According to Bahrain officials, some of the arrested Americans were members of the international media but “had not registered with the concerned authority and were involved in illegal activities.
However, one of them as an independent journalist named Anna Therese Day and three members of her camera crew, Day’s family said in a statement.
“The four are experienced journalists, having most recently worked on virtual reality documentary filmmaking in Egypt and Gaza, and we hope the Bahraini authorities will release them rapidly and without harm,” the Day family’s statement added.
“The allegation that they were in any way involved in illegal behavior or anything other than journalistic activities is impossible.”
The US State Department said it was aware of reports that Americans had been arrested in Bahrain but declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns.
Rights groups also criticized their detention, with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists branding Bahrain “one of the worst jailers of journalists in the Arab world”.
All four Americans entered the country between February 11 and 12, providing false information that they were tourists, the Bahrain Interior Ministry said.
Bahrain said the case of the four detainees has been referred to the public prosecution.
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