Freelance Bahraini photographer Sayed Baqer Al-Kamel was arrested on March 1, 2026, following a raid on his home by plainclothes officers. He has since been detained at the notorious Dry Dock Detention Center in Bahrain, according to a Bahraini rights defender who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
On March 2, in a public statement, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior announced that its Cybercrime Directorate had arrested several individuals since the start of the Iranian attacks on Bahrain for serious violations affecting public security. Al-Kamel was listed among the individuals.
The statement added that the charges include posting content seen as supportive of the attacks and sharing AI-generated images of destruction, which authorities say misled the public and spread fear. The suspects have been referred to the Public Prosecution.
On April 28, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, along with the confiscation of his equipment. He was convicted on charges including allegedly promoting content deemed supportive of Iran during the war with Bahrain, filming and sharing images of sensitive infrastructure during a conflict, and unlawfully publishing defense-related material, according to a Bahraini rights defender who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Al-Kamel is a well-known freelance photojournalist who has been arrested several times in the past. He has contributed to a number of media outlets, including the independent Bahraini news outlet Al-Wasat and the Islamic religious TV channel Al-Maaref. His photos have also been used by several media outlets such as Open Democracy and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch.
Before his arrest, Al-Kamel posted a video of a high-rise building on fire in the Seef district and called on people to pray for Bahrain. The video has since been deleted from his profiles, according to independent media outlet Middle East Eye (MEE).
Sayed Alwadaei, director of the UK-based rights organization Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, told MEE: “He didn’t post footage of a military facility. He happened to be in a nearby area and documented the moment. Hours after the post, he was summoned.”
Additionally, on his Instagram account, Al-Kamel shared condolences following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who had been killed in Tehran during a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting high-ranking officials.
His arrest comes amid a wider wave of arrests and censorship in Bahrain and across Gulf countries.
CPJ emailed the Bahraini embassy in Washington, D.C., but did not receive a response.