Journalist, Carmel alumna, arrested in Bahrain

A journalist who grew up near Wauconda has been released from police custody after being arrested during a protest in Bahrain, according to news reports.

Anna Therese Day, a 2006 graduate of Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein and St. Francis de Sales School in Lake Zurich, was detained along with three members of her crew Sunday while covering the anniversary of Bahrain's 2011 uprising, according to news reports.

There are varying accounts of what happened. The state-run Bahrain News Agency said the four had been rioting and vandalizing property, and were charged with "unlawful obstruction of vehicles and attending unlawful gatherings." They were released "pending further investigations."

However, Al-Jazeera reports the four are accused of entering the country illegally, joining protests and lying to border staff.

Bahrain police initially said they detained the four Americans for providing "false information that they were tourists" and also alleged that one took part in an attack on Bahraini officers.

In a statement Tuesday, Manama's chief prosecutor Nawaf al-Awadi said the journalists' possession of cameras and computers sparked their investigation.

Day, who now lives in Boise, Idaho, is an independent journalist, social media researcher and Fulbright Fellow who reports for many news outlets, including the Huffington Post, HuffPostLive and The Daily Beast. She has contributed to The New York Times Women in the World.

A spokesperson for Day's family told The New York Times: "Anna and her crew are committed journalists who only want to ensure they could undertake their profession ethically and thoroughly. The allegation that they were in any way involved in illegal behavior or anything other than journalistic activities is impossible."

Carmel Catholic High School Principal Mark Ostap said Day "is well thought of by her former teachers."

"The Carmel Catholic community is praying for Anna and hopes for a quick resolution," added school President Dr. Brad Bonham.

Bahraini officials allowed Day and her crew to head for the airport Tuesday night, apparently after the intervention of the U.S. Embassy in Manama. Lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi told The Associated Press that authorities kept their cameras and computers.

Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf and surrounding waterways crucial to the global oil trade.

The arrests highlight the sensitivity the kingdom still feels five years after the uprising, as low-level unrest and protests continue.

A friend of Day's, Jesse Ayala, has said the journalists were simply doing their job and denied they took part in any "illegal behavior."

An Interior Ministry statement alleged one of the four journalists "was wearing a mask and participating in attacks on police alongside other rioters in Sitra." The statement also said the journalists entered the country between Thursday and Friday on tourist visas.

Bahrain requires international journalists to obtain special media visas before entering to work. Obtaining a media visa takes several days, and activists say Bahrain has denied media visas for some journalists since the 2011 protests.

The 2011 protests in Bahrain were the largest of the Arab Spring wave of demonstrations to rock the Gulf Arab states. They were driven by the country's Shiite majority, which demanded greater political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy.

Bahrain's government committed to a number of reforms in the wake of the 2011 demonstrations, but low-level unrest continues, particularly in Shiite communities. Small groups of activists frequently clash with riot police and bombs occasionally target security forces.

Day and her crew had been in Sitra, where hundreds of Bahraini youths protested Sunday on the fifth anniversary of the uprising.

Day has worked in many dangerous places around the world, including Israel, Lebanon, Libya, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and South Sudan. She reports on a wide range of issues, including American foreign policy, women's issues, and youth organizing.

It is not clear whether the four were on assignment for a particular news outlet at the time of their arrest, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

At least six other journalists are currently imprisoned in Bahrain in connection with their work, according to the CPJ, and the government frequently equates reporting on protests and attacks on police with participating in them.

Daily Herald Staff Writer Mick Zawislak and Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.