An article in today's New York Times highlights some of the problems that bloggers are facing in expressing themselves freely in Bahrain.
Bahrain, an archipelago in the Gulf east of Saudi Arabia with a population of 690,000, has come to be thought of as one of the more reformist-minded countries in the Middle East.
After coming to power as emir in 1999, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa turned the country, which won independence from the UK in 1971, into a constitutional monarchy with himself as king and established a parliament.
However, despite making promises about reform in Bahrain, which is a key US ally and home of the US Fifth Fleet, King Hamad increased his power with a new constitution he introduced in 2002.
Much of the mainstream media is state-run and, while an independent press is permitted, self-censorship is common and blogs are increasingly becoming a key platform for free debate. But the authorities are unhappy at the criticism and mockery which they attract online.
Criticising the king can land you in jail, as the country's most notorious blogger, Ali Abduleman, a 28-year-old computer engineer, knows only too well. He and others were jailed for a couple of weeks last year and were only freed after demonstrations and international pressure.
Abduleman, who still faces charges of insulting the king, incitement and spreading false news, tells the New York Times that he created his site, BahrainOnline.Org, to give people a space to talk during the "golden time" before the new constitution was brought in. He said: "I had been full of hope that a new era was coming to Bahrain. But what happened next threw us all in the dirt."
Certainly the bloggers have increasing political clout, despite hostility to their operations from the state. During the elections in 2002, Abduleman's site was in the vanguard of a campaign for Shia Muslims to boycott the poll and many did stay away. His site is in Arabic but there are other bloggers writing in English that you might want to check out including Babbling Bahrania (which features a protester with a placard saying "constitutional reform now"), Bahrania blog , Silly Bahraini Girl and Bahraini Rants.
Finally, if you have a look at the story on the New York Times, be sure to also look at James Hill's fantastic accompanying photographs.
