ZAKARIYA RASHID HASSAN AL-ASHIRI

News Organization: FREELANCE

Died: 2011

Location: BAHRAIN

Al-Ashiri, a blogger who wrote for a local news website named after his village of Al-Dair, died while in government custody, according to media reports. He had been arrested on April 2 and charged with disseminating false news and inciting hatred, the BBC reported. The arrest came during a period of civil unrest in Bahrain and a government crackdown on independent reporting. Authorities claimed he died from complications of sickle cell anemia, but his family told reporters that he did not have that or any other disease. Al-Ashiri was 40.