Fears as news team held amid Bahrain unrest

A Channel 4 news crew were arrested in Bahrain yesterday leading to fears for the safety of their local driver.

The British broadcaster’s foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Miller and his team had been reporting covertly because they had not been given accreditation to report in the country which was staging the latest Formula 1 Grand Prix.

As he was being driven to the Budaiya police station Mr Miller was able to make a call to Channel 4 News. He said he was completely surrounded by riot police in the back of the police car.

“We were arrested after a short car chase,” he said.

“We have been surrounded by riot police ever since. We had been filming in a Shia village on the outskirts of Bahrain earlier this afternoon. I had been watching the Grand Prix.

“I had been at the circuit and watched most of the race before leaving to see if I could report on the planned demonstrations in Bahrain.

“However, when we went out we found the entire city was under lockdown. There were armoured vehicles and police vehicles everywhere,” he said. He confirmed the team had been operating without accreditation.

“So when we were caught having been filming a demonstration in one of these Shia villages they have not been particularly pleasant,” he said.

“They have been very aggressive towards me, our crew, our driver and a prominent human rights activist in Bahrain. We are concerned for the safety of our driver who I had hired” he said.

In a statement, Channel 4 News said it had been in contact with Mr Miller.

“We are concerned about the welfare of the team’s local driver who was arrested and assaulted in front of the team, and then separated from them. Our primary concern is for the safety of the team, and we are working with the appropriate authorities to secure a swift release. We are also working hard to establish the whereabouts of the driver who was assaulted and separated from the group.”