Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Just Another Protest Friday?

Opening of "A Taste of Freedom" ice cream shop in Binnish in Syria

See also Syria Snap Analysis: Is the US Preparing for Intervention?
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Thursday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Hunger Striker Alkhawaja Still Alive?
Turkey Live Coverage (26 April): From the Kurdish Language to Iranian Banks

---

1631 GMT: This morning, we noted an apparent slip by the regime-linked Gulf Daily News about Day 79 of the hunger strike of detained activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja --- in its haste to establish that he was well and "in high spirits", it tipped off that the authorities might now be force-feeding Alkhawaja.

Mike Diboll, a blogger who worked at the University of Bahrain, takes up the story:

[Alicia de Haldevang of the Gulf Daily News] takes a strong interest in his nutrition, mentioning by name “Ensure”, the nutritional drink that Abdulhadi is supposed to be “taking”:

At the beginning of her piece, she says that he is “drinking” the supplement, but in paragraph five he is “taking” it. “Taking” it in what sense? Perhaps this image of the force feeding kit used against Guantanamo Bay hunger strikers can help answer the question of exactly how Abdulhadi is “taking” Ensure. Below is a photograph of a force feeding kit used at Guantanamo Bay:

And another twist --- Alicia de Haldevang, the Gulf Daily News reporter, was taken to task by Alkhawaja's wife over the story until she said, "I believe you should have access to your husband+he shld be released. Pls don't think that I follow GDN policy in my personal beliefs." Now she appears to be none too happy with the regime for putting her in this position:

Until this govt actually responds properly to questions+provides officials to answer them, we have to use reliable "unnamed sources".

— Alicia de Haldevang (@aliciadehal) April 27, 2012

Click to read more ...