French news agency says former staffer detained in Bahrain

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Agence France-Presse says a former photographer for the French news agency has been arrested upon his return home to Bahrain.

The news agency and the Bahrain Press Association reported on Wednesday that photographer Mohammed al-Shaikh was taken into custody at Bahrain International Airport following a trip abroad.

AFP expressed serious concern about the detention and asked Bahraini authorities to explain the arrest.

Bahraini officials did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

The arrest comes amid a renewed crackdown on free expression that over the past year has seen Bahraini activists imprisoned or exiled and the country’s largest Shiite opposition group dissolved. Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya and France 24 journalist Nazeeha Saeed is being tried for reporting without accreditation.