Mahmood al-Yousif Arrested

Bahraini authorities have arrested the country's leading blogger, Mahmood al-Yousif:

"Mahmood al-Yousif reportedly tweeted 'police here for me' early on March 29 in a post that has since been deleted from his profile on the popular information-sharing website (see hashtag on arrest). Yousif's brother and son followed up by tweeting a confirmation of the arrest.

"Yousif runs several important websites in Bahrain, a small but strategic Persian Gulf country that has seen mass protests against the ruling monarchy in recent months as part of a wave of unrest in the region.

"Among them is the antisectarian website Just Bahraini, which campaigns for Shi'a and Sunnis to overcome their differences. He blogs at Mahmood's Den, a website that also serves as a larger blogger and information portal for Bahrainis."

I met Mahmood in Bahrain in 2007, and any government that finds him intolerable is hopelessly corrupt. Supporters of his anti-sectarian campaign have been harassed at checkpoints.

UPDATE: Mahmood has been released.