• Bahrain : Prison Island | Tom Malinowski (Foreign Policy)
    http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/05/07/prison_island?page=0,0

    The riot police waited for them there. Maybe we should have stood fast, on the notion that police chase those who run. But when Bahrain’s finest suppress demonstrations, they often fire birdshot and tear-gas canisters directly into the crowd. And the magic words “I am an American” have an effective range far shorter than that of a riot gun. So we sprinted away with the scattered marchers down one darkened alley, then another. When it was clear the neighborhood was surrounded, we took shelter in a house. The police broke in and pepper-sprayed our eyes; I spoke the magic words, which seemed to calm matters, though we heard screams coming from other parts of the house. (...) Source: Foreign Policy