British Airways on Monday said that it was unable to board three British facing deportation on Sunday evening at the Bahrain International Airport because the airline didn’t get the required papers.
“We did not receive the correct paperwork from the authorities, regarding this deportation, and therefore we were not able to accept the three people on our aircraft,” British Airways spokesperson in Bahrain told the 24X7 News Bahrain.
Following the F1 Grand Prix final race on Sunday, reportedly Channel 4 News’ foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Miller and his cameraman Joe Sheffer and producer Dave Fuller were detained by the police after attempting to film a demonstration in a village.
The government position on the issue was defended by the Information Affairs Authority (IAA), which in a statement said that it had taken the necessary actions against three British journalists who had violated the rules and regulations set for external media correspondents.
“The three journalists had entered the Kingdom on tourism visas; covered local events without having obtained requisite prior permission; brought unlicensed equipment into the Kingdom; and took part in a non-peaceful and unlicensed demonstration,” the IAA statement added.