرين
41. www.vob.com/
الصحافة
42. [www.alsaheefa.net]
الحوار المتمدن
43. www.rezgar.com/موقع
موقع أوال
44. www.awal.org
أوال
45. www.awaal.net
ملتقى كرزكان
46. www.karzakan.com
ملتقى الدراز
47. [alduraz.net]
وعد
48. [www.aldemokrati.org]
منتديات الثقلين
49. [www.althaqlain.com]
موقع بنت جبيل
50. [www.bintjbeil.org]
الشبكة العربية لمعلومات حقوق الإنسان
51. [www.hrinfo.net]
مركز البحرين لحقوق الإنسان
52. [www.bahrainrights.org]
منديات شهركان
53. [www.shahrakkan.org]
كرد تايمز
54. [www.kurdtimes.com]
موقع البوابة
55. [www.albawaba.com]
لادني
56. [www.ladeeni.net]
الكنائس العربية
57. [www.arabchurch.com]
الأقباط الأحرار
58. [freecopts.net]
59. [annaqed.com]
60. [www.rezgar.com]
الصحيفة
61. [www.alsaheefa.net]
بحرين تايمز
62. [www.bahraintimes.org]
بحرين اونلاين
63. [bahrainonline.org]
منديات البحرين
64. [montadayat.org]
شهداء البحرين
65. [shaheedbh.com]
مترجم الغوغل
66. [google.com]

Blogger Ali7 writes:

و أنا أقول لاويش الجماعة يتصلون يبغون بروكسيات
إلى أن اكتشفت أن “درازن” من المواقع حجبت بين ليلة و ضحاها ضمن رسالة حجب راقية ، ملونة (و كانت تحتوي على رقمي هاتف و فاكس للاستفسار و الاعتراض — شالوهم ، أكيد اتصلوا الجماعة يسبون) .. المهم أنها تجعلك تغادر الصفحة بنفسية أفضل من صفحة Forbidden المشؤومة السابقة..
الخلاصة أن ، المواقع السياسية المعروفة ، و كل وصلاتها و الطرق الالتفافية للوصول اليها ، و كل موقع يحمل دومينه كلمة “proxy” و العياذ بالله .. و حتى ان لم يحملها ووظيفته الظاهرية أو الباطنية هي بروكسي .. (من بينهم موقعنا المفضل hidemyass.com) ..
And I was asking myself why is everyone calling me to ask about proxies?
That was until I discovered that dozens of sites have been blocked overnight through an elegant censorship message (which included a telephone number and a fax number for inquiries and the message which had previously contained the ill-fated Forbidden message has been removed.) What is important is that it makes you leave the message with feeling better God forbid. The end result is that all the known political sites and all the ways to get to them as well as all the domains which contain the word proxy in their address have been censored – even our favourite site hidemyass.com

Ali7 even goes on to challenge the ban saying:

و أخيراً .. هل تريدها الوزارة لعبة القط والفأر ؟ فليكن !
And finally … does the ministry want us to play the cat and mouse game? So be it!!

On Facebook, Bahraini blogger Manaf Al Muhandis, who blogs at TheRedbelt.com posts a note entitled: Censored Internet in Bahrain: Imprisonment of Speech.

In it, he writes:

I am sure most of you know of the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Information to ban websites. I think we are all together that this is unacceptable, unimplementable, and simply put: ILLEGAL as it goes against the Bahraini Law which protects the freedom of speech.
A group of us tried to avoid this by introducing the Anti Hate Code of Ethics (http://www.bahraincodeofethics.com) and prefer that any offending website be prosecuted under the law with a chance of representation rather than resort to this old and ineffective method.

My friends,
Whether you signed the code or not, I implore you to write about the matter in your own blogs. We should also unify our forces to make our voice heard. We could hold up a rally or send one letter of objection bearing our signatures. I invite you to come up with more suggestions on what we can do about it.

16 comments

  • Google.com is not blocked here unless your search revolves around proxies. Anything with “proxy” or “proxi” in the domain is an automatic ban.

    What’s funny is this:

    The first day of the ban there was a phone and fax number listed. It said something like, “if you think the ban should be lifted please contact us and tell us why.”

    Two days later this phone and fax number were gone!

  • Google Translate is definitely blocked though and my question is why?

  • Google Translate is not blocked for me and 2 other Bahrainis I’ve checked with.

  • Google Translate is blocked; it depends on which way you access it. I assume it has been blocked because you can enter a web address instead of just text, and get a translated version of that page in its original format – thereby circumventing the ban.

  • Hussain Almomen

    bringin a war to the NET !!!

    we hav a very funy goverment …

    Im sure they really dunno wat to do

    every day i c a new funy movement ^_^… IDIOTS ^_^…

    ALLAH KAREEM…

  • Bahrainwhygo there now

    SO, this is the “forward thinking, lets promote tourism Bahrain” ???

    Jeez…. this country is going backwards instead of forwards…

  • Mahmood

    I’m very glad to find other citizens who are equally outraged by the latest assault on our civil rights. I urge every one to take action. Emailing international human rights groups doesn’t sound like a terrible idea to me, for instance.

  • bujace

    can someone explain why deviantart.com got blocked :(
    it’s only an art fanbase where we can show our graphic designing talents :( it has nothing to do with anything!!

  • Sykop4th

    You can’t stop free speech, Bahrain. Nothing short of unplugging the entire island from an Internet connection will stop us. Any effort to censor the Internet will be met with futility. It is time to wise up, you incompetents. Let the Bahraini people choose for themselves what they want to do, what they want to see and what they want to say. We are not cattle to be directed. We are human beings and this is a violation of human rights. No wonder Bahrain is a nobody country.

  • upset

    Bahrain? a big kindergarten? but still gayclubs, prostitution, alcohol, access to xxx movies via a hacked dreamboxes, xxx torrent downloads etc etc. it seems that the gouvernment is not getting money for the websites which were blocked… Bahrain, go ahead and block everthing also the brains of your natives… and stay in the middle age. your artificial islands, your uncontrolled traffic, your enviroment pollution will not bring any tourists to bahrain.
    You just set the wrong priorities to keep your island clean, keep ongoing…a day you will reach the first priority..but go ahead, before the north and south pole is melting, than you will need an underwater world

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