DUBAI: Bahrain has arrested four American journalists covering the anniversary of its 2011 uprising amid a long crackdown on dissent in the tiny island nation, witnesses said on Monday.

Bahraini police said it detained four Americans for providing “false information that they were tourists,” while also alleging one took part in an attack on its officers.

The US Embassy in Manama said in a statement it was “aware of the arrest of four US citizens in Bahrain” on Sunday but that it could not discuss the case due to privacy concerns.

The identities of the journalists and whether they worked for a specific media outlet was not immediately clear. Bahra­ini police said one was a woman and three were men.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2016